A Singaporean In Australia

I didn't ask her for permission to reveal her information so it is my duty not to. Let's just call her Mrs Fantastic. We booked a slot to see Mrs Fantastic's skills with the microwave. She is already a very good cook in general but besides that, she is a microwave genius.

What good stuff can you make with the microwave anyway? Plenty. Once Mrs Fantastic gives you a sample of the different things she made on each visit, you wouldn't believe she did that with the microwave. From food to sauce to desserts, you name it, Mrs Fantastic could do it all and do them real good. Mrs Fantastic's husband was a great host. No he wasn't Mr Fantastic. I'll just call him Knight Wonderful. He was just the kind of man everyone would feel proud as his/her husband, father, son, brother or friend. You would understand if you meet him. With 3 sensible grown up kids, a really happy family.

So what dishes were we there to watch Mrs Fantastic do?

Fish floss . Ba Gua . Cheese Rolls

Mrs Fantastic said she could make fish floss with the microwave. Zhun bo Mrs Fantasic?! I was half convinced but wished it was true. Most importantly, I hoped she would be willing to impart part of her skills. To entice me, she told me all she needed was a can of tuna as the main ingredient. That was exactly the kind of cooking trick I don't mind having up my sleeve anytime. Fortunately, Mrs Fantastic agreed to do a demonstration for us. Patrick and Molly were interested to join too and so we gathered there.

So it began, Mrs Fantastic took on the each task systematically, with Knight Wonderful as her able assistant. There was no magic in making fish floss. A proper flavouring, enough brilliant home made chilli to a big can of tuna chunks in water was all it needed. Then Mrs Fantastic did her first conjure with the microwave. Knight Wonderful took over with the task of microwaving a few more times. Each 'zapping' as they called it didn't last for more than 2 minutes (if I paid enough attention). In less than 20 minutes, fish floss was done and was left to rest. We took a bite each. It felt a bit moist compared to 'normal' fish floss but I was quite sure it would turn out dry and good enough if left to rest longer. How about putting the end product into an oven for a few minutes? Perhaps I should try it and let them taste it.

While Knight Wonderful was busy with wiping the microwave as the floss went in and out of the microwave, Mrs Fantastic began making Ba Gua. It was a bit fuzzy here because I was in between looking at the fish floss, distracted by a crying Albany and observing all the other actions in the house. By now the family's friend turned up too, in double quick time after a call just a few moments ago on hearing they were making Ba Gua. The Ba Gua must be good.

Patrick had a go at rolling the Ba Gua at engineering precision. They commented it was too thick. Yes it was thicker than Mrs Fantastic's sheet but I was not complaining. More thick, more meat. Just hand over all the Ba Gua please. Fortunately Jen was at her meticulous self and took notes. We should be able to season the minced meat and try rolling them one of these days. Apparently rolling the flavoured minced was the key to making good Ba Gua. Consistency was the keyword and I thought the thickness  wasn't that crucial as long as it was within common sense. It shouldn't end up as thick as a Lup Cheong of course. A homogenous piece of flat meat would be my yardstick there.

It came out fine after baking them in the oven for some minutes. I couldn't remember how long as I was cuddling Albany by then. All I wanted was to eat Ba Gua, that was all. There were comments that it didn't taste like commercial Ba Gua. I thought it wasn't very far off. The commercial one would be harder, sweeter and would have a strong BBQ flavour. If Mrs Fantastic put those pieces across a BBQ and store them long enough, the outcome would be close. As for the taste, it would probably be close if we tweaked the amount of sugar or even some kind of glazing over the completed Ba Gua. Not a big factor there. The point was that it wasn't as difficult and troublesome to make as I thought it would be.

Mrs Fantastic's Cheese Rolls were ... simply fantastic. I am a fan of cheese so there. She added a well balanced garlic mix together with generous amount of cheese before rolling the dough. Then she cut them into equal pieces. It felt like those days I was peering over the window outside Four Leaves (Lot 1). A good sniff at fresh bread baking and watching deft moves from pastries chefs was small simple joy. Needless to say, the bread turned out brilliant. I wasn't too sure if anyone noticed I kept eating one after another. It was just too good, even without ham or bacon someone suggested it should have. 

Other than not helping and eating too much, my biggest crime would be my terrible photography. It just didn't do those excellent home cooked food any justice.

Thanks for the hospitality Knight Wonderful and Mrs Fantastic. It was just brilliant.