Baba’s can cook, So can I

My folks asked me today to join them for Lunch today at a peranakan restaurant they found recently while deciding on a place to have their anniversary dinner.

Mel and I jumped at a chance to be able to sample some of the yummiest food you could ever get without having to get your hands (and kitchens) dirty.

We got to the restaurant and because it was past the normal lunch time, and all the working crowds have made their way back to their offices, leaving the place almost empty.  We got our seats quickly and were seated by a very hospitable man whom I guessed to be the owner of the establishment.  After making sure that we were properly seated and served our warm water, he left us to decide on what we wanted to fill our tum tums with.

After a bit, he came back and before he took our orders, he said to us something that will forever be stuck in my mind.  He said, “I will not say that our food is the best because, in a Peranakan family, you NEVER say anyone else’s food is the best, cos , it’s your mum’s food that will always be the best.  If you say otherwise, you have not been taught well.”  It was only after our chuckles had died down did he take our orders and even recommended some dishes that he thought we should try.

He was proud of his heritage and his food and you could see that he took pride in everything from the presentation, to the dishes (which were quite good), to the setting.  The food was good, but not as good as my mum’s or my grandma’s.  I am still trying to live up to my heritage as a Baba boy, who knows how to cook, and hopefully one day be as great a cook as my mum. Mel says that I cook well enough, but I feel I could maybe step it up a notch….

What can I say, it’s in the blood……