The Art of Making Radish Flavoured Cake

Radish Flavoured cake is not a dessert nor for tea time - it is a much looked forward snack for breakfast or supper in food-obsessed Singapore or Malaysia. Inspired from southern Chinese provincial fare, it is a stir-fried combination that provides reliability to quell hunger, be inspired by aromatic flavours and topped by omelette's pieces.

The wok hei- or heat - is important in dishing up tasty stir-fried with a oomph.

here cousin Susan takes the cooking tot he courtyard on a cool winter's night in a Sydney suburb.

Her freshly plucked chillies from her garden are combined into a paste that essentially gives the otherwise plain looking radish-flavoured cake (known colloquially as Kueh Kak) a kick to the palate.

Chives are washed and cut length-wise for blending with the wok-induced aromas from bean sprouts, dashes of ginger, garlic paste, pre-cooked rice-based cubes and eggs.

The Art of Making Chung

Chung in the Cantonese dialect refers to the bamboo leaf-wrapped steamed/ boiled dumplings of glutinous rice cooked with various ingredients. Comfort food steeped in tradition and history, it is wholesome, tasty and essentially a summer delight. The southern Chinese versions feature mushrooms, pork cuts, beans and more - all doused with flavourful marinades of soy sauce to give colour, preservation and principle.

These dumplings tell a story of holding upright principles in feudal China and are linked to the annual celebrations of the Dragon Boat races in most of eastern Asia.

Each bamboo leaf has to be culled and thoroughly washed with warm water and scrubbed. The aromatic infusion of these leaves add to the cooked flavour, and they are not merely used for wrapping.

Glutinous rice is pre-cooked even before being used as fillers in bamboo leaf wraps.

The various ingredients are set out before filling in the triangle shaped delights. Time is of the essence, as there are various stages of preparation, patience and cooking time required. In 2010, the Dragon Boat Festival of the lunar calendar falls on 15 June. This event recalls how a high-ranking minister, disillusioned with the corrupt conduct and politics of his day, threw himself into a raging river and how his loyal subjects tried to divert the fish from eating his drowned body. This was how dragon boat racing and the chungs came into being.

Mushrooms galore, a much valued ingredient in Chinese cuisine.

The steamer, kept snugly down by a stone cap, especially effective during the process.

The Straits Chinese or Peranakan version of the chung offers a more dessert sweet dimension in taste, compared to its original mainland China roots. They offer nutty flavours instead of savoury, and include fanciful blue natural colouring of the rice to reflect integrated cultural influences of the Malaysian peninsular.

(Kindly Yours acknowledge the making of the chung process above to Mrs Ellen Moay and Mrs Charmaine Wan of Sydney)

Sydney in May

A bottle of champagne, albeit Australian, awaited me from my host. It is  a gesture much appreciated, that echoes personal mindfulness and care, actual  implementation of all the otherwise often empty promises of advertising and customer services in commercial services. The unexpected Falung Gong protest had blocked
my usual road path and I had to take a convoluted route instead, but here I was with my bags at my residence for the next few days, with an opportunity to refresh and recover from my usual regime.

I looked forward to the paucity of the variety of food from different cultures and cuisines near my host's residence. Away from the lamb roast expected at one committed event, I could not wait to savour something different from the Illawarra base. I enjoyed a homely ambiance at the Yakuzano Japanese cafe run by a family. The Glasgow Arms was a solid heritage establishment which retained a very English setting and offered a bulwark to the demographics of its changed neighbourhood.  Homok and pad see ew were my appreciated dishes taken at a fav Thai cafe,the former being fish fillet cooked in a spicy custard-like steamed concoction wrapped in banana leaves and the latter being broad rice noodles stir-fried with a savoury gravy, also recognised as sar hor fun in Malaysia and Singapore.

In this sojourn, I came across a friendly family of five, a typical Aussie bloke with a mainland Chinese wife and three strapling sons. They  looked  a picture of comfort to the father, who must have been an adventurous type in his youth, or maybe not. Whatever my imaginary speculation, I was impressed with his achievements in having such a family.  The mother looked having settled well in this country of various cultures so far from her childhood. The sons had a sparky glint in their eyes having to straddle two different cultures -and seemed to relish in this unique position.

On another occasion, whilst strolling, I stumbled across a young man called Nathan, who was one of those who sat forlornly on the pavement and waited on the generosity of passers-by.. It was a coolish evening and this was Australia at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century.  He had the look of inner fear and a cry for help. He was able-bodied but his soul and heart looked distraught. Nathan still spoke gently. Whether under the influence of drugs, or just struggling on after being battered with the unfairness of life and an uncaring community, he spoke affectionately of his father and how he hoped to be reunited with him back in country New South Wales.  Nathan did not ask for money - maybe he just yearned for some caring.

Euan at Myers was enthusiastic and helpful - he manned the Rhodes and Beckitt section handling Boston Brothers shirts. Hailing from Brittany, he articulated in a captivating manner of spoken English that added positively to the shopping experience.  Whilst watching Wicked the musical, the fellow audience members to my right were a couple from Margaret River in Western Australia, having flown in five hours by air to spend some days in Sydney.

The Hindu calendar had declared a rare auspicious day on May 16, 2010, a day suitable for doing anything significant in the journey of life. I came to know of this important day while listening to Radio National  driving form Wollongong to Sydney. Marriages and other contracts were locked in, especially in theUnited Kingdom and the Indian sub-continent, to savour the good luck and vibes of this special day. I even bought some miniature sucker catfish and golden snails to grace my small aquarium tank.  Whilst I appreciated the cosmic significance of events like this, I also realised that it is fun - and important - that we make the effort to do something special each day. Time we have is the most important luxury each of us possess, and something special can be small - like being grateful for what we have - or bigger - like interacting with individuals, friends or strangers, who can teach us a thing or two.

Wollongong Fare

Aussie lamb cutlets with rocket and ricotta salad - appetising.

Ceaser Salad - always easy and balanced.

Fettucine with one of the may variations of sauce and garnishings, a staple in a town influenced by Italian traditions.

Angel hair pasta, this one with bits of blue swimmer crab and barramundi, a reflection of the harvest of the Illawarra coast and beyond.

Wollongong in Winter

Just outside a bay window.

View on the first morning of June.

Blooms from succulent despite a wet and windy week.

Breakfast fare from Lee & Me Cafe, Crown Street in the CBD - mushrooms and tomatoes to balance with the bacon and the omelettes.

The owners still cannot decide on a name.

Settling in with a cosy sofa and reading, where's the cuppa?