We invited the man's parents over for dinner at ours. Decided to have yusheng since it matters to them. I don't even know why it matters to them when they're not... Chinese, and they keep emphasizing that, but whenever it suits them, they twist these 'customs' around to say that it's 'tradition and we must follow'. We never do. Anyway. Since it's the Seventh Day of the new lunar year (正月初七人日), I cut them some slack.
I wasn't going to do Chinese for dinner, not fully. Ordered dinner in from Thank Goodness It's (TGI) — Gastrogig X Chef Shen Tan. It has been a while since I tasted her food. I wanted to order her stuff earlier, but her delivery timings were weird and nothing matched my schedule. This round, Oddle hosted the ordering and delivery. It was seamless. The kitchen delivered promptly, and all the food was piping hot upon arrival. We kept them warm in the oven till the parents arrived.
Ordered a super small portion of yusheng (with smoked salmon, baby abalone and lobster), kumquat roast chicken, 22-Spice kurobuta pork (sous vide then grilled), beef rendang and sambal goreng. The portions were surprisingly generous — easily feed four, and for the small eaters in our circle, six people. We had four at the dining table, and delicious leftovers that fed another three persons for lunch the next day! I boiled up basmati rice for the in-laws and uhhh nasi ulam for ourselves. I didn't feel like doing the seven-herb congee — nasi ulam works. Although I should have been lazy and ordered that in too since Chef Shen Tan offers that on the menu!
The whole roast chicken was served at the table before being sliced up. It looked a lot more presentable like that. Since the in-laws can't take anything spicy anymore and don't appreciate spices, this roast chicken was ordered for them. It was sliced it to everyone's preferences. It was roasted beautifully. Marinated in housemade kumquat marmalade, it wasn't overly salty and made a refreshing change from the usual salt and pepper, and BBQ sauce versions. The man can't be bothered about chicken normally, unless it's been done superbly. He totally approved of the chicken breast that wasn't all dry and eeky. The moment the man made the first cut into the chicken, the dog came bounding out from wherever she was snoozing at. She obviously wanted some. She likes chicken, but it seems to give her loads of itching all over her body, so I hold it back. It's not her usual protein. Chicken feet are okay and don't seem to induce any yeast overgrowth.
I was happy for the spices in the sambal goreng and the beef rendang. While flavorful, they weren't particularly spicy, and I forgot to order a bottle of sambal tumis to go along. I have sambal at home, but it would have been nicer to have Chef Shen's. Ahhhhh well. I really missed the sambal for the kurobuta pork. Sous vide for 16 hours and then roasted before delivery, it was thinly sliced, and I could easily cut away the fat, leaving the lean meat for me to enjoy. It was lovely, but would have tasted wonderful with chillies, and it tasted great with XO sauce. Heh.
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