I had company lunch at Zhao Chow restaurant in Chai leng for two continuous day ie Monday and Tuesday. The dishes selected by my boss , H is different for the two days.
The first day, he ordered Perfect 10, a chinese herbal soup which make from 10 different herbs and in Hokkien, it is called " chap chuan" and it means perfect 10. It is a healthy herbal soup which is good for our general health especially to strengthen the body. According to my sister, C , it is gives energy to the body and if we drink too much, we will have a bleeding nose. Such soup was mend for the labourers in the early days when they have to carry heavy rice bags from the harbour. The rest of dishes was like some home cook food ie fried sardin fish, chicken and rice, etc.
For today, he ordered the fish stomach or the "Hoo Peow" , Sar Choi fish, prawns, bean curb,etc. Some of the dishes were similar to the monday lunch. Today's soup the fish stomach soup is mend to balance back the previous days's energy food. The soup was sweet and tasty and it is a very costly soup especially the dry fish stomach.
During my younger days, my mum used to cook the Perfect 10 soup for us to strengthen our body and our health for me to study and for my father and brothers to work . As a simple house wife, she knows all the recipe of the chinese herbs and on many occasions, she will cook such herbal food for us to eat. Those were the happy days and it gets deeply rooted in my memory.
The food of yesterday and today bring back my memory of my mother's cooking and the joy of my younger days. Yes, like I say going back in time is only for fond memories and it does make me happy.
So, Fellas . It is time to search for such recipe and it is becoming a fading secrets as the present generation is only going for fast food and lack the adventurous spirit to go for such herbal food. Take care and have a wondering spirit,.
Namaste.
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