It was Sunday.  One of my many aunts called out of the blue to extend an invitation for dinner at her place.  It was the perfect timing.  Dad already left for a business trip, and left mum and me to scramble our brains to figure out what’s best to have for dinner.  We actually have settled on an idea for dining out, before luck decided to bestow us with my aunt’s generosity.

It was never planned.  Aunty went to the wet market in the morning.  She found the seafood to be exceptionally good there and decided to buy a bunch of them for a barbeque dinner, and to share them with few relatives who live nearby.  As luck would have it, we live less than five minutes away from her.

Upon arrival to her house, we saw white smoke coming out from the white painted tall steel gate that separates the main road and her open garage space.  Through the cracks of the gate I could make out someone was burning or cooking something.  I called out few words and it was my aunt who replied and opened the gate for us.

As we walked though the gate opening, I found she has started grilling with her mini barbeque box, filled with red hot charcoals.  The black metal barbeque box was stationed at the bottom of the steps that lead to the main door and house entrance, right by where her car was parked.

She then went back to her seat, sitting at the bottom of the steps lined with newspaper, fanning the charcoals with her yellow plastic heart-shaped fan in one hand, while turning food on the grill with a pair of thongs in the other.

Among the several bowls and plates of raw whole fish, jumbo prawns, and fat squids, I noticed a green plastic bowl that contained her secret weapon.  A simple concoction of many freshly squeezed limes, melted butter, salt, and hot water.

She would dip or immerse the raw seafood in this mixture right before grilling, and would occasionally brush them off with some more of this concoction when she feels the need to do so.  She likes to keep things simple and so she would stick to using only few ingredients.  The limes to give a sense of freshness and to get rid of any fishy aroma, melted butter for an additional fragrant and some sort of lubricant to prevent excessive sticking to the grill, and salt for flavor.

The lime liquid mixture won’t actually flavor them seafood in a major way.  It is just enough to bring out and complement the natural flavors.  Me and mum just stood there watching my aunt doing what she does best.  Despite the smoke, our mouths watered just by the smell and the sight of beautiful pieces of fish, prawns, and squids turned color and dripped their juices right to the bottom of the grill, creating more smokes from the burning charcoals.

And do you see this?…

Yup, this baby is ALL MINE.  You gotta love an aunt who knows what you like and makes one especially for you.  I’m feeling much of the love.

Alas, all of the seafood are grilled, plated, and brought to the dining table.

There on the table set for eight, were some accompaniments to go with the grilled seafood.  There were boiled veggies, grilled petai, spicy chilies, sweet black ketchup, and fresh limes.

But the true star from all those accompaniments are these two devils…

Fiery spicy chili condiments that would send the grilled seafood to the next level of awesomeness.  These two especially tasty when combined together with freshly squeezed limes and sweet thick black soybean ketchup we call kecap manis.

After 2-3 helpings, we were all smiling with contentment.  We chatted before, during, and after the meal.  We don’t do this often, and so it was nice to be able to gather at a single dining table, and enjoy a home cooked meal.  I think it is safe to say that I was one of the greediest.  Here’s prove…

As always, the after dinner mouth cleansing come in the form of fruits.  Tonight, my aunt prepared some fresh papaya and mangoes.

To top it all off, we had some ice cream.  Since I was invited for dinner, I thought it would be nice to bring something.  And so I got them four flavors of ice cream; avocado, durian, jackfruit, and vanilla.

My all time favorites are the avocado and jackfruit flavors.  Most of them like the strong durian flavor, as most locals do.  I’m glad I got the plain vanilla as well, for it went well with the fresh fruits.  The combination of vanilla ice cream with the papaya and mangoes made it seem as if one was eating a fruit smoothie.

Tummies visibly got rounder, pants suddenly felt super tight, and sleepiness begun to creep into everyone’s subconscious.  We all gathered at the living room.  The television was on, but nobody was really watching it.  We still chatted about this and that.  Feeling unnoticed, my aunt’s dog stepped away from us.  During dinner she begged for food.  Now she  seemed bored and lonely.  And so I got down to the floor and gave her the attention she needed.

The tile floor was nice and cool.  But the dog’s body was not, especially with such thickness of a coat.  Soon my hand felt rather too warm to stay on her for a long period of time.  Kinda like resting on a wool sweater.

She is one adorable pet.  Her coat as thick as a winter’s jacket made her seem massive, like a moving giant snow ball.  Her paws are about half the size of the palm of my hand.  While her teeth give the impression that she could tear your arms right off from your limb.

