After three weeks of spicy Malaysian curries, chewy roti and refreshing drinks, I am back in the real world. Nobody is cooking for me. I cannot sit at a table and have more fake mutton rendang. My fridge is empty (although there is now a new stash of dark chocolate from Malaysia and Japan) and I have 55 pages of journal scribblings and recipe notes to wade through. I want to re-create many of the scrumptious dishes I had in Malaysia.

So let the testing begin!

I was working on my first dish tonight, and it wasn’t as simple as you’d think. Salad from a few ingredients needs something extra to make it taste like more than just those few ingredients. And without the original dish in front of me, I have only my memory and palate to guide me. I think I came close, but I’m not sure.

Back to the cutting board…