You know you have it good when you can throw away the fancy antics you get in fine dining and get messy while you eat. When you don't worry about etiquette and your image and just enjoy the meal. When everyone goes silent because you're all too busy eating, so the only judgement that would be passed is if you don't finish the darn good food before you.
Credit: Joy Huang (IG: @joyhuang94) Photos 4,6 & 8
Spent Saturday night going back to basics and (doing very minimal) cooking with friends. Was fortunate enough to have my wonderful friend Angela graciously welcome us to hers, and showed off her amazing culinary skills!
The pulled pork was fragrantly inviting as it filled the air, and watching Angela pull the meat apart with a fork definitely got the mouth-watering sensation going (and the tummy grumbling!). I was a little worried the pork would end up dry, but it was anything but - the sauce had been reduced to the perfect balance to ensure it wasn't soggy. The pickled onion gave a light crunch to the soft textures, and the acidity was enhanced with cherry tomatoes from the black bean salad. The avocado provided the creaminess to tie the dish together, while the lime and coriander kept the dish nice and fresh!
We all couldn't help but laugh as we struggled to eat the soft tacos, before all having a lightbulb moment and wrapping it like a burrito.The tortilla was a bit hard (but no fingers pointed at Angela - it was store bought). On the side, we had corn on the cob served with some grated cheese and herb butter. By grilling the corn, the natural sweetness was enhanced and contrasted well with the saltiness of the butter.
To tie up dinner, we had some desserts we had picked up from Luxbite earlier in the day. We agreed to take turns cutting these petite desserts into four; giving us a good chance to just laugh when we struggled and semi-disfigured the desserts.
Our selections included the Lolly Bag cake, Epic Chocolate Cravings, Endless Love and the Green tea Cheesecake. Unfortunately for us, the Lolly Bag cake was too sweet, and the taste of the spearmint buttercream overpowered the rest of the flavours from the cake. The slice was quite sweet and not quite to our liking. The slice of the Green tea was a little better in terms of balance, but I would have preferred a more intense matcha flavour through the cake.
My favourite would perhaps, have to be, the Epic Chocolate Cravings. I was quite worried this would be too rich and heavy for my liking, but everything kind of worked. The use of bitter, dark chocolate juxtaposed well with the saltiness of the salted caramel sphere; highlighting that desserts don't have to be just sweet.
To add a refreshing note, we saved the Endless Love Macaron to last. The shell of the macaroon was prepared well; there was the brittle crispiness along with the chewy texture that is often absent in poorly prepared macarons. There was a subtle but apparent hint of rose, and the lychee flavour surprisingly came through as well. The fresh raspberries gave that classic acidic balance to ensure the dish didn't become sickeningly sweet; concluding my night of eating harmoniously.
Overall - it was a lovely night of laughter and chatter; giggling as we tried to scare each other, take failed attempts of selfies and talking about anything and everything. It was exactly what I've needed these past few weeks. There is nothing quite like having some special people in your life to just take your mind off all your problems, your stress; taking a moment to just breathe and enjoy life.