But the truth is, she is as tame as a turtle.  Doesn’t easily bark at anyone.  And she is easily calmed just by being touched.  She craves attention and loves it when one stays beside her and stroke her.  She truly is a gentle giant.  And I love touching her ears.  Soft and smooth as cotton balls.

After about half an hour keeping her company, we decided that it was time to call it a night.  Well, I did.  Being with my aunt’s dog made me feel guilty about being away from home, where my own dog sitting patiently alone, waiting for me and mum to return.  And so we left.

The evening was a welcoming addition to the otherwise a boring Sunday.  Once again, I was drenched from head to waist, thanks to fiery and tongue-numbing condiments.  My body just not good at withstanding the intense heat of spicy food.  But it was worth it.  The meal was better than what I could have at many restaurants, and the company were enjoyable to be with.

When I got home I hugged tight my baby as she excitedly ran to me and licked me.  But not for long.  She quickly moved away and be with mum.  I sensed she got a bit jealous.  She must have sniffed a competitor’s smell on my clothes.  She frequently gives me the silent treatment now.  In her eyes, I have been cheating on her.  Sigh, what to do…

When I need a little cheer-me-up or to just chill when I’m at home, I often go to YouTube and check out funny videos by FungBros Comedy.  A couple of Chinese American dudes, who happen to be real life brothers, talking a lot about Asian stuff that often crack me up.  Plus, they talk a whole lot about food, which is always a big plus on my book.

Check out the following videos…

Asian snacks –

 

Indonesian food -

 

Indomie –

Yesterday, one of my many aunts WhatsApp me a picture of sesame dotted golden-brown balls of a snack, and followed by a question “do you want these?”

I was like… “YES!”

Then she had them sent my way, right before lunchtime.  Perfect.

And what did she send me?  THESE…

A box full of them.  Freshly fried.

These little guys are what we call Cin Toi, or Jin Dui, depending on how you would like to pronounce the name.  Locally, they are also knows as Kue Bola Wijen, literally means sesame ball cake.

Chinese in origin, cin toi is made of white glutinous rice flour, stuffed with sweetened tau-sa (bean paste), rolled in white sesame seeds, and then deep-fried until golden brown.  Little fried balls of beany happiness.

When freshly made like these ones I got, they are simply irresistible.  At the first bite, you’ll hear and feel the resistance of the soft crispy-like texture of the outer skin.  It is an instant signal to the brain saying ‘comfort food’.

Then your teeth would find themselves digging deep into the soft inner skin and the hollowness of the interior.  This hollowness is part of the sublime experience.  As you bite into the fried ball greedily, the round shape of the ball starts to deflate and that’s when your teeth notice the chewy texture of the inner wall.

Next comes the sweetness of the bean paste filling.  This sweetness complements that of the fried flavor of the rice dough.  As you continue chewing, your taste buds start to notice also the smell of toasted sesame seeds, made aromatic from being deep fried.

Unlike most people, however, I am not a big fan of beans, so I tend to take the bean paste filling out.

I’m quite happy with just the skin.  It is, after all, what makes this snack addictive in the first place.  Crispy, chewy, and fried.  What could be better?  Oh, I know.  Fried sesame balls with icy cold beer!  When these babies are freshly out from the wok and still piping hot, nothing like a cold beer to cool down the throat from the heat of the crispy chewy fried skin.

YUM.

It’s October.  We are well passed the mooncake season.  The frenzy surrounding mooncake eating has subsided weeks ago.  There are no more mooncakes sold at bakeries, hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets.  Even if there are some to be found, chances are they have passed their expiration date.

Mooncake season, originated in China, is the time when an annual festival is to be held to celebrate the welcoming of the autumn season.  The day of the festival is also the day that the moon will be at its fullest and roundest and shines brightly in the evening.  The date itself will change annually, according to the calculation of the Chinese lunar calendar.  In honor of the moon, a mooncake is created.

The cake is a round shaped pastry that is made with a filling of sweetened lotus seed paste and salted duck egg yolk.  The salted duck egg yolk is added for a purpose.  Flavor wise, the addition of the slightly saltiness of the egg yolk complements that of the intense sweetness of the delicate lotus seed paste.  The second and probably most important reason is the shape of the egg yolk.  When the cake is cut, the roundness of the egg yolk will be shown, depicting the shape of the moon.

And why a duck egg yolk is used instead of a regular chicken egg yolk? Because duck eggs have that deep orange-yellow coloring to the yolk that chicken eggs do not have.

