Mooncakes and noodles!

To celebrate the union of two families, it is a long standing Chinese culture to send out gifts of sweet cake along with the wedding invitations. The cakes are normally stamped with a dragon/phoenix or with a 'double happiness' sign in red. So in observing the tradition, my sis and B.I.L. ordered Teochew mooncakes from Mui Lee, a bakery famous among the older generations.

The Teochew-style mooncakes differ from the normal mooncakes in the skin. A dark, dense and sweet filling made from beans is enveloped by leaf-thin, buttery layers in place of the softer, chewier skins. I don't want to be biased, but honestly, Teochew mooncakes kick ass. And this one takes the cake. The older generation really know their stuff - the filling was silky smooth and sinfully rich, the skin crisp, light and delightfully flaky. The oiliness in the paste only further amped the crunch factor at the base of the pastry.

Needless to say, all grand plans to shape up before the wedding flew out the window. I helped myself to 2-3 good-sized slices in the span of one day. And the fact that we have 3 more at home just doesn't help my cause. Ignoring the mooncake is just next to impossible.

One other thing that I've been amazed with since I was back was the quality of the hawker food centres. Many of them have been given facelifts with the hawker centres looking much more airy, smoke-free and and cleaner now. I mean come on, there are even ESCALATORS in the food centre!!! It was with a slight tinge of nostalgia that I reminisced about the older style hawker centres.

My first hawker dish of 2008: noodles with minced pork and liver. The flat mee pok noodles are my favourite since they easily pick up the chili sauce and the liver was soft and pliable. Very more-ish!

Hitting Prive tonight with the girls! Can't wait to see them!!! :)