April 7, 2008

A pleasant reminder of home.

Armed with a reliable GPS, a bottle of wine and chocolate cheesecake; Kassy, Katie and I made a road trip down to Celebration, home of the legendary Mickey Mouse.
Suzi had contacted me about a month back after having discovered me from a google search for a Malaysian fried rice vermicelli recipe. She's sweet; generous; bubbly and so VEry~ Malaysian. Born and raised in Sarawak; Suzi now lives with her family here in the US. She misses a lot of her favorite local delicacies and have been testing Malaysian recipes from American ingredients in her lovely kitchen at home. Perfected a few yummy dishes along the way I bet! Just look at her treasure trove of Asian sauces and noodles! I spent a couple of minutes oogling away in Suzi's dry pantry. *giggle*
She had specially invited another Malaysian friend of hers, from Penang who happened to be a Professional top notch chef here in Orlando. He came by with his family to help toss up an excellent Char Keow Teoy (fried rice noodles)!Not to be outdone; Suzi whipped up an array of noodle condiments; stringy rice vermicelli and a spicy red hot pot of delicious Laksa broth. All piled up and drench in a fragrant squeeze of fresh lime; dinner was sensational! Katie; having never experienced Malaysian food, was all excited and very much impressed with our cuisine and culture. The crowd Oo-ed and Ah-ed at her adventurous personality and eagerness to try new foods.We were so happy to have been invited to join these 2 lovely families for such a heavenly spread of Malaysian foods. Three of us were having the time of our lives.
It's been awhile since I've walked into a kitchen filled with the smell of belacan and coconut milk... it was a nice and comforting feeling. I've been thinking lots about home and Australia recently..
It's amazing how much I wish I were in the future; where teleporters existed and distance between continents were irrelevant. I think lots about those dear to me; and the many silly ways I lived my University life... the people I've met..the experiences I've had...the tiny cracks in the city that have been special to me and all my favourite foods in my favourite restaurant hideouts... *sigh*....
Oh SU!
"Snap out of it!"
Live in the present.. dream of the future!
The past? Well; ...it was sweet :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Internet works wonder, i chanced upon your website few months back after doing a yahoo search for BuBur Cha Cha receipe and i have been a regular visitor since!
I really admire you for being able to pursue your dreams.

SiewlengH said...

You just had to do it! Made me homesick and desperate for some Penang Laksa and Char Koay Teow. I've been in the US for 15 years and my last trip "home" was 4 years ago. And like you I wish there were teleporters so I could "beam me up" to Penang just in time for dinner ;)

Now where does this chef cook in Orlando? I may have to hunt him down on our Dec trip to FL.

Anonymous said...

THe lime really looks like an orange! Is it a different variety?

Katie... yeah! said...

Shoot Yeah!! wow Su -- my Orlando life is full of flavor because of you.... literally and figuratively.. haha.
Every day.. it's a new adventure... and I think that's how it should be :)
Cheers to Orlando springtime!
And in response to you anonymous... Yes! Aren't those limes crazy?? I had never seen them either!

Anonymous said...

hi su,
the laksa u ate is sarawak laksa. ya, any sarawakian when see those pics will know for sure...:) (so i guess the brand that suzi used for the laksa paste is barretts or double sparrow? it's the best sarawak laksa paste sold and passed down generations by the family in kuching).

sarawak laksa is my favorite laksa of all time.

now i'm really craving for it...

rgds
carpediem

GenZie said...

Is that Dr.Goodless? He used to be my doctor. He's nice. Never had a chance to meet his wife though. I used to live in Poiciana, south of Kissimmee.

You should try looking at Puerto Rican supermarkets as they have similar ingredients as Asian ingredients, especially the fresh produce. Are those ripe Limau Kasturi? Keep up the good work! Good luck to you and your friends at Notters.

Su-Yin -Décorateur said...

anonymous: hey there~ lovely to hear from you; do leave a name though :P its nice to everyone lurking around sometimes~ hehe

siewlengh: aww.. i hope i didn't make you miss home too much! Missing the food makes it so much more delicious when we get home no? haha.. the chef cooks Mediterranean food in orlando; but there are a couple of Malaysian restaurants around I heard. I have to find out where they are.

anonymous: It's a lime; kafir lime; just really ripe hehe

katie: hi sweetheart :) hehe love ya so~

carpediem: uh huh! Sarawak Laksa! YUM!!! hehe I love it~ I'm not sure about the brand; she didn't exactly let me on her secret hehe. I'm craving for it too right now! :P

genzie: Hmm~ I not sure; but I bet it must be! haha..they are such a nice couple; we really enjoyed our time at theirs. I will definitely check out the puerto rican markets; thanks for the hints :)

Jenna said...

the fried koay teow looks really yummy and authentic.. hehe.. i've been visiting ur blog for a year now and i totally loved it.. someone from MASA actually recommended your blog to me.. Seeing all those local food makes me miss msian food even more.. too bad I can't cook really well.. hehe

Unknown said...

hi su

am in orlando at the moment and leaving for denver tomorrow. should have read this earlier and might get a chance to meet mr char kway teow.

keep up the good work, you have a great blog and best wishes to you