Now, mooncakes are very popular among adults and children, for the obvious reasons of taste and tradition.  However, there is another kind of food, though not as popular, that is only made for the same annual festival.  One that is a favorite of mine and that I would gladly pass the mooncakes over for.  In my Hokkien dialect it is called ang-ko-nga pia.  Most people refer it to as the mooncake cookie.

In the old days, these cookies are made flat and molded into various shapes.  Usually large in size, they would also have a red string loop attached to them.  The red string loop is made long enough that kids could put their head through it and carry the cookie around their neck and eat it as they go.  This day and age, these cookies are made much smaller in size and with no more red strings attached to them.

Mooncake cookie is neither round in shape nor flavored with any lotus seed paste or salty egg yolk.  It is a cookie that is traditionally made of flour, golden syrup, and peanut oil combo.  When baked, the cookie will turn golden brown and has a hard crunchy texture due to its lack of moisture in the recipe.  So hard that some people may find it too difficult to bite it, especially for the elderlies.

The ones I receive annually are from the same baker who makes them only once a year, for the mooncake season.  The ones she made this year come in the shape of a Buddha, a butterfly, a deity, a fish, a gun (don’t ask), a pig, and a rooster.

      

Each year when it comes to the mooncake season, a grandaunt of mine would send me these cookies all the way from the city of Medan, the capital of Sumatra Island, in the north west of Indonesia.  I’m probably the only one of my generation in my family who could still appreciate this traditional cookie.

It is a pure joy to receive them and to eat them all for myself.  Though I’m old enough to be an uncle or a father, my heart flutters easily at the sight of these sweet cookies.  They certainly bring a fond childhood memory, which feels like a friendly nudge to this old heart of mine.  They are nice accompaniments to both tea and coffee, and fit for breakfast or an afternoon tea or a late night snack.

These cookies also keep for a long time, especially when kept in the refrigerator.  It maybe the month of October now, but I’m still devouring my precious supply slowly, one by one.  I have to thank my grandaunt for thinking of me each year when the mooncake festival draws in near and placing an order for me to the aged baker.  I sure hope the baker would remain healthy so she would continue making these delicious ancient cookies for many more years to come.  Because the day when she no longer accepts any more orders, would be the day I weep in vain.

Upon the request of a fellow blogger dosirakbento, who has been consistent in sharing her bento box creations online, I now present to you my bento box.

Well, mine is not exactly a typical Japanese bento box per se.  Certainly not one that is comparable to the many dosirakbento has posted on her site.  But it is a lunch box just the same, and also of a Japanese brand, called Tiger.

 

It is a tall grey cylindrical plastic storage for food that comes with a zipped up black padded carry-on bag.  The inside lining of this food box is made of metal, for an insulation purpose, to keep food warm longer.

This particular lunch box is actually a three tier food box that includes three separate round plastic containers.

The bottom container is the smallest in size with a screw-type lid that comes with a rubber ring inlay to support a tighter lock.  It is made to carry liquid, such as soup.  The middle container is the deepest and largest in size with a simpler screw-type lid.  While the top container is slightly larger than the bottom one, and comes with a semi-transparent plastic lid.

I utilize this lunch box quite regularly.  Bringing food from home helps to save money, as well as the time spent from going out to find lunch, when it can productively be spent for other things.

The three tier invention of this Japanese bento box resembles that of a traditional Chinese-Indonesian food box, which we locals here call rantang.  A type of food box that always comes in several containers stacked on top of the other.  So, the similar design concept on my Japanese lunch box appropriately promotes the idea of me conforming to a Chinese-Indonesian diet on a regular basis.

I would almost always bring steamed rice with two different dishes in my rantang, opting veggies or a protein dish instead of soup.  Below are a few samples on what my lunch may look like.  They are presented simply, to stimulate how I would have it at home.

  

And yes, since the deep middle container that keeps rice mimics that of a bowl, I would use a pair of chopsticks to eat my lunch with.  Always.  Dark brown in color, the one I regularly use is locally made with coconut wood.  It is squarish in design that tapers quite fine towards the bottom end, similar to that of Japanese chopsticks, making it easier to handle and to grip small pieces of food.

I have used these rantang box and pair of chopsticks for many years now.  They are beginning to show signs of wear and tear, though not at all battered.  Although I have an oversized collection of wooden chopsticks, I have yet to search for a possible substitute for my rantang.  I may have to do just that soon, incase if this one starts giving problems.  I think I should be prepared.  Plus it is always nice to have options, no?