A few months ago when I was lunching with some friends, we were discussing a topic close to my heart ... yes, you've guessed it - food, and in particular Penang food (but of course), and one favourite that we all love is good ole LAM MEE.
My take on it is that I don't really think much of those that are "store bought" as such, because, with apologies to our Muslim readers, a REAL Lam Mee stock must have pork in it. And not just any ordinary pork but BELLY of Pork. The other VITAL ingredient (apart from the crab meat and prawns) is PEE HU (dried plaice), and it must be served with kuchai and fresh coriander leaves, and a spoonful of home-made eu chang (fried onions). Of course the whole must be eaten with a good dollop of SAMBAL BELACAN.
However, when you are preparing it for a couple of hundred customers it's a bit expensive to include all these ingredients, so what you tend to get instead is some watered-down soup served with coloured omelette strips (as though that makes any difference to the taste!), and it's usually flavoured primarily by the sambal, although often that also tends to be quite insipid.
Someone in the group disagreed, saying he knew somewhere which served good Lam Mee, so (sorry about the digression but had to explain the background ma) this morning I had to get up particularly early (745am - ai yo that's like the middle of the night) to meet a couple of them at a coffee shop in Island Glades.
Verdict? Prettily presented - see pix - but suffice it to say that out of the three of us, two left half of ours uneaten, and only one finished his down to the last drop - guess who. He asked me, "You obviously didn't think much of it." I sort of murmured some nicety, then he insisted, "You didn't like it did you?". He deserved an honest answer, so I finally said, "Well, let me put it this way - it's OK, but not good enough to waste my stomach space on." The other friend, when asked her opinion, replied, "I liked the prawns ..."! Wimp!
I proceeded to brag about how I could cook it better (pee hu, belly of pork, blah blah blah). So guess what? My bluff has now been called, and in order not to have to eat my words (better to eat good Lam Mee) I will have to cook it for these (so-called?) friends to prove my point!
So watch this space for the next part of "Hunt the Elusive Good Penang Lam Mee". (Although I WILL say that the last time I cooked it a few months ago another friend - see, I have at least three - enjoyed it so much she said she drank up every last drop of the soup ... but she could have just been saying that, although if that was the case she soon lived to regret it cos she got ANOTHER helping!)
So watch this space for the next part of "Hunt the Elusive Good Penang Lam Mee". (Although I WILL say that the last time I cooked it a few months ago another friend - see, I have at least three - enjoyed it so much she said she drank up every last drop of the soup ... but she could have just been saying that, although if that was the case she soon lived to regret it cos she got ANOTHER helping!)
By the way I'm delighted that I'm starting to really get hits on this website, especially as I couldn't keep it updated because of technical problems (and my inability to resolve them) before. A friend told me today, "I prefer your blog to your newspaper articles. It's funnier!" Gives you an idea of the restrictions I have to write within. But thank you dear friend! However, a few comments would make it even better so please do leave me some!
PS I'm also delighted to say that No1 Son finally decided to remove his tongue pierce - HALLELUJAH!
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