Meme: Childhood Food Memories

Carrying on the meme baton from Little Corner of Mine


I've so many food memories that I really don't know where to begin. I'm really blessed with all the wonderful food I had in my childhood. My paternal family's Peranakan and my maternal side's Cantonese. So I've a lot favourites...nevertheless, I'll try and limit it to just 5! hehehe..

Each time I utter these words my husband would sigh! Before he had tried it, he had never ever heard of this dish. I tried to describe to the best of my knowledge but failed. Then he finally had a taste of it, he didn't like it(I think it's an acquired taste, like durian). It's not easy to get it and most of the time, it's not even that good. The dish is Ayam Buah Keluak and I think it's as authentic a Peranakan dish as you can get. Translated, it's called Chicken in Black Nut Curry. And I think the Black Nut is only available in Indonesia. Each Peranakan household has their own special "brew" for making this dish. So there's no exact replica of this dish anywhere! The first time I had it(I think it was at my paternal grandmother's place), I fell in love with it!!! It's sooo sooooo gooooddddd.... It takes days to actually prepare this dish mainly because of the black nuts but it's worth the wait and the anticipation!

I know I'll always remember Sunday mornings whereby my dad would ask us(my bro and I)what we want for brunch as he and mom were going to the market. I would always asked for Yong Tau Foo. My absolute favorite!! Not just from any store, it has to be from this particular store at this coffeeshop at Clementi. They were really really good. They were always so crowded and you had to wait FOREVER to get your order. They are no longer in the Yong Tau Foo business now but I can still remember the great flavours of that dish. Somehow all the other Yong Tau Foo I had don't seem to come close to this store!

When I was little, we used to plant a lot of our vegetables. My maternal grandma lived with us and she is a great gardener. Everything she planted, grew beautifully. Of course, she's also a great cook. She used to teach me how to grow these wonderful vegetables, unfortunately I'm not endowed with a green thumb! So she would helped my vegetable patch on the sneak and I would then have the harvest that I can be happy about! I had this winter melon patch and each time it had winter melons, we would have this fantastic soup. My grandma would used the hollowed out melon as the bowl and steamed it with chicken, chinese mushrooms, dried scallops and what nots. This Double Steamed Winter Melon is what I craved for each time I see them winter melons in the grocery stores here. I can remember the taste of it, it's a full-bodied rich yet light soup. Something about growing your own food makes it taste even better!

Then there's the Apolo Banana Leaf's Fish Head Curry . Our family used to go to the original Banana Leaf wayyyy before they had a/c. You eat in the heat and you sweat with it! Tons of Lime juice to go with that. It was the best combination and still is. Now they are all "grown-up" with the a/c, the new location, the crowds, the glamour... But I still go back and eat whenever I'm in town. They are still as good, I believe (at least in my opinion).

Finally, one of my favs, Fish Ball Noddles! Not just any store. There was this famous Fish Ball Noodle store in the old Bukit Timah Market(of course, it's no longer there, they have been closed for a long time now). But that place has the best noodles ever, it's all in the sauce! I remembered having to take a number and wait for ages. They were always busy and it didn't help when you're hungry either. The "chef" was this old wry man and his adult children helped out. I would also remembered that although they had a real bad attitude, people would buy from them! They are THAT good! Their policy was that if you can't stand them, you dont' have to order from them! Ahhhh...good old days!! LOL

Well it was tough just limiting to five, but I made it! hehehe...Now I'm going to pass the baton to
1.Ventalation Space
2.Travel Light