Mee Siam

It was such a treat to be invited over to the girlfriend's for a homecooked meal by her mother. Mee siam it was for lunch. Thoroughly spoilt. There was wine, there was fruit, chocolates and homestirred bubur cha-cha. The chilli padi from her garden, tasted supremely spicy. Gorgeous.

Also admired the beadwork and craft on the girlfriend's mother's vast collection of kasut manek. We rarely wear them nowadays. It's not difficult to see why the shoes cost so much more than a pair of Louboutins, as uncomfortable as they are. When we own a pair, we own a portion of the maker's labor of love. Those with the original glass beads that make up the intricate patterns of the muka kasut, hand sewn, glitters in light, and when you run light fingers across, they feel so different from the factory-made ones. We would know. We grew up watching our grandmothers wear them. Our mothers, not so much. But we have a stash of them hidden away, in nostalgia. What will we do with our grandmothers' shoes?

We felt like 18-year-old teens all over again, being fed so well by the friends' mothers whenever we head over to one another's houses to hang out. The few of us, we really can't cook. There's no way we can continue the legacy of good food in our homes. It's just a different generation, something lost, I guess. We have the recipes. perhaps one day, we might re-create them. But till then, we're very lucky to still be able to taste awesome authentic Nyonya flavors from our childhood.