We Malaysians are a HUNGRY bunch. Twelve of us in my Mandarin class had lunch last Chinese New Year. It was a nine-course meal of (top left to right) crabmeat fake shark fin soup, fried fish, steamed glutinous rice with pork floss, steamed prawns, bean curd, broccoli with dried oysters and mushrooms, dessert, stewed pork and "yee sang."
With a multi-racial population, our food
is “rojak” (mixed and matched). Meal times can be a random of Indian curry, Malay sambal and Chinese stir-fry vegetable.
"Rojak" meals suit me real fine as I am just OK COOK. I seldom let the family know what I am dishing up cos’ it
seldom tastes like what it is suppose to. Yesterday’s lunch was mee siam
(spicy rice vermicelli). Gizmo Man went, “You used glass noodles. How can? Mee siam is withmee hoon.” Savvy K exclaimed, “it’s the wrong colour, can you please learn from YouTube.” “EXCUSE ME, you two can EAT it or LEAVE it.” So they ATE it. But, not everyone is like OK COOK, many of my friends/family are Master
Chef ingredients:
Drum roll please ... coming at number one is my sister-in-law, Irene Fraude. Did you say you wanted
Western,
Italianππ? Just ask Irene. You want M'sian "apam balik" pancakes oozing with cream sweet corn? Ask Irene π!
Her daughter baked this incredible masterpiece. Ha, this proves cooking genes are heritable! Ta-da, coming close at number two is Moo Eng, the π³ seafood π chef . She is equally good in the laboratory and kitchen.
Moo Eng even packs
helluva gourmet work meals. Wonder if a π΄ snooze π΄ follows such satisfying lunches? Compare this with
my pathetic lunch. Coffee is not even on.
My neighbour Sweeny is a patissiere
disguised as a pharmacist. She bakes for her family - a good 14 b'day cakes yearly.
Prof. Elizabeth makes pretty decent Saturday breakfasts and salads.
Joan prepared a "nasi lemak" (coconut rice) feast which she coloured with "bunga telang," (clitoria ternatea/butterfy pea flower). The fried chicken, "sambal," fried anchovies and peanuts, eggs and "kangkong" (water spinich) complement the rice. A painstaking effort, good jπ©π¨ob.Malaysians use the "bunga telang" for a natural blue food colouring. It is a creeper and I have it on my back yard rails.
When any of my dishes come out real tasty, Savvy K advises, “Daddy you better enjoy it, she
will never get it right again.” I am not grand on presentations, my food comes from pan to table. Haha, when the 2 pests hassle me, OK Cook just throws everything in π.
“Oh Mann ... Shhh Daddy, just eat little bit OK. Later
when she watching Netflix I heat up pizza for us. Which one you want, Daddy?”OK daddy, pizza's ready, "cepat makan" before someone eats it.