Home-cooked delights!

The interesting thing about food adventures is that it isn't always about the finest ambience, the exquisite presentations, nor exorbitant prices. Neither does it have to be the humble hawkers with their hereditary styles and offerings. I'm not sure how many people *could* disagree wih this, but some of the most satisfying and pleasurable culinary experiences come from none other than our very homes.

At where I work, I have grown a close bond of friendship with 3 of my fellow colleagues. Life at work would be utterly mundane had it not been for them; colleagues, comrades, friends! On October 1st this year, one of my colleague invited us all to a small dinner at his house. Occasion: His birthday, relative to the Chinese Lunar calendar.

I was excited partly for the nature of celebrating a b'day dinner within the humble confines of a traditional household, but I was also anxious to finally have a taste of his mom's cooking. Obviously, much has been said about his mom's offerings... all the while fueling the curiosity.

There we were, amidst the government flats just beside Pudu Jail. Quite a hotspot... it is KL, and all around it was busy and congested. The house, too, was literally humble... small and cosy, exuding a sense of belonging, and a history that money can't buy. In present days, it is indeed rare to experience homes like his. But the admiration of his abode was interrupted... by food!

It didn't take long for his mom to prepare the table as soon as we arrived. There were only 6 of us there, including his mom. We weren't expecting a feast, but neither were we expecting something relatively elaborate like this.

This was the 'banquet' greeting us. Some of these even had top-ups in the kitchen, rice included.

I'm guessing these were butter-fried prawns. Frankly, the style didn't really matter to me... I was sold at prawns =Þ Juicy, fresh, and flavored to utter taste-bud joy!

My favorite for the night had to be this dish. My first impression from its looks was nothing out of the ordinary. I was expecting it to be the traditional sweet/black sauce chicken. To my surprise, this was pepper chicken. Sorry, that's what they called it. I'm not a real fan of pepper... but this one spelt 'addiction' all over it. Haha, I practically devoured around 1/3rd of this. The hint of pepper was not overwhelming, and the flavour of the sauce still stood out. The meat was juicy and tender... flawless!
Apparently, this was his mom's specialty, and I can understand why. Odd thing is, my general perception about Chinese dishes is that what you see in restaurants and at home are pretty similar when you're considering the simpler dishes. This particular style, I've never actually eaten before. Would love to know if anyone knows of a place where I can savour this anytime I want, haha.

All meat and no greens would be against the doctor's prescription :) I love home-cooked vegetables not because they're particularly unique or delicious. I'm picky about vegetable freshness (a habit from home... my mom's a vegetarian). Home-cooked is almost always 'freshness guaranteed' and this was no exception. There's value to simplicity, I'd say.

What a way to bribe my taste-buds, hehe. Eggs! Added combo: Eggs with PRAWNS! Awesome... too bad there weren't seconds =Þ

There was another dish on the table I didn't take a close-up of, which is the tofu soup. It looked uninteresting, though it tasted nice. But it is a soup... they're nothing much to show in terms of looks, haha.

We were expected to EMPTY all the dishes! Lucky for us, that was not an impossible feat. It's always good to see the joy in a mother's eyes when the family enjoys her food... imagine having 5 strangers that devoured her servings with pleasure. She might consider adopting us, haha. Anyway, after dinner... we had a small surprise for the b'day boy!

What's a birthday celebration without a cake!? We grabbed this from Bread Story, and it not only looked nice, but it was very well done. Small and delicious, with sweetness seriously under control.

Of course, this was irresistable... the ape was lying around the house. It probably doesn't get much attention, but with us around the house... that was about to change.

And then there was the birthday boy himself. This is taken the way it was taken for a personal reason. We've had a series (yes, series!) of photos over the past few years that had food in the foreground, and my colleague (and his boyish grin) in the background. Can't break tradition now, can we? Hehe.

All in all, it was a very simple yet unimaginably enjoyable dinner that night. The company was great, the food was awesome, and the fun was constant! It *is* unfortunate that the food is not publicly available like a restaurant, but I suppose that's where the novelty lies.

Some of the best moments happen right within the comfort of our homes. We just gotta take our time and remember to appreciate the moments. This trip definitely had lots of food, lots of fun, and lots of friends.