I actually have more pictures of SteppyYums than these few here.
But they're in my phones- and I haven't gotten around to transfer them.
There's something very lovely about taking pictures of all the meals we have at Steppyhouse. I don't know how to describe it. To some people these may be just simple, uncomplicated dishes that don't deserve pomp, grandeur and horn, but they're special, homely, and meaningful to me.
Most of the meals here are stove cooked, but there's one here from Little Blue Pot, and one which I love very much.
It was one of those evenings where I could go for either a box of fried kuay teow- bought from the shop near the MRT station, a slice of bread, or a packet of instant noodles.
I remember hesitating a bit, but noodles won.
There's something comforting about having a bowl of my favorite food in my hand, and there's something reassuring about seeing it all for myself, cooked the way I like with the ingredients, and the seasoning that I like.
I have had noodles where instead of seasoning I've put butter and sesame oil and mixed herbs.
This evening, however, I decided to go all the way with a full box of luncheon meat, and the shrimp seasoning from the packet, plus many dashes of sesame oil. So lazy was I that I didn't even bother to cut up the luncheon meat. Just twisted it apart with the fork and dumped the whole lot into Little Blue Pot.
Hence the hacked out appearance of the meat.
Myojo really is one of my favorite brands when it comes to instant noodles.
I love the texture, the way the noodle absorbs the flavor of the seasoning, and how it gives just that feel of chew when you have a spoon of it at one go.
But one cannot have instant noodles every day, yes?
So here the rest of the meals are.
One thing you'll see about all these dishes are the eggs.
Cooked in different styles, all done in a way that I like, done in a way that I appreciate very much, and done in a way that means something to me.
I like my eggs scrambled.
I like my eggs fried.
I also like them done omelet style with frozen prawns thrown inside.
Of course, one can have more than just eggs alone, so there are times when we have the eggs with shabu shabu sliced chicken. There are times when we have the eggs with them little frozen prawns and a heap of (specially kept) basmati rice.
I wish I knew exactly what sauces the chef mixes when cooking the meat or rice shallow-fried, but I know there's organic fish sauce, organic oyster sauce, sesame oil, black bean sauce, and some other bottles that i now cannot remember, and very likely also cannot recognize.
It isn't just meat that we have.
Some days we have potatoes.
Fresh ones, not frozen, that we buy from the supermarket downstairs, that we wash, peel, Ninja-chop, and fry.
I like how crisp and fresh tasting they are.
Especially when I eat them plain with just pink salt, no sauce.
But they taste good however they're made.
I'm never particular with homecooked meals.
I love all them as they are, however they're prepared.
On occasion though there're some foods I like more than the others.
Like salmon belly, which we cut into bite-sized pieces and shallow fry.
Done well, the salmon belly is hot, it has a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and a skin so crisp it contrasts sharp with the fish.
Sometimes I pop the whole piece inside my mouth.
Other times I eat the skin first, then the fish, so I get to savor the belly piece in its entirety.