Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Two

[jpalbny]

Careful, Jeff. He might crash Google's servers if he does that! We're talking petabytes, likely...

[UKCruiseJeff]

:D

 

I think we'll be safe. He doesn't have his grandchildren, wife's cooking, dogs, snow or daffodils with him. That doesn't leave much does it? :p

 

Jeff

[TLCOhio]

Terry, Incredibly safe and enjoyable travels in Terryforce One, and may I just urge you in case you forget. Not to forget us. Photograph everything, whether it is moving or not - and post all the piccies! Jeff

 

jpalbny: Careful' date=' Jeff. He might crash Google's servers if he does that! [b']We're talking petabytes[/b], likely...

 

UKCruiseJeff: I think we'll be safe. He doesn't have his grandchildren' date=' wife's cooking, dogs, snow or daffodils with him. [b']That doesn't leave much does it? [/b]Jeff

 

Jeff needs to be very careful when he requests "post all the piccies!" Yes, I have camera/memory capabilities to take about 12,000 pictures before needing to do any "file management". Lots of people there, elephants, exotic animals, birds, etc., to photograph in South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls, Mozambique, etc. Will place most of the pictures and details on the live/blog that I am planning.

 

BUT, for J.P., what exactly are "petabytes"? How big of a quantity is that? One thousand Terabytes?? Or a million Terabytes?

 

Appreciate the kind encouragements!! Lots of pictures to be coming right at you!! In Chicago right now in the KLM/Air France Lounge looking at our Qatar Boeing 777 being loaded and readied for our the start of our adventure.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 134,532 views for this posting.

[jpalbny]

How exciting, Terry! A Petabyte should be 1000 Terabytes. Not on my computer yet... :)

[TLCOhio]

How exciting, Terry! A Petabyte should be 1000 Terabytes. Not on my computer yet... :)

 

Great info on what is a Petabyte. Glad my guess was half-way close. Appreciate being able to learn something new today!! I remember when a Terabyte was something totally incredible, massive number. Now, my MacBook Pro computer was that Terabyte capacity for its hard-drive.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For "Aruba: Pix's, Fun, Experiences Feb./2015!", see:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2262154

[les37b]

Sorry I missed your departure Terry, but not to late to wish you a memorable trip to South Africa.

 

Looking forward to the photos.

 

Have fun.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Be careful what you wish for Les .......

 

Just make sure you beef up your broadband download speeds in preparation.

 

:D;)

 

Jeff

Edited January 27, 2016 by UKCruiseJeff

[V8Babe]

Terry

 

Have a fantastic adventure!

 

Best wishes,

 

Karin

[lincslady]

Looking forward to hearing from Terry - I have tried to work out the time where he is now from the CC time, but not capable! He and Mrs. T may be in the air, or already landed - in any case, fair weather and a lovely trip to you both.

 

I think there is something going on with the weather or something; obviously I follow the Seabourn threads as well as SS, and I have never found so much bad temper and disagreement going on in both as at present. Anyone have a clue; maybe it is just January blues?

 

Maybe all those currently 'at home' need a cruise or holiday, to cheer us up.

 

It is warm here today, and a bit of sunshine, so I am feeling more cheerful and fond of my fellow man!

 

Regards to all Coolers - today especially today to mysty and Terry

 

Lola

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Morning all ...

 

Another rainy day ... was hoping for a walk at Mottisfont but rain called off play!

 

 

 

I think there is something going on with the weather or something; obviously I follow the Seabourn threads as well as SS, and I have never found so much bad temper and disagreement going on in both as at present. Anyone have a clue; maybe it is just January blues?

 

Maybe all those currently 'at home' need a cruise or holiday, to cheer us up.

 

It is warm here today, and a bit of sunshine, so I am feeling more cheerful and fond of my fellow man!

 

Regards to all Coolers - today especially today to mysty and Terry

 

Lola

 

Hi Lola,

 

It is a shame. Nice people normally, wishing to be treated by others in a certain way but sometimes setting lower standards for themselves and their treatment of others. I just had a look over there and they do seem like some harsh posts.

 

I was interested to see about Keller's involvement with SB and then the row about whether he was a celebrity chef or not. Why? He is not a chef well known for his celebrity but well known for his skill as a chef. He wrote the first book I bought on sous vide "Under Pressure". If they are able to be mentored by him and find a way of achieving a high level of quality and importantly consistancy then they have a winnning formula. Good on SB for the effort and initiative. Hope it works out.

