Stan's homecooked dinner

Just a few weeks ago, my dear friend and fellow sickawan was kind enough to cook us an amazing meal because he was going to leave Penang soon. It was sort of like a farewell dinner, but with a special twist, because it's home cooked! Other than the part that he was actually down with a flu that night, everything went very well. I took my time to snap pictures of the food before everyone reached. :) The spread was lovely, and mostly centered on seafood. First up was the clams:

*Warning: Pictures may make you salivate :P

Clams

Both chiaoju and I thought there were sand within the clams. It was funny because when we were eating the clams, we heard the cracketty sound, somewhat like we're eating crackers. *LOL* But otherwise, the taste was superb!

Then there was the lamb stew, which was marinated for god knows how many days, because it turned out really fragrant and tasted nothing short of marvellous! The radish was perfect in complimenting the taste of the whole dish, and I enjoyed drinking the small amount of soup/gravy very much!

Lamb stew

Then it was the revolutionary 'blue vege', as Stan would call it. Apparently, this dish was supposed to be blue in colour, but something went wrong with the amount of eggs used. However, it was indeed my first time eating purple cabbage. Tasted nothing different from the normal cabbage, except that it's slightly crunchier.

Purple cabbage

Oh and here's the star of the night! Chilli crabs! The funny thing was Stan bought 4 of these crabs from the store and they were still alive when he put them in the sink, only pincers tied up. Apparently, when he wasn't looking, the crabs were walking all over his place and he found one almost committing suicide near his apartment's window! But the funny part was he lost one of the crabs and couldn't find it even after searching high and low in his apartment. Only the next day, he told us the crab was found from the neighbour's apartment! What an adventurous crustacean eh? Trying to save its dear life, I suppose.

Chilli crabs

I told you the theme that night was seafood right? So we definitely did not miss out on prawns. Thank goodness prawns can't walk or we'd have lost a few of those as well. :P The prawns were fresh enough for them to be steamed, complete with egg white. I absolutely LOVE the smooth steamed egg white with the prawns. Just like eating chawan mushi, only with strong prawn taste. :) chiaoju, you're really missing out on something great here ok.

Steamed prawns

Then, there was also soup, which is common for us Chinese. This was the chicken meatballs herbal soup, concocted by none other than Stan himself. Apparently the balls were not just made of chicken, but from a host of other meats as well. Didn't really matter as long as they tasted fantastic! And the soup was certainly broiled long enough such that the aroma was strongly scented with the herbs and chicken balls. Fabulous!

Herbal soup with chicken meatballs

Finally, there was something prepared which was a little out of place, but still tasted great. Amidst of all the Chinese-styled dishes cooked on the table was this lonely-looking, stand alone potato salad. It was more lonely because chiaoju refused to eat once she found out there's egg in it. *shakes head*

Potato salad

After the wonderful dinner and great company, it was time for a group shot. I was busy setting the camera angle and thought I'd put on the timer mode when I pressed on the shutter button... Only to realise that I forgot to switch it to timer mode! But it was so funny to catch this candid shot. So this is usually what happens when people are restlessly waiting for their pictures to be taken. I should really do this more often. :P

The candid shot!

So now, for a proper picture. From left: Stef, Stan, Yen, witch and chiaoju.

Proper shot :)

Thank you so much Stan, for taking the trouble to prepare such a fantabulous meal for us!!! We'll certainly miss you very very much once you leave Penang for your new job. *sob*