auntie chiah ming's house

Arh September 11. What a date. Let's have a post which chases the bad aura away.

On Saturday night, auntie chiah ming invited us to her place for a meal of what my sisters and i affectionately term as "white noodles". A visit to auntie chiah ming's place could be likened to Charlie Bucket and his visit to the Willy Wonka factory- eagerly sought-after simply because you are guranteed of a great time.

Eating the "white noodles" requires a certain ritual.

The rite of passage kicks off with the noodle soup base, which is choked full of clams, prawns-and choy sam (chye sim). You then proceed to add chunks of fried fish, shreds of chicken breast and omelette, chives in desired amounts. Fried shallots, seaweed, roated peanuts, salted fish are thrown in to 'complete the ceremony'.

The meticulous preparation doesn't just end there. What truly gives me a kick is the platter of fresh fruits that awaits us at the end of the meal. Up to four different types of fruit, skinned and sliced to finger-friendly pieces, adorn a huge plate. That night we had fragrant pears, oranges, green apples and plums, fashioned in a way that would please even the fruit-estranged.

Once, we were totally spoilt rotten with pealed rambutans. Yeap, the hassle and nasty affair of getting through the hairy bits ERASED. Fancy that?! Haha, now I know how it feels to be a Roman emperor. The Ah Balling (tang yuan) too made a presence, bobbing in fragrant pandan-infused light dessert soup that had me going back for thirds.

With such generosity in line, we couldn't possibly arrive empty-handed. Auntie chiah ming's cousin brought over a selection of kuehs from Bengawan Solo. I know how critics may find Bengawan Solo to be mass factory-produced but frankly, I think the kuehs of Bengawan Solo are salivacious.

There were the big-time boys such as the Kueh Salat and Kueh Angku, and kiddie favourites that grew up with us, namely the Ma Kuo Kueh and Lapis Sagu. What is interesting was the Ondeh Ondeh that was previously featured in the Sunday Times. Caution was thrown when one of us reached for one as this seemingly-innocent kueh morphs into super-soaker, which spews gula melaka, when half-bitten.

Darlinggg, gula melaka on beige furniture covers is TOTALLY un-architectural digest!

I tried the Kueh Kosui and found it hard not to like this coconut-coated nonya treat. One inclusive character was the Pulut Inti. Clearly, for me, kuehs ARE judged by their cover and I found it difficult to stomach the fluorescent blue appearance.

We brought over cakes from Dino Cake House & Cafe. Hmm, let's see.. I don't quite know what to begin..

Takes a deep breath.

Sugar rolls, intermingled with light butter cream, were unbeatable. The Durian Well, pulp fiction of a different kind, was irresistable to durian lovers. The Walnut Crepe was our closet hero, which shines if you give it a chance. Really now, how can you not lose your heart to the Sweetie Heart? Very bad pun intended. I tried the peanut coffee roll for the first time and felt it would have been a homerun with a stronger hit of coffee. The tapioca slice, albeit harder than usual, had a likeable chewy bite.

I definitely overate- but it's all for a good cause. What a pleasant evening.