 

Anyway, the cooler plods on with a simple rule of simply being nice, light hearted and full of banter.

 

:)

 

Jeff

[Fletcher]

The argument about Thomas Keller over on the SB thread is interesting. When SB announced their partnership with him it was obviously just a marketing ploy - loads of money for Keller and perhaps a perceived burnishing of Seabourn's corporate image. Remember that SB's ships have plaques proudly stating that their Ambassador Extraordinare is a certain Donald J Trump. When I saw that I knew I was on the wrong ship.

 

Anyway, back to Keller. It's daft to think that any ship can replicate the kind of food you get at a serious restaurant like The French Laundry which has daily supplies from specialised growers, butchers etc. You can't. Ship food is really just a notch or two above ready meals, as I found on the Silver Cloud last December. Seabourn food was slightly above Silversea but not by much.

 

And Jeff - that sous vide thing is in my view one of the biggest cons to hit the catering industry in decades, along with the faddist tasting menu. Shoving a piece of fish or meat into a plastic bag and leaving it there for hours is merely a convenience for a chef and a denial of taste and texture for the diner. I don't think you get water baths at Le Gavroche.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Fletcher

[UKCruiseJeff]

F,

 

Most of the top restaurants are using sous vide - for their proteins at least.

 

You prefectly entitled to your opinion, which I am puzzled by but I've no knowledge about your knowledge of cooking or your knowledge about sous vide but what exactly do you say is the "con", and who has been conned and by whom? What do you believe the sous vide method does and achieves exactly?

 

Jeff

Edited January 27, 2016 by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

Rainy day ... so lamb stew with parsley dumplings.

 

Jeff

 

[lincslady]

Fletcher - although this should probably be on the Seabourn forum - re Thomas Keller. Many people thought it was just an expensive marketing gimmick, including me, but to my mind recent reports on the introduction of TK menus and dishes suggest that while it is still a work in progress a lot of effort has gone in by both sides to reproduce as far as possible the dishes TK has in his restaurants. There has been a fair amount of staff training, and it sounds as if TK is determined to have the dishes as near to his as possible with the constraints of getting produce on board. I understand that part of a galley is being altered in dry dock on Quest in April to improve the suitability of cooking facilities. I don't personally think they could have done a great deal more to make a decent job of it.

 

Maybe if we want to discuss this further we should go back to the SB forum.

 

Unseasonably mild here today, and our garden help have just done a huge winter clearup, so it all looks a bit bare but tidy. Grass mowing again in March - beginning to feel not too far off.

 

Lola

[Fletcher]

The first time I can recall my food being water-bathed, or cooked sous vide, was at Hambleton Hall. It was a chicken dish and the breast had a strange texture, slightly processed and it tasted bland, which was odd as I recall it was either a poulet de Bresse or some other aristocratic bird. I asked about it and was told that it had been cooked in this water bath and then crisped up in a sauté pan just before serving. It was not a pleasant dish and I'd had some rather nice meals at this restaurant.

 

Since then I've been disappointed by various dishes at a great many restaurants and over the years I have become convinced that this is not a good way to cook food. It might preserve some of the proteins etc but I think it destroys texture and diminishes flavour.

 

It is, though, highly convenient for chefs, as are no-choice tasting menus which are all about making life easier and simpler and more economical for chefs. Tasting menus are all about portion control and pre-preparation. Personally, I avoid them which I'm afraid has cut out a lot of my favourite restaurants, such as Midsummer House in Cambridge, which only offers no-choice menus these days.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Fletcher

[UKCruiseJeff]

F,

 

Most sous vide food is not labelled as such and the chances are you have enjoyed it more often than you are aware. It is increasingly sold in supermarkets and not labelled as such. The lamb shanks I've posted, which I certainly cannot improve on, the Southern styel ribs with sauce and other dishes are prepared that way. It is a method of producing food to the point of perfection and then arresting it for finishing later.

 

The sweet, sticky, chilly Chinese style pork belly up thread wouldn't have been practical without me having a sous vide pork belly in the fridge. It meant that instead of slow cooking pork belly for several hours and then cooling, I could open the pack, slice the belly, caramelise in a hot wok and reduce the juices from the pouch with my own concoction added in. The meal was perfectly authentic and from thinking "this is what I fancy" to eating was around 25 minutes or so including the stir fry instead of the many hours from scratch if I hadn't used the sous vide pork belly I had in the fridge.

 

There is tremendous benefit to customers who use (normally without knowing) restaurants that prepare - often centrally - and then finish off using this method.

