Steamed green shells Qian's way

I am really lucky with my new flatmate. In fact, she's much better than having a boyfriend. She can cook, cleans, is incredibly polite and lovely, yet independent.
When she first came round to view the flat Qian told me she couldn't cook. That must have been Chinese modesty speaking there because in fact she is a brilliant cook.
When a friend of hers came round the other day, she did not only cook one dish but four. And all of them were super tasty. My favourite were her green shells with black bean and garlic sauce, fresh garlic and spring onions. So yummy and so simple!
Steamed green shells Qian's way, for 1-2
: 8 frozen green shells, defrosted
: 1/2 tsp freshly chopped garlic
: 1 tsp chopped spring onions
: 1/2 tsp black bean paste with garlic

Brush the mussels with a little black bean paste, then sprinkle with garlic and spring onions.
Place them with the shell side down in bamboo or metal steamer and steam for 3-5 minutes.
Serve with some rice vermicelli (steamed with the mussels) and a drizzle of soy sauce.
That's it really, couldn't be simpler. According to Qian one should take off the garlic and onions before eating the mussles, but since I like both garlic and onions I simply devoured the whole thing (ok, not the shell though ;-)

An ode to a cocktail

New York is not my favourite city, but it's the city that hosts my favourite cocktail.
I cannot even remember the name of this heavenly creation, but I remember how it's made and where to get it from. But I reckon it must have been called something like Tomartini... the list of ingredients is nice and short: tomato water, vodka, pickles.
Alright, it sounds revolting. I admit, it was sheer curiosity that made me order this cocktail and I rememer even enquiring about the degree of its revoltingness with our waiter, who just replied: "Very good choice, it is lovely". And so it was.

The place to get it from is the Savoy in Soho. Or my place, if I ever find out about how to make tomato water. Trust me, try it. You will not regret it (like the Olive Martini in the Soho Grand Hotel which basically consists of nothing but cheap olive brine and vodka. Yuk.)