I supposed my stomach is as weak as my soul when I had to rush myself to the toilet for a round of diarrhea before I board the bus home. Ergh, I even feel like vomitting.

Ever since I have started working, I had been treated to endless round of good and rich food and buffet due to various reasons (such as training lunch, division lunch, department lunch, celebratory dinner, birthday lunch). Personally I am pretty contended with normal food and totally willing to trade these serials of eating for the life of an undergraduate anytime! I am totally contended with school serving of food. But ok thats pure day dreaming. This time round however I went for the dinner with slightly more anticipation mainly because it is teochew food that would allow me to understand more of my own dialect. I supposed I have always been eating teochew's food since young unknowingly. This is because the blend of the tradition and modern food has blur their distinction. Maybe all these while these traditions have internalised in me.

Now comes the review of teochew banquet at Huan Yin Restuarant. It consisted of 9 courses and lasted for almost 3 hours.

1. Buddha jumps over the wall
We have heard this delicacy so much in TV that it aroused our interests in it. Being served two bowls, it contained loads full of seafood, such as abalone (one per person), chicken, ham, sea cucumber, scallops and many other seafood that you jus couldnt name. The soup is super duper delicious. But because the whole pot of soup had so much ingredient in them that after the staff divided into individual portions for us, the soup would have cooled down slightly.

2. Suckling pig
Which of course see me skipping it since I have difficulties separating the little meat and the fat and oil and skin. But it was served with its tail pointing upwards. Amazing.

3. Cold dish (fried egg, salad prawns, Wu Xiang, some prawn-filled balls)
Totally nice. I love every bit of it.

4. Cold crab with roe, sauce being plum sauce (served at room rather than refigerator
temperature)
Roe is delicious. So is the crab. Was told that it is served in this manner so as to preserve its natural taste. Was said to be a tradition Teochew food, especially the sauce.

5. Abalone served with mushroom and vegetables
Who can resist abalone?

6. Sambal cray fish
I probably seen it on TV but had never tried it. Yummy! Sambal is totally bearable for the sensitive throat. Jus that the meat seems to stick to the shell quite a bit.

7. Steamed fish
Looks and tastes great. Did I say this is one of the most outstanding Teochew dish? At least to my knowledge since my dad loves fish. Did I say that I love fish too? Steamed, fried, anything! I could jus have a whole fish on my own!

8. Green noodles eaten with sugar (yes sugar)
Squeeze the spinach to get sauce. Cook the noodles in that sauce. Eat it with sugar. When eaten with sugar, the noodles already tasted uniquely nice. Add it with sugar and somehow its nicer. I dont know why but it jus taste right. We were discussing how this dish came about such that people serve it with sugar.

9. Yam paste with pumkin and Bai Guo
I used to dislike Bai Guo, like papaya and many others, but I love it now totally. Good for the skin and body. The yam paste is nicely done jus abit too sweet for me. They said the tradition yam paste dessert comes with pumpkin though personally I couldnt tell the difference with and without it.

After a round of division buffet lunch (that serves western, chinese and thai food), this teochew banquet, and a round of diarrhea, I reckoned my stomach needs much rest. Ergh, I still have a round of eating at Thai Express tomorrow! Opps.