Valentine's Day has come and gone so how did you spend yours? Year 2009 marks the year for our many 'firsts'! First time spending Valentine's Day in London and first time spending it in the midst of a credit crunch!
Here's our Valentine's Day survival tips to beat the credit crunch:
Tip 1 - Cut down on the purchases of roses
Instead, simply admire them from afar.. but frankly speaking, these roses are pretty affordable in local markets and some supermarkets in London.
Tip 2 - Do remember that roses aren't the only flowers around...
There exist other more economical alternatives! You just need to source for them! Hmm...don't you agree these flowers look very pretty too?
Tip 3 - And if buying flowers is a MUST, why not consider other more practical 'floral' alternatives? Note: Tip is not to be applied by the faint hearted!
Here's some good news for the guys! 6 pounds for a pot of flowers (and for the brave hearted - how about a pot of cactus too?? So long it doesn't add extra thorns to the relationship yah !) Hmm.. Wonder anybody got one of those for Valentine's Day presents? These cute little pots shouldn't burn a hole in your pocket, huh? But then again, I wouldn't suggest a practical and undoubtedly much more lasting pot of plant if your partner prefers huge, elaborated decorated (throw in the bear and the fluffy huggables), lotz of ribbons, heart shaped balloons, chocolates and lavish bouquet of flowers!
Tip 4 - Be lovey dovey and share a single portion of lunch!
We had a golden and crispy fried beer battered plaice and fresh potato fries - just one portion only! Not only are we sharing calories, we also saved on the cost of an additional portion. Of course, it helps when were were served quite a generous SINGLE portion!
Tip 5: If you seriously cannot do without that tea break, go for your own DIY picnic or do a take away from the budget corners of the supermarkets instead of heading to a cafe!
A pack of 5 freshly baked double chocolate doughnuts (budget pack from a mini mart - ah ..but then!!) but nevertheless very yummy! Filled with thick chocolate cream inside served with steaming hot tea at our very own 'cafe'..so who is counting the calories?
Tip 6: Ditch the expensive restaurant fine dining and save the trouble and your precious time to making advance reservations
Well..I say ditch outside fine dining but I never say indulgence in better or perhaps that occasional luxurious savories or the rare exotic type of food is prohibited!
And so we bought some fresh Ostrich steak from the local market and put our cookery skills to practice..hmm..the occasional indulgence lah. Btw, seasoning done by 'Chef' Feng...
And my 'master chef' (with 'assistant chef' at the side of course) is cooking in progress...cheesy mash potato, celery, tomato dipped in olive oil and the main star - the Ostrich steak accompanied by ....
..... this giant freshly baked bread (Err..I forgot the name of this bread) which we picked up from the local market in the morning. And this simply tastes heavenly! Gourmet bread naturally cost more than those sold in supermarkets but we just couldn't resist. Nevertheless, it is still affordable once in a blue moon. Btw, I really love the bread in London. The gourmet ones are always freshly baked and I am spoil with so many different varieties!
This must be the influence of the countless number of British chef and cooking programs we have been watching ... 'Chef' is now working hard on the presentation which seems to be posing more of a challenge than the actual cooking!
And finally... drums roll please..... Here's presenting our very own Valentine's Day 2 course meal:
Starter: Cream of tomato, mushroom and celery soup with freshly baked gourmet bread
Main: Ostrich steak topped with red wine sauce
Side: Cheesy mash potato, celery and tomato in olive oil
Dessert: Err..there was no more room for dessert cos' we were too stuffed after the main and starter! Guess our tea break also contributed quite a bit to this! And that main was close to 400 odd grams of steak! Thank goodness Ostrich meat contains almost zero calories! Nevertheless, we had something sweet after our satisfying dinner - a bottle of apple and elder flower juice!
