Smoke…

On our first night in Kuching, Melissa and I went out for dinner with my cousins at this place…

…with a somewhat interesting tagline to its name…

…(though I would not think some old traditional Chinese folks would approve…and do excuse the grammar) and some equally amusing decor inside like this one, for instance…

…and a very unique menu printed onto cardboard box paper…

…and to think that all my life, I thought a smokehouse would be where people hang up rubber sheets to be smoked. LOL!!!

Melissa loved their apple salad…

…though it did not quite tickle my fancy. The dressing tasted kind of sweet like apple juice and I would prefer it more sourish and garlicky or something creamy instead perhaps.

She loved the roasted chicken a lot too…

…and I would agree with her on this one. They used the kampung chicken variety and had slices of lemon inside the bird and lots of herbs all over it. It certainly was very nicely done and tasted great. I think I would want to try and roast my own one of these days.

The ribs were good as well…

…with its own unique taste – different from those I had elsewhere, here or here or here.

The pulled pork was very nice as well…

– this is supposed to be the crowd puller and you would have to order in advance if you plan to have that as it would take a long time to cook. I wished it did not come in a bun like that as we had had a lot of buns with the  chicken and there I was, busily making my own chicken sandwiches to finish off all of them as it seemed the rest were leaving them by the side. Wrong move! I was already so very full…but still, I managed two of those with the pulled pork…somehow! I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had been served earlier and I wasn’t feeling so stuffed yet.

We did not have any dessert as we had agreed to adjourn to one of my cousin’s house for a private screening of the videos taken during our recent family reunion to have a really good laugh at the antics of the ones who had had one too many that night. No worries, I did not touch a drop! LOL!!!

My cousin made some Foochow-style sio bee using the skin she had bought when she was in Sibu and I brought along one whole tiramisu mille crepe from this place in Sibu for everyone to enjoy and they all loved it…and another cousin made this very nice bak koi (meat cake)…

It certainly was a delightful evening with great food and great company, Rest assured there would be a whole lot of noise and roaring laughter whenever the whole big  group of us in the family get together…and that, in fact, is always the best part!

One year later…

I stayed here about a year ago and I was pleased with the very nice and comfortable place, the extra-friendly people and the nice food. That was why when I wanted to take my daughter over to Kuching for a weekend break, I decided to stay here again…

…Why, they were even awarded a Certificate of Excellence by this travel website a week or so ago and they promptly announced it proudly on their Facebook page.

Well, checking in was a breeze – I had made the reservation online and paid for it so it did not even take a minute or two – I was given the key card and the next instant, I was in the room already…and my luggage followed suit almost immediately. I thought, however, that the hotel would need some refurbishing though. The carpet was stained and looked old and they even had one long strip of black tape on it at one part – the least they could have done would be to get some tape of a similar colour so that it would not stand out so glaringly. Then there were stains on the wooden counter, for instance, where somebody had placed a very hot mug on it without using the coaster.

Yes, looking at the reviews in the website, there seems to be a lot of complaints all round about the ants in the rooms…and I could not agree more. I had brought along with me from Sibu one whole tiramisu mille crepe from here and I just left it on the counter as it was too big to go into the mini bar in the room. Luckily, my daughter spotted the teeny-weeny ants just starting to appear and we got rid of all of them quickly before they could cause any serious harm to the cake.

I remember the members of the staff were extra-friendly the last time around too and I had to avoid walking past them as no matter how many times I had done that in a day, they would still place their hands on their hearts and greet me – not anymore. There were a sprinkling of occasions when somebody did that but it was nowhere close to that special treatment accorded to all guests before. It was raining one night and I sent my daughter to go and borrow an umbrella from the concierge but she was told that there was none available. Imagine a hotel of that class not having enough umbrellas for their guests! Tsk! Tsk!

I loved the croissants at their restaurant and I was looking forward to having those again…

…but probably the chef in question had left or something as unfortunately, this time around, they weren’t any good at all. I would think that our not-so-nice ones at our local bakeries would be a lot nicer even.

The first morning we were there, we gave our room number at the counter at the entrance and went in. It was crowded and I was not sure which tables were taken so I asked one of the waiters standing by the side and he just told me curtly that I could go and sit “over at the other side”. They had colourful mugs on every table (which make the tables look like they’re taken) and as soon as you’re seated, somebody will come to pour you your coffee or tea. Sugar is provided in sachets on a plate…

…but where is the teaspoon? Surely they do not expect people to stir with the knife or the fork or one of those laid out on the table…or worse, with one’s finger? I walked around the place in search of one but in vain and in the end, I had to stop another waiter to ask for it…and he got me what I wanted from some kind of work station by the side. Gee! If I had seen those, which I didn’t, I would not want to take it myself as I would not know whether they were used ones or not. It was the same the next morning and I got a waitress to get them for me.

Other than the disappointment over the croissants, the food was generally pretty nice. Melissa wanted some eggs, sunny side up and I went to get them for her at the egg counter…

…but holy Moses!!! The egg white around the yolks was still uncooked!

It certainly looked like somebody had to be sent back to culinary school to learn how to fry eggs…or he could always come to me and I could give him a pointer or two. Tsk! Tsk!

I went for a second helping but I saw that the fried noodles had run out…

…so I decided to try their nasi lemak instead but I saw the guy in front of me scraping the bottom of the bowl for whatever was left of the sambal tumis…

I told the guy at the noodles counter and he disappeared into the kitchen but he never reappeared and after a while, seeing that there was still no sign of any refills forthcoming, I decided that my nasi lemak would just have to do with the rendang and the curry potatoes but without the sambal…

The rice had the fragrance of the santan and pandan and I thought it was nice but not quite as nice as the ones I could get here.

I spotted these in the buffet spread and reckoned that they looked rather cute – what they called roti john…

…so I took one to try  but no, it wasn’t really worth the calories.

It was a Sunday and Melissa and I decided to go for the service at the church next  door so I went to use the washroom first and good grief! It was wet all over and the floor was dirty…and why bother having these on the walls…

…when they had nothing inside? I lodged a complaint at the reception counter but when I went in again the next morning, I would say it was slightly better but it wasn’t all that clean either. For a hotel of this class, they should station a cleaner to ensure that the toilets are always spick and span at all times.

And talking about the next morning, at least this time, the lady at the counter by the entrance was nice enough to usher us to a table and of course, I had to have the nasi lemak again…

…WITH the sambal tumis…

…and I must say that it was very nice and spicy, exactly the way I would love it.

The last time I stayed here, somebody asked me if I had the kampua noodles and said they were very nice. I checked it out at the noodles counter…

…(no, this wasn’t the same guy as the one the previous morning) and saw that they had kolo mee but no kampua mee. Obviously that somebody (from Sibu) was one of those who could not differentiate between the two.

I ordered two bowls…

…but Melissa did not want any so I had to finish both all by myself…and thankfully, they were very good – a bit too much pepper but good and I wished the guy had given one or two of the prawns that I saw at the counter, probably reserved for anybody having Sarawak laksa or whatever…and I’m sure a bit of finely-shredded chicken wouldn’t hurt either.

So all in all, I did not think my stay at this hotel was as nice as the last time we were here a year ago…and yes, I am indeed somewhat picky but when you are THE Sheraton, one would expect nothing but the best, no less, and there should be absolutely no opportunity for any grouses whatsoever, right?

Counting stars…

Five stars, they say…but based on what I experienced when I flew to Kuching with my daughter last weekend, I don’t think I would give them one even.

Let’s look at the boarding…

…to start with. People always say that MAS is short for “Mana Ada System?” (Where got system?) and looking at how they handled the boarding of the passengers for the flight, I simply could not disagree.

They certainly have a thing or two to learn from that budget airline. Prior to boarding the aircraft, they would call for those travelling with children and passengers over 65 years old and they would get them to queue in front…along with those in the hot seats and then the passengers in the back rows of the aircraft followed by those in the front. When it is time to board. they would get everybody to do so in a very systematic manner. I find that this works very well despite the fact that there are some passengers (sitting at the back) who would use the front staircase even though they have been specifically told to use the one at the back. Ah well! That is no fault of the airline staff, obviously.

In comparison, that morning, even before any announcement was made, the moment it was indicated on the TV monitor that boarding would commence, everyone rushed to the door…and nothing was done to rectify the chaotic situation and the ground staff looked so unfriendly that I did not even dare to voice my discontent for fear of being bashed in the face by that female officer on duty.

I finally got my turn to board and as I approached the plane, I was quite disgusted by the sight of the stewardess happily flirting chatting with the pilot or co-pilot who was standing at the door leading to the cockpit…when she was supposed to greet everyone who came on board with a smile and a greeting. Gee!!! Is this the world’s No. 1 cabin crew? All right…I guess the people voting would be those on the international routes and these domestic flights are mere training grounds for the newbies…though some of them looked quite old, clearly too old to be new brooms, I’m sure.

As I proceeded down the aisle…

…to my seat, No. 26 at the back, cold stone-faced statues stood by the side as I walked past, not a smile nor a greeting, nothing at all. I was beginning to wonder whether I had caught them on a bad day and they just had a good ticking off from their superior, hence, the foul faces? Just as I was about to get to my seat, the stewardess nearest to it smiled at me and said, “Good morning, sir. Welcome aboard!” Lo and behold!!! A miracle! She speaks!!! Ok…ok…let’s be fair! At least, ONE of them was friendly and courteous enough…but it was just too bad that she was grossly outnumbered and that would not be enough to save the day.

Drinks were served on the flight…but we were not given any peanuts, not that I wanted any – I used to love the ones from Tong Garden but the current ones are simply too hard for my liking. I saw one passenger asking and he was given ONE packet, Considering that it was a full flight, they would have saved quite a number of packets of those that I hear one can buy quite cheap at some shop somewhere in Kuching. Thankfully, the flight home was quite empty and the crew members were a lot friendlier…and yes, we were given peanuts with our drinks.

Now, some of you may have noticed that we were flying on their pretty new aircrafts, the Boeing 737-800…equipped with the tv monitor at the back of every seat, thank God for small mercies! The safety briefing was pre-recorded so we were spared from having to endure their horrendous command of English that stuck out like a sore thumb in the announcements they made. The briefing is in Malay though so I wonder how those not proficient in the language would be able to understand what is being said. Perhaps they should consider including some English subtitles in the video presentation for the benefit of visitors from abroad.

Incidentally, you can watch a movie if you like but of course, a 35-minute flight is way too short to watch anything…and besides, it would have to be a “silent movie”, I’m afraid, as you will not be given any headphones to use. LOL!!! Using the remote control, I did manage to get a movie started…

…and before we got to the opening credits, it was time to land.  Can anyone guess what movie that was? Come, let’s have a bit of fun! If you’re the first one to give the correct answer, I will send a prize down your way.

Anyway, getting back to the post proper, I do think that the airline people should pull up their socks and work on improving themselves in any way they can for it is quite obvious that there are things that are not quite right and need to be rectified before they get any worse. Considering especially that they claim to be a five-star airline and THE national career some more and yet they do not live up to the name, ain’t that a miserable shame, an utter disgrace to our nation, don’t you think?

Home sweet home…

In my previous post, I mentioned that my friend, Jimmy, picked us up upon arrival at the airport in Kuching and took us for a nice Italian lunch before going to the hotel to check in. Having got that settled, we dropped by his house…

…where he has been staying since he moved back to Kuching from Bintulu and this was my first time at his very comfy and tastefully-decorated home. Gee!!! Just look at how neat and clean his house is…unlike some single bachelor’s pad, living on his own! That’s typically Jimmy, I must say. Hehehehehe!!!!

And look at what he made for us for tea…

– his red velvet cake…

Gosh!!!! It was absolutely perfect – so very very nice that it took my breath way and left me completely speechless…

I’ve had it only a few times before and I thought what I had then were all very nice but sorry, those would come nowhere near Jimmy’s. It’s really that good, believe me!

He also baked me these to take home…

…and frankly, I was intrigued by the combinations – really strange bedfellows, I must say.

Who would have thought that salted egg yolk in rich butter cake…

…would be compatible but surprisingly, the tantalising hints of the salted egg yolks really enhance the rich butter taste of the cake so very well and bring it to a whole new level.

And that’s not all! His erotic…oops, I mean, exotic spicy chili prawn cake…

…was absolutely orgasmic, I tell you, and would leave you begging for more…more…more.

I’ve yet to try the other two but needless to say, they would be simply out of this world. I wonder when he will start taking orders for Chinese New Year… Wink! Wink!

Thank you so much, Jimmy, for everything. It’s been a while and it certainly was nice to see you again. Thanks for taking time off your busy schedule and thanks so much for the lunch treat…and most of all, for all those supercalifragilisticexpialidocious cakes.

We have arrived…

Last weekend, I took my girl to Kuching for a short break from all the stress and depression from work and also to get away from her mundane day-to-day routine living on her own in her jungle school in the middle of nowhere.

My friend, Jimmy, was waiting for us upon arrival at the airport and he whisked us off to this Italian restaurant for lunch. I had dinner here once before and I absolutely loved their mushrooms (RM25.00)…

…so I simply had to order that again for Melissa to try and needless to say, she loved them a great deal as well.

She wanted the beef lasagna (RM26.00)…

…and of course, her wish was granted. It turned out to be a really great choice…

…as it tasted really good and all of us enjoyed it a lot. As a matter of fact, Melissa even set aside a bit by the side of her plate…to save the best for last – it was that nice, I tell you!

The pizza that we had (RM36.00)…

…was all right – nothing much to shout about and I thought the thin crust was too thin and a bit too hard so much so that it reminded me of Cabin or Osborne biscuits. I must say that I prefer the one we had here in Sibu.

Unfortunately, the panna cotta (RM7.00)…

…that we had for dessert was a disappointment. Probably they had just taken it out of the fridge as it was hard…and as for the taste, it really wasn’t anything to shout about either.

Well, this was just the beginning, the  tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Hang around…for I assure you there will be a whole lot more to come.

From a jack to a king…

Last Friday, I had to drive all the way to pick Melissa up from her jungle school again and we stopped for lunch on our way home and no prize for guessing who was the happiest…

…when I told her we would go to this newly-opened franchise place in town…

…that, I’m sure, is so very familiar to most people already as the outlets are all over. She loves Japanese!

They did not seem to have a lot of choices on the conveyor belt – oh yes, they had lots all lined up but unfortunately, they all seemed to be those same few things. We had one sushi…

…after another…

…and another…

…and another…

…and frankly, one did not taste any different from the other and if they did, I certainly did not notice.

This is one of my personal favourites at all sushi places…

…and all right, theirs were pretty nice…and I also took this off the belt…

…and Melissa had these…

…and we also helped ourselves to this…

…while my missus took these…

…which I kind of liked but at RM2.00 each, they certainly did not come cheap. Ouch!!! In fact, I thought nothing was cheap…and holy cow!  The place was packed to the brim and people had to queue up to get a table. Yes, me too! If not the sake of my girl, I would have gone off some place else, no…thank you very much!

We were there just before 2.00 p.m. and we did place our individual à la carte orders from the menu as well. My missus had this rice cake burger (RM7.00)…

…while Melissa had the soft shell crab salad (RM18.90)…

…and I thought the dressing was pretty good…

…just that for someone who’s not really fond of it, like me, I reckoned it could do with a little bit less sesame oil but she enjoyed that…

…and that was all that mattered.

I ordered their mixed bento…

…which was pretty good BUT for that, we had to wait and wait and wait and it was well past 3.30 p.m. already by the time it was served…and yes, I was not exactly too pleased by then, not at all. However, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining…and because we were STILL there after 3.00 p.m. we were given 20% discount on our sushi as their happy hours start then till 6.00 p.m. Still, the bill came up to around RM90.00, inclusive of tax and service charge…despite the fact that there were some miscalculations which, of course, I would not elaborate on here. Actually, Melissa insisted on picking up the tab so I only noticed it now while writing this post. Wink! Wink! Hehehehehehe!!!!

On the whole, I would not say the lunch was all that great – definitely not enough to make us want to go again and good grief!!! It was soooooo expensive! I think we can easily take that kind of money and give ourselves a much more enjoyable (and cheaper) treat at this place here…anytime so you can jolly well guess whether or not I would be going back there again…

Back so soon…

I was there on Monday last week and on Wednesday, I was back there again to try the black vinegar pork rice (RM6.90)…

…like I said I would. One serving includes a scoop of rice and some boiled green vegetables by the side plus the black vinegar pork and an egg, hard-boiled, in a bowl. It tasted good but unfortunately, there was no hint whatsoever of the black vinegar. It came across to me like stewed pork…

…nothing like the black vinegar pork that I had had before, not at all, and I wished they would stew the egg in the black sauce instead of serving it white like that.

My missus wanted the Taiwanese beef noodles that I had on my previous visit but I managed to persuade her not to go for it as although it was nice, I was disappointed that the excessively strong preserved/salted vegetable taste drowned out whatever beef flavour there might be in the soup and the chili dip was not all that great either.

In the end, after quite a bit of coaxing from me, she chose the Taiwanese fish (head) noodles (RM7.90)…

…with a choice between the fine or coarse mihun and she chose the latter and this turned out really good. I was glad they did not use those frozen fish fritters, usually Dory, that most places around here would use for their fish noodles like for their chao chai hung ngang, for instance.

I’ve seen this before…and I’ve seen people blogging about it but I did not imagine I would like it – not with that milky soup…but when I tried a bit of it, I was converted! Gee!!! That was really nice! It seems that they usually fry the fish first and that gives it a special fragrance that certainly helps to enhance the taste…and other than that, they add those bits of pork fat crusts to it as well, not that I’m all that fond of them – I’d probably pick them out and leave them by the side if I’m eating this. There were bits of preserved/salted vegetable, tomato and whatever else, all contributing towards its very delicious broth. I certainly would want this for myself the next time around.

While we were there, I saw some people having dim sum so I went to ask. It is in the menu actually, except that it is in Mandarin…and you can get 3 laus (storeys/baskets) for RM10.90. We had the siew mai…

…and they were all right – nice, but nothing great and I would say the same about their har kau…

This was something I had never tried before…

– a piece of hu phio (fish maw) and a chunk of chicken with one imitation crab stick and one baby corn wrapped in bean curd skin…

I would not say that I was all that thrilled by it – for one thing, it has a strong ginger taste and that isn’t something that I would enjoy.

I suppose I will go and try more of the things that they have on their menu sometime and so far, I would say the Taiwanese fish (head) noodles would be the only item that is really worth heading there for. The rest are nice but not really anything that you shouldn’t miss.

You’ve got it!

You’ve got it! By George, you’ve got it!

And if you’re wondering what on earth is going on, this is all about the Sibu kampua…

…available at this place that I went to last week.

Selling at RM6.50 each, one pack contains six small packets of the noodles and little sachets of lard, chio cheng (light soy sauce) and fried shallots…

All you need to do would be to boil the noodles till cooked and toss them with the ingredients provided and serve…

Besides the fried shallots provided, I also garnished it a bit with my own chopped spring onions and of course, I quickly went and bought some char siew to put on top before Chef and Sommelier has something to say about that. Muahahahahaha!!!!

So was it any good? Well, I would definitely say yes, it was just like the real thing except that the strands of noodles are a little bit smaller than the usual…

Other than that, the servings are kind of small. For the likes of me, I think one would not be enough…and considering that it works out to around RM1.00 each, two would cost over RM2.00 and that is definitely not exactly cheap, don’t you think? It would definitely be a lot cheaper to buy one’s own kampua noodles, fresh or dry, and come out with one’s own ingredients to toss them in.

This would be great though for people to buy back when here on a visit or for the folks here to send to family and friends in the peninsula or even in Singapore for I am pretty sure that since it is just like the real thing, it would be anytime better than the pseudo-authentic ones that they can get there…and if you’re living overseas, it would be very convenient to bring some back to appease your craving as and when it arises.

Go ahead! Give it a try and let me know whether you agree with me or not.

Not getting any better…

My blogger-friend in the US shared this on Facebook sometime ago…

…and I guess this is indeed something to think about.

True, it takes all kinds to make the world and there are, of course, the optimistic ones but on the other hand, there are some of us who are somewhat pessimistic about life and everything around us . Like when I shared on Facebook the link to my post where I mentioned that pork prices here had increased, instantly there was someone who made a comment on that, raising some racial and political issues. I just quietly deleted it.

There is a saying that says that we should cross the bridge when we get to it. There is no point worrying unnecessarily about things, some of which may just be a figment of our imagination and even if they’re not, pessimists tend to moan and groan till kingdom come like prophets of doom…and such negative vibes will undoubtedly bring about repercussions that are, in my humble opinion, not so desirable.

Friends may start to avoid them when they get really sick of all that whining…except perhaps, if they are birds of the same feather. All right, the members of the family have no choice – like it or not, they’re stuck with them and the worst thing is that, some may even become like that. Somehow, it does seem somewhat contagious. That was why when I was teaching and the students expressed something along such lines, I would ask them straight away, “Has somebody been putting those ideas in your head or do you speak on your own accord?” Children are born tabula rasa like a blank piece of paper and their parents and all around them will eventually fill it up and sadly, there are many who do inherit the ways of thinking, all the prejudices, and the behaviour and habits of their elders.

Anyway, if there is concrete evidence pointing towards a a certain direction, of course, it is good to be aware of that and brace ourselves for what is to come. I would think we should not be too optimistic and be like an ostrich and bury our heads in the sand and think that everything is going to be all right…like if, for example, there is news of a price hike for sugar, should we go out bringing all our kids and the neighbours’ kids as well (as usually, there would be a limit of 2 packets per person) and cart home some 10-20 kilogrammes or more and start hoarding the commodity? In fact, even if it is just a rumour, this kind of reaction all round will cause a shortage and the price will go up, like it or not. In Economics, it is said that when demand increases or supply decreases, the price will increase.

Well, let’s just say that what has been predicted has happened…and it is something that you cannot change. Should we go grumbling about it left, right and centre?

Everyone is in the same boat and everyone will have to face the same situation…and they certainly do not need somebody to be harping on it on and on and on like a repeating groove in an old broken record. Please, Lord have mercy, we’ve heard that same thing a thousand times before!

All our lives, we have had problems – who hasn’t? And all our lives, we have worked to overcome them or to go around them. All right! There is a problem. Ask, what can you do about it?

Cigarette prices have shot up overnight to RM12.00 for a packet of 20. Well, it is good to cut down or stop altogether…and if one chooses not to, then he or she will just have to quietly fork out the money. It still is  a free country, isn’t it?

Pork prices have increased too – eat chicken or go vegetarian…or eat less. It’s as simple as that…but no,  some would harp on the domino effect it would cause. That would cause the prices of your regular plate of noodles to rise and others would follow suit and increase the prices of everything, no matter how remotely related, to cope with the rising prices all around. Of course, there may be a lot of truth in what they say…but does it help in any way? Not at all, I would think! In fact, if we get down to some serious action about the problem, like not eating pork (which is not all that healthy, anyway)…and everyone does the same, eventually the pork sellers will have to reduce their prices. Remember the aforementioned law of Economics? It works the other way round too – when there is a decrease in demand or an increase in supply, the price will drop.

From my personal point of view, people complain about things more out of habit than anything else and I would not think it is a very desirable one at that. They complain about the escalating prices but look at the number of people in the fancy restaurants with all those astronomical price tags on everything in the menu…or the people shopping in the malls, many buying those expensive branded imported stuff and so on and so forth. If they are so badly hit which is the impression that they seem to give, they should be trying to do something about it, shouldn’t they? Shouldn’t they change their lifestyles, their daily or usual routines to cope with the problem they face? Shouldn’t they start being more prudent and spend less lavishly? “Look after your pennies; the pounds will look after themselves.” This, for one, would help fight inflation which, in fact, is a reason for the inflating prices all round. But no, they would rather go on singing the same ol’ tune, blaming everybody but themselves.

Well, like I said right at the start, it takes all kinds to make the world. Not everyone’s the same and no matter what anybody says, there will still be pessimists and optimists and realists all around. THAT is something that would stay constant and never change – after all, as the English proverb goes, a leopard cannot change its spots…but the world does not revolve around us and us alone and not everyone subscribes to our ideas and convictions so perhaps, it would be good sometimes to be a bit more considerate and sensitive to the feelings of the people around us…and keep our feelings and sentiments to ourselves. Confucius says: when one has nothing nice to say, then, it is time to remain silent…

Used to…

If you may recall, I mentioned in my post a while ago that I bought a bag of mee kua or mee sanggul. We used to eat that tossed in soy sauce and msg and lard…and I loved it a lot. I used to wait and hope that my mum would cook some for us but sometimes, she might cook it differently.

I’m not sure if this is Foochow or not but it is definitely very simple and plain and yet so very tasty like most Foochow delights. You just simmer some pork bones or ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and a few cloves of garlic till the flavours have gone into the stock and add bayam (amaranth) to it. Then you boil the noodles and serve them in a bowl in the nice clear soup.

Well, it so happened that my missus brought home some wild bayam that my sister-in-law had in their garden and I decided to cook the noodles this same way…but with a slight twist. In place of the usual items for the soup or stock, I used some fresh scallops that my niece brought home all the way from Singapore instead. I boiled those with garlic and I did add a slice of ginger as well. We usually do that when cooking seafood especially in soup to get rid of the fishy smell. Then, I added the seasonings and bayam and the soup was done.

I boiled the noodles and placed them in a bowl and then, I poured the soup over them and served with some of the scallops and the vegetables, adding one poached egg to it and sprinkling some chopped spring onions all over it as well…

It was very nice but I remember that when my mum cooked that, it was very much nicer. Maybe it was because she used meat stock…or maybe she fried the garlic in a bit of lard first to cook the soup…but it was nice enough this way and I enjoyed it for my breakfast that morning.

I did not think the scallops tasted all that great though…

I would very much prefer prawns or fish fillet or even fish balls but if I’m not mistaken, these fresh scallops are very expensive and we can hardly get them here even. At best, we would have those coated with breadcrumbs that we would just fry and eat like chicken or fish nuggets. I guess there is this snob appeal attached to certain things and in fact, that is what attracts people to them when they do not really taste all that nice…or perhaps, it is an acquired taste, I wouldn’t know but no, if it is expensive, it is something not for the likes of me. I would much sooner go for something more affordable and nice, call me a cheap skate if you want – I am just being realistic and I can’t jolly well be extravagant on my measly pension.

Anyway, getting back to the noodles, I still have a lot left and maybe one of these days, I’d cook some with bayam and pork bones, the way my mum did and see which one I like better…