Author: La Vie Partagée

Outdoors with Style

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Warm weather is here, and we can’t wait to spend some time outside, especially for folks like me who had to deal with a snowy winter.  While we are all planning fun BBQs with friends, trying new recipes for cocktails and dishes or warming up to hot tea and a good book, we realize something is missing.  Our patios, decks, terraces or gardens are in desperate need of styling. If you live in a big city like NYC, you probably have a tiny space. No worries! It can still be cozy and cool. Picture yourself out there, what do you need? Rugs? Plants? Flowers? Not that good with plants but want green? How about an herbal garden? Dining area? A hammock? Comfortable seating? Fire pit? I found this amazing tutorial for your patio or garden: http://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2013/04/its-the-pits/ Color! Neutrals are so peaceful but fun strong colors also bring happiness to the heart. Re-energize your outdoors with bright tones. Not into bright colors but love contrast? Consider the right amount of lighting so you can enjoy it at dusk. …

Vietnamese BBQ: Lemongrass Marinade and the Chicken Skewers

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Every culture has some form of street food.  The United States has hot dogs and pretzels.  Vietnam has a whole culinary dictionary of street delights.  One of the most common snack is meat skewer marinated in fragrant lemongrass and fish sauce grilled over these tiny aluminum boxes filled with flaming coals on a hidden alley somewhere.  These grilled skewers became a staple of Vietnamese restaurants in the US and worldwide.  Every family has a marinade recipe of the same ingredients but in different proportions. This is our family’s recipe that we serve at the restaurants and at home over the years. The trick to this recipe is to marinate the meat overnight.  We tried it with just ½ an hour and it was still delicious.  I highly suggest marinating these overnight and even leaving them in the freezer during the week until you are ready to consume them. We grilled these chicken skewers over a traditional Vietnamese charcoal box, but you can easily do this on any grill or on the stove.  The combination of …

Weekend Unexplored: Phu Quoc Island (Vietnam) – Part I

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Editor’s Revision on 7/9/2015:  Mercure Phu Quoc Resort Hotel is part of the Accor Hotels Group.  We made the correction to this post as we originally wrote “Novotel” instead of “Mercure” in our post. An island less traveled by foreign tourists… I have explored Vietnam since I was 18 years old.  I remembered the road trips my family took up and down Vietnam on perilous roads that still induced fear into me.  It is amazing how much Vietnam has changed in 14 years.  On my last trip to Ho Chi Minh City (“HCMC”), my best friend mentioned fresh sea urchins and the abundance of seafood on Phu Quoc Island that she tasted on her many trips there with her friends.  The island has relatively been untouched by foreign tourism and that is about to change with all the new resorts being built over the next few years.  Phu Quoc is one of the last sleepy fishing islands off the coast of Vietnam. It takes about an hour flight from HCMC.  It is the local weekend …

Honeycomb Cake / Bánh Bò Nướng

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One of my favorite childhood treats is this sweet, fragrant and chewy sponge cake called bánh bò nướng.  The cake is made from rice flour, water, sugar, and yeast. It has a honeycomb-like appearance on the inside due to the presence of small air bubbles. This is why it is called a honeycomb cake. Coconut cream is included in the cake batter revealing a slight flavor and aroma of coconut.  It is a very simple recipe but the result lies in the baking technique which we are excited to show you in this post. Ingredients: 14 oz (approximately 1 package) of tapioca starch flour. This equals to 2 cups. 1 can coconut cream – 14 fluid oz 1 stick of unsalted butter and a little extra to coat the pan 2 cups of sugar 2 bags of Alsa baking powder (5 teaspoons of single acting baking powder) 8 eggs 2 bags of vanilla sugar or 2 tablespoons of good vanilla extract 1 tablespoon of pandan flavored paste or syrup (not essence) – preferred brand is …

Street Food Fair: NYC UrbanSpace Garment District (May 4th to June 14th 2015)

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Over the last few years, NYC has seen a rejuvenation of street food.  The city went from having just your standard carts for hot dogs, breakfast items and the likes to a booming food truck trend. The “It” food trend for the last few years and gaining steam has been the rise of the gourmet street food fairs. UrbanSpace, a British company, started hosting various markets in NYC during the past few years including Mad. Sq. Eats, Broadway Bites, UrbanSpace Garment District, the Union Square Holiday Market and Columbus Circle Holiday Market.  For this post, I will be exploring some items that caught my eye at the UrbanSpace Garment District food fair. Domo Taco (Price:  Less than $10, Taste:  3.5 out of 5 stars) This is an asian-inspired Mexican food stall which means they put their interpretation of some basic meats with asian sauces on a taco. The result is surprisingly good, though not that innovative.  We tried the 3 tacos for $9 combo and selected lemongrass chicken, shrimp tempura and fish tempura tacos.  For $9, you do get a …

Let’s style that bookcase

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When we decide to decorate our bookcases, there are some things to consider. 1) The bookcase size, depth and height of shelves. There are many designs we can bring to our house, from custom made to adjustable shelves. Pick a piece that fulfills your needs. A great option is to use bookcases as space dividers. They let light go through and create an interesting atmosphere. 2) Books. Besides the obvious, we should pick books that are in good shape and those we love. Have you noticed that bookcases are magnets for guests? They reflect who we are and what topics we are knowledgeable about.  Pick them wisely; otherwise you might find yourself being questioned and not have a clue about the books. There are different ways to put them in the shelves:  By topic, by color, by size, vertical, horizontal or mixed. 3) Accessories. I like to see bookcases filled with stories beside the books. That little box you bought on your last trip, that cute picture of your pet, a nice globe you bought …

Canh Chua (Countryside Sweet and Sour Soup)

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In last week’s Eat post, we made ca kho to or catfish braised in a clay pot.  This week we will explore a companion dish called canh chua ca.  This is a wonderful complex, yet simple soup.  Vietnamese soup is a meal in itself and is usually eaten with rice and shared family style.  This soup is traditionally made with the head and tail of a catfish or whatever fish that the family is eating that day.  You can substitute the protein with shrimp, salmon or any other type of fish or seafood that you would like to eat. There are two ingredients (bạc hà and rau om) that may be hard to find if there is not an Asian supermarket nearby or if it’s out of season.  Bạc hà is the porous stem of a type of taro plant’s leaves with a sponge like texture when cooked.  You can usually find it shrink wrapped in a styrofoam tray at your asian supermarket in the summer.  Due to bạc hà’s porous stem, the stem soaks …