Foods of the Past

Presenting a sample of fond gastronomic memories...

Assam Laksa.

My daughter was yearning for Penang Assam Laksa recently- a fondly remembered dish from Malaysia- so I decided to appease her growing appetite by toiling in my kitchen for hours over this. Started cooking in the wee hours of the morning to prepare the broth- a mixture of spices, fruit, fiery chillies and tonnes of fish. All of which resulted in a tangy appetizing broth ready to be poured over bowls of yummy rice noodles. To top it off with a garnishing of pineapple, red chilli, mint leaves, lettuce, cucumber, onions, torch ginger bud and a spoonful of good old haeko (prawn paste).

The dish was thoroughly enjoyed by both my friends and family (especially my daughter).

Bread.

From the basic sweet bun dough, I managed to create a myriad of both sweet and savoury buns. For instance, the little butter buns (the plain round/longish buns), charsiew buns (topped with parsley) and sausage buns topped with mayo, ketchup, and sweet chilli sauce. They were soft and fluffy and tasted divine fresh out of the oven.

...and - last but not least - Fruit Tart.

I actually watched this done on tv on one of the baking shows long ago. It has been a hit during tea parties as well as bake sales. It doesn't only look pretty and tastes good, but it's healthy too with a good spread of multicolored fresh fruit set in a layer of instant jelly. Best served chilled. (My daughter really likes this one too).