Report Card on Sunday's Shindig

Lely's Flat at Dover Road

Surprise, surprise, Lely can cook - and she's a good one too! As we approached her floor we could sniff the aroma of her asam pedas wafting through the door. All we had to do to locate her new flat was to follow our noses.

The proof of the cooking is in the eating. Clockwise from the bottom. Lely's plate was empty because she was kept busy topping up the food, Oi Bek - she caught the biggest, crispiest fish grrrr, Shyama - almost finishing her second? third? helping, Ruqxana - clutching her right hand to stop it moving too rapidly from hand to mouth, Irene the artist - arranging her food display before scoffing it down, AsH - spooning ladles of the asam pedas gravy to drown her rice, just the way she liked it, and finally, the girls' Uncle and the only rose among the thorns - doing a Derridean analysis of the piquancy, texture and composition of Lely's culinary Abstractions, while guzzling the sambal blacan by the spoonfuls.

Out of 10 :
Asam Pedas - 8 (room for improvement by making two pots of the stuff instead of one)
Dalcha - 8 (same problem as the above)
Fried keledek leaves - 7 (my first time in 66 years)
Fried selar kuning - 7 (not crispy enough because Oi Bek got the best piece)
Sambal blacan - 11 (must not invite Uncle the next time)
Ambience and Decor of the premises - 9 . The cool breeze was a bonus - so let's make it 10.

But Lely had one special asset that boosted her rating to ************************ - her lovely, lively and thoroughly sweet 91 year old granny, Jennifer.


The horde of greedy gourmandes then proceeded to Oi Bek's recently renovated flat at Bedok.

As you entered the flat - the sight made your heart skip a beat. No, three beats. Very sophisticated , urbane and elegant - in the design, decor and furnishing. Kudos to Oi Bek. It was worth all the headaches and heartaches.

Just one problem. Oi Bek could not locate the freezer in her super-duper, hi-tech refrigerator. The promise of HD ice-cream turned to a soggy tub of gooey cream. But never mind. The dear girl put on a spread of salmon, fresh cream, water biscuits, blue cheese, Japanese snacks and dark chocolate. We discovered later that we had eaten up the food supply meant for her boyfriend. He was going to visit her the next week.

After they had wiped the table clean, the girls abandoned Uncle to his own devices. But first they wrapped him up nice and warm - to keep him quiet.Eat your hearts out, Sean Connery and Ang Beng Hin.

The girls felt that the flat needed one dazzling modification. They recruited Irene, the only resident artist.

Irene obliged. All she had to do was to re-arrange the stickers on the glass door separating the kitchen from the dining room. That made a startling difference. Oi Bek's renovation is now complete.


What a week-end for two geriatrics! Three late nights in a row! Our waistlines and sanity were torn to shreds but who cares?

Finally, thank you to my Rainbow Band for a magical, marvellous week-end.

Thank you (in alphabetical order) Irene, Jai, Lely, Oi Bek, Ruqxana and Shyama.

P.S. When's the next invitation? This is just to keep you lot on your toes and to make sure that the high standards are maintained - especially the ahem asam pedas.