Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Peranakan tea treats
















As a volunteer with a local theatre group, I had to put up a Nyonya spread of Kim Choo goodies before every show of Emily the Musical. Just a few days before the event, I had to uncover all the plates, crockery and Peranakan ware that I have stashed under all the beds in my house, high up in the kitchen cabinets and more. I used to have an intense passion to collect kitchen and serving ware over the years but this has since cooled down when I ran out of space. Getting reacquainted with my old "treasures" and realizing that they have a functional purpose after all made me feel good.  Love the experience of styling the food and the table for a visual treat, not to mention that the goodies on the serving ware were delectably tasty.

A blooming flower tea





Spent a lovely afternoon with my friend Waee Waee and after our popiah lunch, I was indulged with a most beautiful cup of tea. A marigold flower that literally blooms as hot water is poured into the tea cup. And to match this delightful flora moment, I had a choice of sugar, not your usual spoonful but the most quaint little crystals that come with a little pansy embedded within.

I had to sip it slowly in order to savour such a beautiful treat !

Monday, May 30, 2016

Vanishing Trades - Hand made popiah skin at Joo Chiat




I used to live near Lake View Thomson where I fondly remember a hand made popiah skin shop.
My mum would pop in now and then when my maid from Batu Bahat decided to make popiah. It was quite a tedious process as she would finely chop all the vegetables by hand. Today, I take the easy way out by using my food processor.

The Lake View shop has since been torn down and I've not come across a similar shop since the 80s. But there it stood, Kwat Guan Huat Popiah Skin shop in Joo Chiat in all its true retro glory. It is not cheap compared to the machine made ones I get from the market but they are really soft and fresh.
A moment of serendipity !

Popo Muruku - old school favourites





Brought popiah to a friend's place for lunch and she popped in some Popo muruku on the popiah before wrapping for texture and crunch. Think I can try it one day for my vegetable salad which is a modification of the Chinese New Year yue sheng dish which I love. I used to pop quite a number of this old school snack back in my growing up years and based on the packaging, Popo muruku has been around since 1975.

A baby which is the icon of the brand represents the word Popo which means baby though I always thought that Popo was closer to the meaning of Grandma (lost in translation) !  My friend says there are other flavours such as seaweed and chicken though I 've not come across these in the supermarkets.