 

Lola has described perfectly how Thomas would have brought his skills to try and work out a practical and achievable menus that I think should in time be a great benefit to SB.

 

:)

 

Jeff

Edited January 27, 2016 by UKCruiseJeff

[Fletcher]

Thanks for that, Jeff. All I can say is that I never buy stuff like that. I do a Chinese-style rib dish which takes about 2 hours and a rather nice pork rib 'ragu' from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall which takes maybe 3 hours from scratch. I just can't ever see myself buying any kind of meat that has been partly or wholly pre-cooked. I hardly ever buy fresh meat from supermarkets and are lucky to have two great butchers within 60-mile round-trip from my home and there's always London for really special things. And, yes, London is 100 miles away from home but we drove down there last Sunday to see The Hateful Eight at the Odeon Leicester Square. A long way to see a movie and also a long way to buy proper cote de boeuf and osso bucco!

Edited January 27, 2016 by Fletcher

[TLCOhio]

Sorry I missed your departure Terry, but not to late to wish you a memorable trip to South Africa. Looking forward to the photos. Have fun.

 

lincslady: Looking forward to hearing from Terry - I have tried to work out the time where he is now from the CC time' date=' but not capable! He and Mrs. T [b']may be in the air, or already landed[/b] - in any case, fair weather and a lovely trip to you both.

 

YES, as Jeff correctly warned, be careful what you wish for and seek. Pictures??? Have just a few and we are not yet to South Africa. Appreciate the interest and comments. Now in the lavish, huge and very contemporary Doha/Qatar airport. It just opened last spring. Set-up to handle up 50 million passengers a year. In flying Business Class through our American Airlines Frequent Flyer miles, their Premium Lounge is extremely large with lots of food and drink options. Pictures will follow to prove my viewpoint. Starting our first big flight in Chicago is illustrated below. Arrive 10:30 am Thursday in Cape Town.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 193,201 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here is the view of the sunset as we waited to board in Chicago Tuesday evening our Qatar Boeing 777 jet. The symbol on this back airplane tail part at the left of the plane is the Arabian oryx. The oryx is the national animal of Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. Cute animal:

 

 

 

Here is the overall routing of our Qatar flight from Chicago to Doha.:

 

 

 

Lots of great food, beverages and service on our Business Class flight with fast-rising and highly-rated Qatar Airways. This is was just one of the dining option, shrimp, pasta and salad greens. It was your choice for when you wanted dinner and breakfast. Very excellent level of service and flexibility.:

 

 

 

Here is the interesting routing details was we flew in towards the Arabian Gulf as our flight was splitting down the middle between the borders of Iraq and Iran. These are locations and areas that have been in the news during recent years as the Middle East tensions and battles continue.:

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Fair enough.

 

I also scratch cook Chinese ribs, but with respect to the rest of your comments, may I say respectfully I perfectly understand your preferences, but it is impossible for you to talk with any authroty on products you haven't tried or experimemted with.

 

:)

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

Great pics Terry!

 

:)

 

Jeff

[TLCOhio]

Here is more on the massive, new airport opened last Spring in Qatar. Very large with lots of classy architectural finishing styles. High quality design work and built to grow as the Middle East seeks to be THE key air hub between East and West. Qatar Airways has just announced plans to do a record 9,000 mile non-stop route connecting Auckland/NZ and Doha.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 35,363 views for these postings.

 

 

As we were approaching the Arabian Gulf and Doha, here is the view out my window of the dramatic sunset that was sandwiched between two different layers of clouds. Fun!:

 

 

 

Here are some of my visuals samples for being around and in the Premium Lounge of Qatar Airways. It was multi-level with plenty of varied food, drink, sitting, reading, etc., options. Lots of interesting uses for stone, wood ceilings, etc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

That curry looks good

[spinnaker2]

Those orchids look good.

:-)

[TLCOhio]

That curry looks good

 

Yes, it was very, very good!! That plate had my choices from their buffet. It was actually a "goulash" dish. Wonderful sauce over the rice, plus some chicken salad, etc. Also had some dessert, several of them to be fair and not discriminate too much. Still have three plus hours till our Cape Town flight on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Might have to eat more here in case the plane does not have any food!! BUT, doubt that dire circumstance will happen.

 

Very good eye by Candy. Those orchids were excellent, too!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Edited January 27, 2016 by TLCOhio

[UKCruiseJeff]

I'm just making a couple of sausage sandwiches if you want to take one with you Terry,

 

:)

 

Jeff