Slave to the Kitchen

We played hosts again on Saturday night (21 Oct). Hmm... kinda getting the hang of 'entertaining', actually. I find it rather gratifying - being able to regale(?) people with home-cooked meals and warm company. :)

Our guests for the evening were Reuben, Ori (his gf) & flatmate, Donovan. Been meaning to ask them over for the longest time but Dee's schedule or our own family plans didn't permit it till now.

I reckoned 'them single people' would appreciate a hearty home-cooked meal - delectable or otherwise - since they do so little of it themselves. Heard from Reuben that they usually have their meals outside, and even if they were to cook, it'd be the 'quick-fix' kind (pasta, canned soup???), easily put together with little hassle, minimal fuss.

With this in mind, I made it a personal goal to whip up a 'fantabulous' meal (or whatever I could pull off with my v limited culinary skills!). I put in my best effort and practically slaved over the stove. However, it was a challenge to come up with dinner to feed 5?! Undaunted, I decided to plan my dishes carefully and cook some the night before. In any case, I reckon some dishes are better when they are allowed to 'sit' overnight? Makes them more serup (malay for 'flavourful?). My dinner menu consisted of:

Aperitif
Malbec Argentinian wine, courtesy of Dee

Entrée 
Stewed Khong Ba with boiled eggs
Fried Bee Hoon with assorted veggies, prawns and sliced chicken
Herbal chicken soup
(brewed with dried scallop, chinese mushrooms, assorted chinese herbs & chicken thigh meat)
Steamed eggplant with spicy mincemeat
Dessert:
Choc fudge cake from TESCO's
Cheese platter (put together by Dee)

More vino

And my personal assessment of the evening's meal? Taste-wise, the khong ba, bee hoon and steamed eggplant were passably palatable, although the texture of the khong ba could be much improved. After simmering for many, many, many hours, the result was a 'bak kwa'/'beef-jerky'-ish texture! Alamak! But the fats of the meat saved the dish somewhat, thank God! Should've taken B's advice to boil the meat in bi-carb first! Hai...

The herbal soup was, in my opinion, a tad oily. But Reuben seemed to relish(?) it, what a relief! I remembered he liked soup so prepared that just for him.

The choc cake was something I decided to slip in as a surprise coz it's Ori's bday on 24 Oct. I thought it'd be a nice gesture for us to celebrate it during her sojourn to London. She was caught off-guard but I certainly hope it made her day. I love giving surprises... :)

During their trip to Italy recently, Reuben and Ori picked up a dessert wine and a box of biscotti for us. We sampled the lot over more drinks and cheese after dinner. Oyishii!

It was a blessing for us that Danielle didn't have a nap in the afternoon so she was completely knackered by 8pm! That gave Dee and me the ability to 'entertain', uninterrupted. Praise God! We had debates over religion, the different ways churches present themselves, Don's lack of prowess in Chinese (he's waaaay worse than me! Heehee!), and the hegemonical desires of the US.

It was truly a night of gastronomic indulgence! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as we did! :)