Christmas At Aunt E's

We were really excited to head to Aunt E's again with Christmas presents in tow and plenty of wishes from the rest of the family.

Aunt E sternly told us she would cook. Over the phone, we could imagine her wagging her finger along with her line of "Do not buy so much food."

We didn't. Since it was to be a Chinese meal (my one and only concession for an occasion of Chinese food in London), we trekked to the Chinatown shops (which would be the only eateries open during this period) and tapau-ed braised beancurd, stir-fry choi sum and some of Aunt E's favorite char siew/siew yoke sliced very thinly.

She cooked up a huge pot of chicken curry. I was thrilled that she made basmati rice to go with it. Yummy. I like curry with basmati. Obviously I quietly skipped the chicken. The man ate up my share. I drizzled plenty of curry over the rice. I've no idea what sort of potatoes Aunt E used. But those potatoes were tasty!

Somehow, she decided to make apple crumble. APPLE!!! CRUMBLE! Omigaawwd. My favorite sort of dessert!!! I helped her stir the custard on the stove before serving the little bowls of goodness. The apples were picked from her garden in autumn. Tart and sweet at the same time, dessert was nothing short of divine.

I ate SO MUCH. How could I stinge on the basmati when there's curry?!! So loaded with carbs that after dessert, I sank into the sofa and fell asleep next to the heater. Aunt E's homecooked meal and hospitality are among the best gifts I've received this season.