While browsing thru' the channels, food caught my attention and so i continued watching this program 家常菜. Ever since i moved out, i've sorta taken a liking in cooking. I find it therapeutic.
After watching the program further, i realized food was the secondary theme. Each family dish slowly unfolds a heartwarming story. This installment features a bachelor who went through bankruptcy, passing of his parents & failed suicide attempts.
First dish - Bee hoon soup
A simple dish consisting of thick bee hoon, clams, mussels, fish balls, lean pork & veg.
Argh! I think i forgot 1 key ingredient :(
Anyway, this guy recalls in fondness a birthday gift to his mom when he was a kid. It was a noodle dish of mee suah, liver & hard-boiled eggs. He got up very early to prepare the dish & everything had to be done quietly. Once ready, he placed the dish on his mom's bedside table, shouted "Happy Birthday" & then ran off. I thought that was so sweet :)
As much as noodles represent joy of life, it also reminded him of death. When he was out & down, he wanted to end his life. Using the last of his money, he bought a can of abalone. Then whipped up a noodle dish, mixed in sleeping pills & took his "last" meal. Obviously, he lived to tell the story :p
Second dish - Cabbage rice
When he was a kid, his family wasn't well-off. His mom would cook a big pot of rice with cabbage, mushrooms, lean pork, garlic, dried shrimps for him & his 6 siblings. The pot would fill them up for the entire day. Simple as it may sound, the dish looked quite yummy on TV!
The program ended with a meal gathering after 8 years' loss of contact with his family members. It didn't appear as heartwarming as expected. I sensed a tinge of melancholy on his expression.
Anyway, i reckoned it took lotsa guts to appear on national tv & share with everyone your past. Some may frown. Others judge. But for me, i thought the act was commendable. It's never easy to share an ugly past.