Hmm.. so spending Valentine's Day in style doesn't necessarily mean burning a huge hole in your pocket, right? Having said that, I am more than ready to junk my set of Valentine's Day survival tips out of the window! After all, who want to spend the next V Day in the midst of another credit crunch? :D
Here's our Valentine's Day survival tips to beat the credit crunch:
Tip 1 - Cut down on the purchases of roses
Instead, simply admire them from afar.. but frankly speaking, these roses are pretty affordable in local markets and some supermarkets in London.
Tip 2 - Do remember that roses aren't the only flowers around...There exist other more economical alternatives! You just need to source for them! Hmm...don't you agree these flowers look very pretty too?
Tip 3 - And if buying flowers is a MUST, why not consider other more practical 'floral' alternatives? Note: Tip is not to be applied by the faint hearted!
Here's some good news for the guys! 6 pounds for a pot of flowers (and for the brave hearted - how about a pot of cactus too?? So long it doesn't add extra thorns to the relationship yah !) Hmm.. Wonder anybody got one of those for Valentine's Day presents? These cute little pots shouldn't burn a hole in your pocket, huh? But then again, I wouldn't suggest a practical and undoubtedly much more lasting pot of plant if your partner prefers huge, elaborated decorated (throw in the bear and the fluffy huggables), lotz of ribbons, heart shaped balloons, chocolates and lavish bouquet of flowers!
Tip 4 - Be lovey dovey and share a single portion of lunch!
We had a golden and crispy fried beer battered plaice and fresh potato fries - just one portion only! Not only are we sharing calories, we also saved on the cost of an additional portion. Of course, it helps when were were served quite a generous SINGLE portion!
Tip 5: If you seriously cannot do without that tea break, go for your own DIY picnic or do a take away from the budget corners of the supermarkets instead of heading to a cafe!
A pack of 5 freshly baked double chocolate doughnuts (budget pack from a mini mart - ah ..but then!!) but nevertheless very yummy! Filled with thick chocolate cream inside served with steaming hot tea at our very own 'cafe'..so who is counting the calories?
Tip 6: Ditch the expensive restaurant fine dining and save the trouble and your precious time to making advance reservations
Well..I say ditch outside fine dining but I never say indulgence in better or perhaps that occasional luxurious savories or the rare exotic type of food is prohibited!
And so we bought some fresh Ostrich steak from the local market and put our cookery skills to practice..hmm..the occasional indulgence lah. Btw, seasoning done by 'Chef' Feng...
And my 'master chef' (with 'assistant chef' at the side of course) is cooking in progress...cheesy mash potato, celery, tomato dipped in olive oil and the main star - the Ostrich steak accompanied by ....
..... this giant freshly baked bread (Err..I forgot the name of this bread) which we picked up from the local market in the morning. And this simply tastes heavenly! Gourmet bread naturally cost more than those sold in supermarkets but we just couldn't resist. Nevertheless, it is still affordable once in a blue moon. Btw, I really love the bread in London. The gourmet ones are always freshly baked and I am spoil with so many different varieties!
This must be the influence of the countless number of British chef and cooking programs we have been watching ... 'Chef' is now working hard on the presentation which seems to be posing more of a challenge than the actual cooking!
And finally... drums roll please..... Here's presenting our very own Valentine's Day 2 course meal:Starter: Cream of tomato, mushroom and celery soup with freshly baked gourmet bread
Main: Ostrich steak topped with red wine sauce
Side: Cheesy mash potato, celery and tomato in olive oil
Dessert: Err..there was no more room for dessert cos' we were too stuffed after the main and starter! Guess our tea break also contributed quite a bit to this! And that main was close to 400 odd grams of steak! Thank goodness Ostrich meat contains almost zero calories! Nevertheless, we had something sweet after our satisfying dinner - a bottle of apple and elder flower juice!
Hmm.. so spending Valentine's Day in style doesn't necessarily mean burning a huge hole in your pocket, right? Having said that, I am more than ready to junk my set of Valentine's Day survival tips out of the window! After all, who want to spend the next V Day in the midst of another credit crunch? :D
