12 years ago when I was taking French as a third language at the MOELC, I was impressed when the teacher told us that the average French dinner party lasts 6-8 hours. Well, 2 nights ago I had a 6 hour home-cooked Chinese dinner at Chez Chew. There wasn’t wine or cheese…instead there was chicken & pumpkin soup, steamed minced pork with shiitake mushrooms, seared salmon steak, plenty of greens (broccoli & kai lan), ‘yellow’ rice and apple crumble pie. I’m not sure about the accuracy of the menu as this is based partly on my erm…guess-work. The good food wasn’t a surprise though, as the resident chef is famous for her tasty yet healthy cuisine.
I didn’t expect to stay so long, but it was a very enjoyable evening. There was singing of children songs and Tom Lehrer ditties…”一只青蛙一张嘴两个眼睛四条腿… / Her hairs in the sink have driven me to drink, but she’s my girl…and I love her. ” There was plenty of insane laughter and inane dialogue to help with the digestion of the meal too. Hui Mei in particular seemed to have plenty of laughter at my expense…but seeing her face scrunched up with mostly silent laughter was such a delightful sight to behold that I was pretty happy to be the butt of her jibes.
Above all, I suppose I enjoyed dinner because of the palpable sense of warmth and goodwill that emanated from everyone. I’m very grateful to the four women of Chez Chew who opened their home to me. And for bestowing on me such a lofty ‘title’ as Descartes. Merci beaucoup!
Journey of the Heart 