Just the way you are…

There was this box of NZ-imported mussels in the freezer, no prize for guessing who bought it (…at over RM20 a box! Gee whiz!!!)…but never got round to cooking them, that was occupying a lot of space (I have a small fridge, you see!), so I decided to get rid of it. I melted some butter in a pan, sauteed some finely-chopped garlic in it, added evaporated milk and one chicken stock cube and when it had started to boil, I poured it into the mussels that I had arranged on a baking tray. Then I sprinkled some cheddar cheese bits on top of each of them…and put them in the oven to bake. There you have it, my simple dish of mussels with cheese…

It was very nice but somehow, after feasting on the rich western cuisine, one would get tired of it. Come to think of it, even when you have attended one Chinese banquet too many, you would yearn to go back to the simple delights that you are used to. I suppose that’s just the way we are…..

Well, my daughter’s no different. She’s been home almost a month now and a couple of days ago, she declared that she had had enough of the western dishes and would love some chao chai hung ngang (Big mihun in preserved vegetables chicken soup) – a Foochow specialty. You can click this link to go to her blog and see how she and the mother cooked it that day.

And the other day, when Bongkersz stopped over in Sibu on his way home to Sarikei from Miri, we agreed to meet for breakfast as he wanted to pass me some loot that he had got for me on his recent trip to duty-free Labuan (Thanks so much, Bong!)…and what did he have? Kampua and deep-fried kompia with meat filling…

After all the years in KL, he still craves for these local Foochow delicacies. We chose the Kopi-O Cafe at the Sing Kwong Mall in Salim here because of its location along the bypass to the Lanang Bridge across the mighty Rejang enroute to Sarikei. I decided to try the tomato kway teow that I had seen people eating the other day and it looked quite good…

…but it wasn’t really that great! A bit too much tomato sauce and the ones I had in the 70s in Kuching were way better! Given the choice, I would much sooner go for the fried kway teow – Foochow style (with gravy)…

…at Y2K, next to Mom’s in the Jalan Tunku Osman area here (RM3.00) or this dry version…

…that my daughter had at the coffee shop immediately in front of the Zenith-Minth cinema complex in Rejang Park here for only RM2.50 or somewhere around there. I had this plate of piping-hot Foochow fried noodles that day…

…and it was very nice. As in the case of kampua here, you can get it everywhere but some places are nicer than others. You will need to know where to go to. My daughter and I also had this bowl of fish ball soup for only RM2.50…

All in all, I paid RM10 something only, inclusive of drinks…which is equivalent to what you will have to pay for ONE plate of pasta al forno…and I am of the opinion that in fact, these local delights are not only much cheaper but also nicer! East west, home is best and as I have mentioned earlier, that’s…just the way we are!