Standard Issue Thai Chinese Sunday Feast
Tuesday, 15 July 2008 by Dr Maytel
Once a month my Thai-Chinese family meets for Sunday dinner, each time one of the five brothers in my father's family will host.
This month was my Dad's turn....which meant a selection of all his fatty favourite Chinese foods. We went to a Chinese Restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 24, just down from Imoya (Potato Club) and I guessed just about every course of the usual suspects
First up, selection of starters including smoked duck, chilled jellyfish, drunken chicken, and yam cake
Second was a bit of a surprise. It's usually shark fin soup but due to my abstention over previous meals (I love shark fin soup but figured I should try to practice what I preach in terms of sustainable seafood) he ordered fish maw soup (fish stomach). I have no idea whether the stomachs where harvested sustainably
Third, fresh prawns with dipping sauces
Fourth Peking Duck
Fifth, shitake mushrooms with black hair seaweed
Sixth, deep fried prawns (I sat this course out and handed my prawn over to my 20 year old cousin)
Teo Chew style Goose Feet noodles
I had the noodles, but Hock ate the feet. I've never been a fan of feet. I don't really see the point, but Hock loves them. I'm not a big chicken cartilage fan either, whereas Hock eats grilled parson's nose off street meat vendors
Cantonese style steamed fish
9th course was kaw tom, or rice soup with vegetables and mined duck meat
10th was dessert...which was predictably the black sesame dumpling in ginger soup
The meal was long and at times yummy, I've definitely had better versions of this meal at other Chinese restaurants
It took 3 hours, during which I sat and eavesdropped on my cousin's conversations in Thai "next week something something is happening, Monday afternoon something something, hair something something" and so on....I really must get back to learning Thai
This month was my Dad's turn....which meant a selection of all his fatty favourite Chinese foods. We went to a Chinese Restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 24, just down from Imoya (Potato Club) and I guessed just about every course of the usual suspects
First up, selection of starters including smoked duck, chilled jellyfish, drunken chicken, and yam cake
Second was a bit of a surprise. It's usually shark fin soup but due to my abstention over previous meals (I love shark fin soup but figured I should try to practice what I preach in terms of sustainable seafood) he ordered fish maw soup (fish stomach). I have no idea whether the stomachs where harvested sustainably
Third, fresh prawns with dipping sauces
Fourth Peking Duck
Fifth, shitake mushrooms with black hair seaweed
Sixth, deep fried prawns (I sat this course out and handed my prawn over to my 20 year old cousin)
Teo Chew style Goose Feet noodles
I had the noodles, but Hock ate the feet. I've never been a fan of feet. I don't really see the point, but Hock loves them. I'm not a big chicken cartilage fan either, whereas Hock eats grilled parson's nose off street meat vendors
Cantonese style steamed fish
9th course was kaw tom, or rice soup with vegetables and mined duck meat
10th was dessert...which was predictably the black sesame dumpling in ginger soup
The meal was long and at times yummy, I've definitely had better versions of this meal at other Chinese restaurants
It took 3 hours, during which I sat and eavesdropped on my cousin's conversations in Thai "next week something something is happening, Monday afternoon something something, hair something something" and so on....I really must get back to learning Thai
I too love shark fin soup... one of my farang friends here would shout, OMG, you eat that stuff!? it's so cruel! despite the fact she is a self-claimed vegetarian who actually doesn't mind eating chicken laap and even bacon because she can be flexitarian when she wants to...
One might argue that killing shark for the sake of just its fins is cruel but I don't think regular chicken laap and bacon eaters would necessarily eat chicken legs or pig offal, either.
flexitarian, that's funny. I have 2 friends like that.
what's a little duck or lamb between friends?