easter friday

I woke up on Easter Friday morning to Easter greetings from housemate Beh Kee and a Kinder Surprise! I found the little dwarf hidden in the chocolate egg. Thinking of it... this seems to be the first Easter egg I ever received from anyone in my entire life.



Weeks ago, Beh Kee asked me if I would like to attend the Easter Friday service at church with her. She said it would be nice if I could. My close friends will appreciate how much it takes to try to get me to attend church with them due to my not too great impressions forged over the services I attended at various churches in Singapore. Nevertheless, I accepted the invitation this time with an open mind. Hence, this Easter Friday 2009 saw me at the Hillsong Church in Waterloo.



The turnout for the Easter service was unexpectedly high and the auditorium couldn't accommodate all. As a result, the backup garage space was opened up. Enormous efforts were then put in to create additional seats such that the overflows into the garage can slowly be moved into the auditorium. Beh Kee and I eventually got into the auditorium but as most of the time was spent organising the attendees and seating arrangement, the actual service ended up shorter than usual. I wasn't particularly touched by the service but the entire atmosphere and people around me left a rather good impression. I even got a free bible (see below pic)! Beh Kee and I hung around at the bible and cd shop after the service and I was seriously tempted to get a set of that chronological bible. It's a gigantic encyclopedia-like book that documents the events of the bible in historical context. I love reading history books, remember? I may really go get it after I finish reading my pile of unread books.



We also invited the Lee family to our humble abode for dinner as part of our 'host dinner for all those who haven't been to our place' project. The menu this time was:

- chicken laksa (chef=me)
- apple pie (chef=Beh Kee)
- red bean soup (courtesy of Grandma Lee)
- agar agar (courtesy of Mama Lee)

The items on the menu didn't seem to match eh? But well, there were no fixed rules on planning the menu so we just cooked what we felt like eating! Below you see me shredding the cooked chicken breast fillets and then splitting up the ingredients into individual bowls for the six diners.



Beh Kee hard at work here preparing the apples for her signature pie. Let's hope it will turn out ok this time, unlike the stupid potatoes that refused to get cooked.



Check out the laksa garnishes and the apple pie! And my new vase of gerberas make such a great centrepiece for the dining table!



A close up look at a bowl of laksa complete with an abundance of shredded chicken, a hard boiled egg, some tau pok (deep fried tofu), fish tofu, bean sprouts and thick rice vermicelli in a spicy prawn paste-ish broth. Very yumz! We must thank Prima Taste as usual - Prima never fails us.



A close up look at Beh Kee's signature apple pie. I sacrificed five cheerful petals from my gerberas here. Because of the petals, I rate the presentation 10/10! Haha.



Check out the apple filling oozing out! The pie was a hit among all. The crust was baked to a perfect crunch (although the bottom crust remained slightly uncooked, gotta improve on this further) and the filling was not overly sweet but just right on the taste buds. I reckon Beh Kee will be very busy from now on with endless requests for her signature apple pie.



Of course we had to take a group pic before the night ended. From left to right below: Mr CC (who's not a member of the Lee family but was invited due to him being a family friend of the Lees), Beh Kee, Grandma Lee, Papa Lee, Mama Lee, Me and Baby Matthew Lee right in front in the pram.



I quote my dear housemate: "no need for parties, just a dinner and some conversations; makes the night young for goodbyes, even for the baby." My sentiments exactly.