My first espresso....

OK, so I've finally given in and bought an espresso machine. Years of plunging that French press and using that stovetop clearly haven't satisfied the irrepressible allure of the home-made espresso.

I got a Francis! Francis! Trio X3 machine, which is a less boisterous version of its X1 cousin. It lacks all the retro dials and all, but for those of us with spatially-challenged kitchens it's a great compromise, combining sleek looks with slim practicality. I was also much swayed by CoffeeGeek, who gave it an extensive test and a good write-up.

The thing looks like something out of the Titanic and, once out of the box, it's a breeze to set up. Sadly, it doesn't come with a holder for ground coffee (at least mine didn't), so if you want to use your own grounds, you'll have to get it separately. The pod grouphead is pretty easy to use, though, and it comes with 18 servings of Illy pods so you can at least get your fix while you get that other grouphead.

I wasn't brave enough to try the milk frother yet, being a novice barista, but here's my first espresso, which even on a new machine, was reasonably OK. No doubt they'll get better as the thing wears in. I'll let you know when I manage my first cappuccino......

Mudéjar

Or, what happened when I tried something out of Claudia Roden's book, Arabesque. I got this as a Christmas present (thanks, Gungush!), and certain people had been bugging me about making something from it. Sadly, I didn't have much of an opportunity to do anything more elaborate than humous, babaganoush and try her method for fool-proof couscous (which involves first soaking it and then sticking it in the oven - it works!). The rest was me dressing up a chicken and making some gazpacho, hence "mudéjar". Anyway, you can see the results below. Oh, the cake was from Sam and Sam Clarke's book, Moro.

Minutes to Midnight

Minutes to Midnight is Linkin Park's third studio album and seemingly the most coolly received. In fact, I'm not sure why I'm bothering to review it, since this is just going to seem like a rehash of what everyone else has said already. However, being a proud owner of all their previous albums, I feel compelled to put in my two cents.

The album is certainly different from their previous efforts. For a start, it's the first to come with a parental advisory (I'm excluding the Reanimation remixes and the Jay-Z Collision Course collaborations). Secondly, fans of the band's distinctive, epic, wall-of-sound sound will be disappointed. The band have stripped down the sound on Minutes to Midnight, giving more prominence to vocals and content. Most notably, Mike Shinoda sings, probably more than he raps, on this album, and shares the vocals somewhat more equitably with Chester Bennington than in previous albums. Their biting, acerbic lyrics still feature heavily, but are more focused than previously (All you've ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you / And six feet underwater I do). In Hands Held High, the best track in the album for me, Mike Shinoda professes anti-Bush sentiments over a military beat and choruses of "Amen", quickly followed by more of the same from Chester Bennington in No More Sorrow. The album is also more introspective, particularly in Leave Out All The Rest, Valentine's Day and the somewhat pointless In Between. Despite their attempt to experiment with new sounds, there's nothing here that's particularly novel, and the band at times sounds like a bad imitation of U2, especially in Shadow of the Day. Fans of the band's distinctive sound on previous albums won't take too kindly to Minutes to Midnight and NME clearly hates it. But I think it grows on you, even if it'll never be as satisfying as Meteora.

Where's the dog? And Yellow Dust....

I was gonna title this The Heart of Seoul, but that would have been far too cheesy.

So anyway, it turns out that despite my best efforts, I was unable to master Korean in two weeks in anticipation of my recent trip to Seoul. Despite this, I did manage to grasp enough of the alphabet to have a fair go at reading Korean, which did come in handy, if only to be able to order 비빔밮 (bibimbap), 불고기 (bulgogi) and 두부스테이크 (tofu satay, I think...) off the menu. I suspect the proprietors must all have thought I was weird, as having ordered one of the above, they'd ask me something else and I'd have absolutely no idea what the heck they were talking about. Of course, having mastered the alphabet, I realized that much of Korean was actually English, as in 휱넸크래브 (fitness club) and 고러프타운(golf town). OK, I kinda made those up, but it's something along those lines, anyway. So, in fact, a little Korean goes a long way.

I must say that I hadn't heard very encouraging things about Seoul before I went. Outwardly, it does appear to live up to its reputation of massive concrete, industrialized, commercialized, Americanized urbanicity, and the fact that there was a huge six-storey Tesco Home Plus store right opposite my hotel didn't bode well. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. But in the little time I had to look around, I did find some redeeming qualities to the city. Changdeokgung Palace (창덕궁), the city's second Joseon dynasty palace, was built in 1405 and served as the king's residence following the destruction of neighbouring Gyeongbokgung by the Japanese. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the palace has been restored, as have the city's other five Joseon dynasty palaces.

The area between the two palaces is a great place for a stroll, particularly around the Bukchon Joseon dynasty village, and there's a quaint network of streets full of small stores, restaurants and cafés. Further south is Insadong, a traditional street that's now home to a number of art galleries, tea and calligraphy shops and souvenir stores. Koreans certainly appear to have an interesting concept of space, and seem to pour all their individualism into whatever square foot of space they have available in their premises, making for some fascinating architectural features.

Seoul is apparently also renowned for yellow dust, which travels in sandstorms down from the Gobi desert via North Korea, collecting all manner of sulphurous and metallic particles on its way through China and leaving behind a thick layer of yellow nastiness that is related to all manner of health problems. I'm informed that it's particularly bad in April, although I did manage to witness speckles of the stuff as they landed on my mobile phone screen.

But what about the dog, I hear you ask? Well, I asked myself the same thing. My Japanese hairdresser had informed me all about how there are only some seven dog dishes in South Korea, in comparison to North Korea, with its considerably more extensive canine cuisine. Despite my piqued interest, I didn't consciously come across any dog cuisine and nobody took me anywhere that served dog. I did feel a rush of excitement while having lunch at a restaurant in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong the following week, when I spotted 'dog' on the menu board. But on closer inspection, I realized that it read 热狗 ('hot' dog.......). So I'm none the wiser.

OK, I'm not really serious - I don't have particularly have any interest in sampling dog cuisine........

Five things to do in Hong Kong when you're bored....

1. Try to fit in - get on a noisy, crowded tram to Central and shout into your mobile phone as loudly as you can. It helps if you can say "It's very noisy here! I can't hear what you're saying!" in Cantonese ("hou chou ah! Ngo m-tehng dou nei gohng mut-yeh ah!")


2. Go for rib-eye buffet lunch at the Salisbury, a bargain at HKD108. The Salisbury Dining Room, YMCA Salisbury Hotel, 41 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.


3. Cross over the road to the Hong Kong Museum of Art to see the Lin Feng Mian exhibition. Lin Feng Mian was one of the most important Chinese painters of the 20th Century, combining Chinese and Japanese styles with French impressionist and cubist influences. The exhibition presents his work arranged by subject, including female portraits, landscapes, birds, flowers and more abstract work with Chinese opera being a major theme. The Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Until June 3rd, free admission on Wednesdays.

4. Go up the spiral at the Langham Place Mall and check out the latest J-pop releases at CD Warehouse. CD Warehouse, Langham Place Mall, next to the Langham Place Hotel, 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, Kowloon.

5. Skip dinner. Have dessert buffet at the Grand Hyatt instead. The Tiffin Lounge, Grand Hyatt, 1 Harbour Road, Wanchai. 8-11.30pm nightly, HKD150


6. OK, I'll give you an extra one for free. Perhaps you haven't had enough dessert. There's no shortage of dessert houses in Hong Kong, but for something more traditional and low key, try a bowl of ginger milk (geung nai) at Kau Kee Sweet Shop, 53 Parkes St, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon.