A Family Affair

Our friends T and B recently got engaged and we were invited to their engagement party last night. T comes from a HUGE Vietnamese family. There's a family picture on the wall, and it looks like one of those school alumni photos you see in yearbooks!

According to Vietnamese tradition, the engagement is even more important than the wedding, because that is when the partner is officially welcomed into the family and becomes their 'property'. B and T had a tea ceremony with T's parents the morning of the engagement party, and now she has to call all of T's relatives by their Vietnamese names (eg. Sister No. 2, Brother-in-law No. 5, etc.). Even I get confused during Chinese New Year when I meet up with my relatives on my dad's side of the family because there are so many of them, and my Cantonese is awful.

Anyway, the amount of food at this party was amazing. There was a huge table set up outside with Vietnamese beef salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, normal salad, heaps of different types of bread, fried rice, cakes, donuts, muffins, prawn crackers, spring rolls, etc. On the bbq, they had marinated chicken fillets, Vietnamese pork ball skewers, pork chops, prawns, corn, beef, etc. And the food just kept coming! I need to get the recipe for the chicken marinade from T, because it was heavenly. It tasted better than anything you'd get at a restaurant... I tasted a bit of ginger, lemongrass, maybe some fish sauce, garlic, and some sweetness (honey, maybe?). There were all sorts of Vietnamese iced desserts, a bit like the Singaporean ice kachang.

There was such a communal feel to everything... it reminded me of the big parties we used to have at home in Singapore when I was a little girl, only with a LOT more people and food. At the end of the party, people were 'auctioning' off the food they had brought, and trying to get guests to take some home with them. It was very cute, and a fun way to end a party.

I think a party like that really highlights the importance of food and family. When friends and family come together with good food, it's always an enjoyable experience. There's the whole concept of commensality, where a group eats together at a table. All cultural, racial and social divides don't seem to matter - you just dig in, get your hands dirty, and appreciate the spread.

I'm so happy for B and T. Their wedding is in September, four months after ours!

Noodle Gourmet

I thought I would pay homage to my favourite noodle takeout place in Melbourne. I live in Box Hill, so there are at least a dozen places that do noodles, but I've found the BEST place for noodle takeout is Noodle Gourmet, along Blackburn Road, next to Safeway.

I first discovered this place when I was starving. After dilly-dallying in Safeway doing our grocery shopping, I was too hungry to do any actual cooking that night. I ordered my usual 'safe' choice, Seafood Noodle Soup. This was delicious - fresh egg noodles and generous helpings of seafood (prawns, calamari, crab stick) and LOTS of veggies in a homemade chicken broth.

The next time, I ordered their Tom Yum noodle soup. YUM! It's still one of my favourites. The same generous serving of seafood, fried bean curd and veggies with thin rice noodles (bee hoon) in a sweet, sour and spicy broth. I love the way the fried bean curd soaks up the broth and it squirts into your mouth like a little flavour bomb.

Another favourite of mine is the Seafood Mee Goreng (do you sense a common theme here?). This has the same huge serving of seafood and veggies, with hokkien noodles and a deliciously spicy sauce. Unlike most other places that do fried noodles, ND's are always cooked with more spices and seasonings than oil.

They also do a pretty good Char Kway Teow, with lots of prawns, egg, bbqed pork and bean shoots. Very nice, but not enough sweet black sauce for my liking. Still, this has the same 60% ingredients-40% noodle ratio that I love.

My latest addiction is their ginger and spring onion noodles. They had this on the menu with chicken, but I asked if they could cook it with (guess??) seafood and bee hoon. The results were sensational. It tasted a bit like the crab bee hoon that is so popular in Singapore. Lots of fresh ginger (no bottled stuff here), spring onion and soy sauce, with a hint of sesame oil, and tasty, tasty bee hoon soaking up all the flavour. My absolute favourite, 10 out of 10 choice!

Now, if only I had some pictures to back this up. Unfortunately, it always smells so good that I don't make it in time to take a picture. I'll try to remember next time! ND always puts the noodles in those cute little white noodle boxes, so it feels like you're getting takeout in America.

Ok, that's enough of my ode to Noodle Gourmet. Today, Chris and I have made a tentative step towards gardening. We bought some seeds and plant food while doing our grocery shopping and decided to plant them in the little flower bed we have on our front steps. I don't think they'll grow... Chris took the little packet and shook out ALL the seeds into one little corner of the flower bed. I pointed out to him that the seeds were meant to be planted 7-10 cms apart, so we tried tossing the dirt around to spread the seeds out a bit. Then we drowned the flower bed with a litre of water and plant food.

I have a black thumb, and I don't think Chris has grown anything before. so it will be interesting to see if these things grow! I don't even remember the name of the flowers, just that they're multi-colour and supposedly grow in three months. THREE months!! And this was the fastest growing seeds I could find! Some of them take up to 5 months to grow. I don't know who has the patience for this gardening business :/

Celebrity kindness

I was watching an episode of Oprah not too long ago, and it featured an interview with Meg Ryan. The main selling point was: "Meg Ryan - first interview in 2 years". Did anyone know she'd not done an interview in two years?

Anyway, Meg Ryan's reason for going on the show was to promote a charity she was involved in, in India, to help women. The interview was... weird. Meg Ryan doesn't seem like a very nice person at all, and she seemed to be straining to appear likeable. She laughed nervously at inappropriate times, and seemed two seconds away from a sarcastic remark throughout the interview.

I read that there was a disastrous interview with Michael Parkinson a few years back, and Meg's excuse for her shocking behaviour was Parkinson's choice of questions. You are a 'celebrity', surely if you agree to be interviewed on television, you can expect to be asked awkward questions. That's television. Furthermore, you are an *actress*, more equipped than the rest of us to gracefully field such questions with dignity and maturity, despite your personal feelings about the interviewer.

There was a strange undercurrent in the Oprah interview too. Oprah is usually quite warm and chummy with her interviewees, but I got the distinct impression that she didn't like Meg very much. The interview deteriorated into a 'competition' between the two over philanthrophic doings. "I went to India and helped women in need." "I'm building a school for girls in Africa."

I respect true philanthropy, but I don't see the need to toot one's own horn over it. It's one thing to make world issues and problems known to the masses, but why polish your own halo when doing so?

Wedding countdown!

Ok, this isn't really a countdown because I'm too lazy to calculate how many days till the big W but it's getting close.

Things we still have to do:
Print invitations
Organise honeymoon registry
Find a photographer
Find a makeup/hair person
Organise flowers
Confirm cake order
Organise dinner tasting
Buy wedding rings

Sigh. We went to see a travel agent at Knox yesterday to organise a honeymoon registry. It seems pretty straightforward, just sign up and they do the rest. I am so psyched about the idea of a honeymoon in Tasmania. It looks so beautiful, and my sister says the seafood there is great. Who could ask for more?

I have also been putting off ring hunting because I'm not entirely sure what I want. I can't decide if I want a plain band or with diamonds. I just have a solitaire, so ideally a plain band looks best with it. But I want the option of just wearing my wedding ring, and it would be so boring without any sparkle! The other problem is my engagement ring is very rounded in profile, and most bands are a bit flat, so they don't look like they match perfectly. I'm a Virgo - these details matter!

The shank of my ring is really 'rounded' and quite wide. A perfectly matching band would have to be custom made :(

Last night, Chris and I went over to his mum's and partner's home for dinner. Their belongings had finally arrived from Bahrain, and we were really curious to see all the rugs and furniture that they'd bought there. Some of it was pretty amazing. There was so much attention to detail, like intricate carvings on every part of a table, or tiny bits of brass inlay in parts of a stool most people wouldn't even notice. We received two beautiful belated Christmas presents too - a stunning blue wool-and-silk rug and a hand-carved walnut multi-tiered tray.

I was so amazed by the workmanship. It's a completely different way of life there... people have the time to lovingly embellish and sculpt, while in other countries, it's all about getting as many pieces out in as quick a time as possible. There's no character; you can't look at a piece and imagine an artist painstakingly creating it.

Anyway, I also received a tray of saffron! I'm so excited. I've never cooked with saffron because it's so expensive, but I'm cooking paella this week :)

Chris's mum cooked us a lovely dinner last night. We had scallops with mint and balsamic vinegar, lamb and couscous, and honey and saffron ice cream. Honey and saffron sounds like a strange combination, but it was lovely. The saffron made the ice cream really fragrant, and a little 'warm'.

Ok, I think it's time to get my butt into gear and look up photographers on the net. Till next time :)

Mika's keeping an eye on me...

Shellfish and the markets. Who could ask for more?

Last weekend, Chris and I decided on the spur of the moment to visit the South Melbourne markets. It was already around noon when we decided this, so we only got there at 1pm. It was a pretty hot day, so most stalls has already packed up.

Nevertheless, we had a quick lunch there (Vietnamese rice paper rolls for me, Chicken Schnitzel roll for Chris) and then headed off to the aisles for a browse. We perused a used book stall and bought some Robert Rankin books, then tried to find a florist that sold little pots of mint or catnip for the cats. Unfortunately, the only remaining florist open only sold decorative flowers. We chanced upon a shop that sold fluffy mocassin slippers, so Chris bought us each matching ones! So cute. Mine are pink and his are black. I just wish the weather was cool enough so we could wear them :/

Our last stop was the food markets, where we decided we could pick up our dinner. There was a fish shop there that I'd bought salmon sashimi from a few months ago, and it gave me the runs for a week :( However, I have a 'never say die' attitude to seafood, so I decided to *ask* them if the sashimi would still be safe to eat by dinnertime. The answer? "Oh yes, this can last a few days in the fridge." Aiieeee... I can't even imagine what would happen if you ate sashimi that had been sitting in your fridge for a few days. I quickly changed direction and bought some fresh pipis instead. We also got some spring onions and fresh turkish bread.

That evening, I chucked the pipis in some water and washed them, then washed and chopped up some spring onions. I fried the spring onions with plenty of garlic, added some black pepper sauce, then threw the pipis into the pan and stir fried the lot. Yum yum yum!!! The smell was so good. Unfortunately, when I was adding a touch of oyster sauce to the dish, a whole heap came glugging out of the bottle. It made the sauce a little bit too salty for my tastes, but all in all, I really enjoyed the fresh pipis and the sauce was lovely with the turkish bread. I'm definitely cooking this dish again! I suppose that's one thing about fresh seafood - if it's really good quality, it's hard to go wrong when you're cooking it.

Here's a random shot of the infamous two-headed cat that lurks around Box Hill. It obviously doesn't like being photographed.

And here's a lovely shot of Mika asleep on my shoulder. That's my blue fluffy robe in the background ;)

Aarrgh I'm meltiiiiing

Summers in Melbourne are not a pretty sight. It must be 40 degrees celsius today. There's a breeze blowing, but it's only hot air moving around. I dragged the fan into my study, but it's not offering much respite. It's still hot, sticky, and awful. I brought an icy cold drink up five minutes ago, and it's already warm! The cats are stretched out downstairs in the living room looking thoroughly miserable. Chris has been dunking them every day to try to keep their temperature down. It makes them very angry! Poor things, especially Mika, who doesn't seem to have shed her winter coat.

Last night, I cooked mussels for the first time in my life. Well, I cooked black local mussels for the first time. I've cooked the normal New Zealand mussels before (the big, fleshy ones that are frozen). I was so inspired by the simplicity of the mussels at the Pavillion that I thought I'd give it a go myself. I bought them fresh from my favourite fishmonger in Box Hill. Their seafood is consistently fresh and juicy. They were pretty cheap - I got over a kilo of mussels for $8. I also bought some fresh roma tomatoes and an onion. When we got home, I chucked the mussels in the sink with some water, and was quite put off by the obvious fact that the mussels were still alive :( I felt awful, but the desire for fresh seafood overcame my pity for the poor mussels, so I began to clean the shells and pull out the beards.

