Sorrowful rice of ecstasy 《 黯然销魂饭 》

1996 was a great year for Hong Kong movies. Because in 1996, the fantastic 《食神》 (God of Cookery) was released. There are so many classic scenes in that movie, but one unforgettable segment has to be when Stephen Chow made 《 黯然销魂饭 》。 It’s a challenge to translate the name of that dish to English, but “Sorrowful rice of ecstasy” is probably as close as it gets.

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Ang ku kueh doesn’t always have to be red

It’s good that traditional shops like Ji Xiang Confectionery are experimenting with different flavours and colours, instead of simply sticking with the classic tried-and-tested ones.

While some might think that this dilutes the original symbolism of the beloved ang ku kueh, these innovations do make it more attractive and relatable to the younger generation, who may otherwise just give it a miss totally.

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Online vs offline durian

Durians are notoriously difficult to transport. No matter how airtight the packaging, durian molecules will somehow find a way to escape and announce their presence to anyone within a 10 metre radius.

If you own a car, at least you can keep your windows up to contain the fallout. But since we don’t, we either buy them from our neighbourhood fruit stall and walk them home, or order them online and get them delivered.

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What goes well with yuzu sake? Why, yuzu pan of course

The Wife pointed to a dozen or so bottles that had the words ゆず written prominently on the label, with the brewer’s name 梅乃宿 in smaller font in the top right corner.

Apparently this was the seasonal 2021 Aragoshi Nama Yuzushu produced by Umenoyado, an unpasteurised and roughly-crushed version of her favourite yuzu sake.

The Look appeared in her eyes as she lovingly picked up a bottle.

No prizes for guessing what happened next.

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