Prague is truly a magnificent city. Walking along the Vltava, by the cobblestone – you really get some picturesque shots. Some gems I had during my trip earlier this year:
Apart from Disneyland-like castles and incredible gothic churches, they also have copious amounts of two of my favorite things: Meat
and beer!
I have come to appreciate the geometry of takeout containers. They’re quite stackable.
Anyhow – a couple of meal prep ideas from the interwebs!
On the left is a minced meat and wanton noodle recipe found here! It’s pretty addictive, especially if you fry the minced pork to get it real nice and crispy.
Credits go to Tasty for their incredible food videos – Japanese Katsu with Curry on the right (recipe here) and Chicken and Rice (recipe here).
Last winter, per the Tan-family tradition of an annual family reunion (it alternates between a foreign destination and our homeland, Malaysia), we decided to pay our less-popular South East Asian neighbor a visit. Laos is a fairly fascinating place – it’s been under the communist regime for the past couple of decades. Yet, it still contains a society that is rich in culture and religion. The buddhist monks play a large role in the cities, and their presence and influence can be felt. For example, every morning, the monks come out of the temple in order to get food offerings from the people. It was quite the sight.
Anyhow – just wanted to share a couple of snapshots to remind us of the beauty of golden pagodas, temples, and copious amounts of sticky rice. Featured in the photos below: Luang Prabang Royal Palace, Pha That Luang and an assortment of Laotian cuisine.
So I’ve finally managed to move my old laptop’s backup over to my new device, and I couldn’t resist flipping through my old photos. Oh boy – it’s been a real long time since my Photos app cooperated with me. It was like going back in a time machine, couple of days at a time. I’ve come to really appreciate the ability to store roughly 20,000 photos from over a period of 9 years. That being said, I’m also sorely reminded of my younger brother Nick, whose currently a whopping 3,000 miles away. Admittedly, it’s a little better than the 10,000 miles that separates my parents and I, but not by much…
My brother, like me, decided to get as far away from home as he possibly could, the moment he could. However, that probably sums up the similarities between our life choices and aspirations. While he enjoys the mountains and mild rains of the pacific northwest, I enjoy the distinctly northeast seasons, be it the blistering cold winters, or warm blue-skied summers. While he enjoys the certainty of proofs and solutions in mathematics, I enjoy the perspectives and uncertainty in International Relations and Economics. There is however, one redeeming factor that connects us as brothers. Our joint passion for food and cooking. While I don’t necessarily agree with some of his culinary choices (banana wrapped bacon? seriously?!), he is one talented cook, and I really draw inspiration from his bold choices from time to time.
Ladies and Gents, I present to you, Chef Nick and his many adventures! Looking forward to many more East / West coast collaboration!
Sometimes, when you miss home, you cook up a storm. Featured in photos: Curry Chicken, Stir Fried Chinese Broccoli, “Asian Aglio Olio” (Ha – It’s wonton noodles without anything else), and Roast Pork, and of course, happy colleagues.
Recipes in Hyperlink!
So a couple of weeks back, I decided to do something different for my 27th birthday. Instead of a birthday celebration at the restaurant (Hibachi last year was incredible), I decided to challenge myself and see whether I had what it takes to cook for 20 people. Shortly after I sent out the Facebook event invite, the sheer size of the task ahead dawned upon me – I realized that I might have bitten off more than I could chew. Nevertheless, I did what I normally do. I took a deep breath and I told myself, that it’s going to be “Great!”.
Cooking for that many people presented several logistical problems. Apart from the fact that I was going to have to make a remarkable amount of food, I also had to make sure that I accounted for dietary restrictions, the cohesiveness of a meal in terms of flavors, and the timing of the execution. The fact that I didn’t have a car didn’t help either – it would mean that I needed to make multiple trips to the grocery store. There was also the issue of fitting that many people in my apartment without it being a fire hazard – the living space would need to be rearranged in order to make people feel more comfortable. Thus, I got to work planning this dinner party whilst I was procrastinating taking a short break from the demands of my day job. I planned a menu (catering to vegetarians / non-red meat preferences), created a list of groceries that I needed to get (it was a long list, and it took 3 trips to the grocery store to get everything), and a planned itinerary of how Saturday (or, as I’d like to call it, a significantly less important D-Day, for “Dinner Day”) was going to throw down. I also took the opportunity to share my plan of action with my friend, who (see text message exchange below), had nothing but the greatest of confidence in me.
So Saturday arrived – I put on my apron, and got cooking according to my plan. While there were minor changes to the plan that needed to be made due to unforeseen circumstances (*cough* Star Market inexplicably selling you moldy basil / bad balsamic vinegar *cough*), dinner was a resounding success, and I managed to finish everything 15 minutes late[strikeout] on time for dinner! Again, the proof is in the pudding, or in this particular case, the lasagna (see happy faces below and pictures of dishes).
So couple of key takeaways when planning to cook for a large crowd –
Some afterthoughts on this entire experience – I found the experience to be incredibly fulfilling, and I thought that it was wonderful being able to use my kitchen skills to bring friends and colleagues under the same roof to just have a good time and create lasting memories! The night did end with a discussion of Kpop and BTS, so things definitely took an unexpected turn at some point. I also found (strangely enough), that the systematic thinking and organizational skills I have developed in my workplace was incredibly useful here (shoutout to AG for equipping me pull of this great dinner party!). No doubt this skillset is probably going to be incredibly useful, especially in the next couple of months as I’m preparing to apply to MBA programs, start on new cases, live life etc. The fun stuff.
Meals at Neal's 