After I was finished, I chopped up the tomatoes and onions, chucked them in a big pot with a good slush of shiraz, minced garlice and half a teaspoon of red curry paste, then brought it all to a boil. When the onions has softened slightly, I threw the mussels in there, popped the lid back on, and waited. It only took about five minutes for the mussels to cook, and the smell was amazing. I was a bit worried that it would be bland as I hadn't added any salt, but mussels have their own briny flavour, so it tasted amazing. I think it would have been better if I'd used white wine instead of red, but it was all I had in the kitchen :) Even Chris liked them, and he isn't a big fan of mussels. I'll definitely be cooking them again. There's something about summer that makes me crave fresh seafood over meat.


We also have a new addition to the kitchen - a wine bar! Chris bought and assembled it for me yesterday because I've been eyeing it for ages. I finally have a place to put our wine and liquors! I feel so grownup ;)

New Year!

I had so many plans for my holidays... the office is closed until 8th of January, so I'm finally having a proper break. Unfortunately, all I seem to do is sit around all day, eat, surf the net and watch bad dvds! Chris had to go back to work on the 2nd of January, so he hasn't been much help in the entertainment department.

I wanted to make some progress with wedding planning, but we are broke after Christmas, so we have to wait till the end of January to order flowers and find a photographer. I hope 5 months' notice is enough :(

And to make things worse, I tried on my wedding evening gown again today, and now I have a TUMMY!!!! It fit perfectly before, but I have been over-indulging every day since Christmas Eve. It must be a wine gut! Must do some sit ups to tone up the area. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with it, just need to get the hem altered so I don't trip over it. I still think it was a steal at $200. It's Italian satin - nice and heavy, and falls very flatteringly (apart from the belly bulge!) I tried it on in black when I was shopping with Mel, and I felt 6 feet tall! They had to order it in as there was only one size 6 left in the whole of Australia. Anyway, here's a pic. I had to take the picture in the wardrobe mirror.

Other than being a couch potato, I've also been spending a lot of quality time with M & M. I'll really miss them when I go back to work... I feel like I've really bonded with Mika in this period of time. She is such a sweet cat. I was watching House and getting really distressed by one particular gory scene, and she ran up to me to see why I was making such alarming sounds.

I have also been studying for my Ls, unfortunately, the book is so boring that it puts me to sleep every time I open it. Sigh. Maybe if they put in interesting anecdotes or a plot, it would be more easy to read. I am determined to drive by the end of the year, though. Chris has promised me a car, woohoo! I want a really old mini, like Mr Bean's car.

Other than falling alseep over my driving book, I've also been reading Naiyer Masud's Snakecatcher. It's an intriguing book - a collection of short stories with no certain conclusion for each one. The language is interesting too. It has been translated from Urdu, which is a very literal language, so there are few adjectives, no metaphors or similes. The style should be abrupt, but actually reads quite musically. The fact that the stories don't seem to go anywhere disturbs me a bit. I think we've been conditioned to expect a proper ending to every tale, and when I don't get one, my mind runs amok in all sorts of sinister directions. Still, it's definitely worth a read.

Hmm.. what else. Oh, Chris and I had pre-New Year's Eve dinner at the Pavillion. We figured New Year's Eve would be busy and crowded everywhere, so we decided to celebrate quietly the day before. The Pavillion is a nice restaurant in Doncaster with good food and a nice ambience. Very spacious. And they have the best mussels ever! You can get them done 3 different ways - Tom Yum, Bacon, Spinach and Cream, and Tomato and Chorizo. I ordered Tom Yum. The mussels came in a HUGE pot, with a generous serve of mussels and lovely, tasty Tom Yum broth, with a nice addition of fresh mushrooms. I was in seafood heaven. My entree was scallop wrapped in proscuitto. The scallop was a touch over done, and the proscuitto looked more like bacon. It was quite tasty, all the same. Chris ordered Roast Pork with bacon and cabbage. It was a pork cutlet served on top of sauteed cabbage and bacon. It was really tasty.

On New Year's Eve itself, we had a quiet one at home with friends, Chinese takeout, a few bottles of wine and some champagne. Before we knew it, it was 2007...

What will this year bring?