Braised Mushrooms with Waterchestnuts 马蹄卤香菇

I made this for CNY 2013 because some on my husband’s side prefers vegetarian dishes. They are not vegetarian for religious purposes, but just for health.

Few years back, I made another braised mushroom dish with dried scallops and oysters for Reunion dinner. Sadly, it wasn’t well received by the younger ones, except for those above 40. It was barely touched during dinner! Quite sad actually.
Luckily, the next day, they were reheated and eaten by the older generation.

Indonesian Curry Prawns 印尼咖喱虾- Hee Hee Ha Ha #3

I am not sure of the origins of this dish. But it's a popular prawn dish in Malaysia's Chinese restaurants.
Maybe due to the use of shrimp paste in this curry dish, I am not sure. It could just be a name for this dish.
So, if you know of the origins, do let me know.

Drunken Herbal Prawns 药材醉虾 - Hee Hee Ha Ha #2

A very easy to do dish that doesn’t need much cooking skills. But ingredient is very important here.
The prawns must be fresh, if not, it won’t be nice.

So for newbies, don’t worry too much if you need to cook prawns. It’s just about boiling, no splattering, no stir frying, no knife skills to employ. Most of all, it keeps the kitchen clean

Gon Jin Ha Look @ Cantonese Pan Fried Prawns 干煎虾碌 - Hee Hee Ha Ha #1

I learnt to cook this dish from my late 3rd uncle.
Every year he will cook this dish for us on the first day of Chinese New Year. It's been 5 years since I last had it from him.

Men from my family had good cooking skills. My brother can cook too, but he doesn't do it often. Whenever my grandpa steps into the kitchen, all the women only becomes assistants. Same goes to my great grandpa who was a traditional baker who also roasts his own coffee.

Portuguese Style Chicken 葡国鸡 - AFF HK Macau 鸡 #3

Galinha à portuguesa or Portuguese Style Chicken 葡国鸡 is a Macanese dish that did not originate from Portugal, but given a Portuguese title to enhance its status.

There are many versions on the internet. Some made with turmeric, some with a mixture of turmeric and English curry powder. I did try once with a recipe from Open Rice, of which seemed simple and nice. The taste was good, I have to say, but there's supposed to be a fragrance, of which is missing.

Swiss Wings 瑞士鸡翼 - AFF HK Macau "Gai" #2

Like the previous chicken dish, this is another one commonly mentioned in my Hong Kong culture guru, TVB.

I did wonder did these originate from Switzerland? I found the answer and nope, they did not.
In fact they were first called this way, when a waiter could  pronounce the word 'Sweet' properly. And the customer  liked it so much and came back again asking  for sweet wings by calling them as Swiss Wings, as that's what he thought the name was. And the urban legend lives on. It is said that the best is found at Tai Ping Koon.

Galinha à Africana @ African Chicken 非洲鸡 - AFF Hong Kong Macau 鸡 #1

This month's Asian Food Fest brings you Hong Kong and Macau, both popular holiday destinations, that were once colonies of the British and Portuguese. Visit Annie's blog to read the introduction that she wrote.

Galinha à Africana is a chicken dish from Macau, not Africa.
I learnt of this dish via Hong Kong movies during my teens.