"People want honest, flavourful food, not some show-off meal that takes days to prepare."
Although I've never been good at cooking, I learned how to appreciate good food when I see one. I used to judge dishes by appearance but changed after being exposed to Chinese dishes especially those on small restaurants which (sometimes) may not be visually appealing but the tastes and flavors can be very surprising. Below are just some of the gastronomical indulgences we've had then.
Noodles, freshly-made ones that is, had become a favorite for the husband and I when we lived for a few years in the most populous country in the world. There were smaller restaurants where we loved to go because they prepare the food right where we can see them. For us, it was kind of an art how they manually prepare the noodles and cook right there and then and even let us add what other things we wanted on our bowls or ask them to remove what we don't.
This for instance, was a typical flat noodle soup which most would have anytime of the day. One can request an egg (boiled or pouched) to be added in or not at all. This one's the most simplest form we've had.
This one below is a vermicelli noodle soup. Each serving is prepared on a clay pot and cooked on a slow fire. The restaurant we often had this had a long improvised burner that can cook more than 10 pots at once. And waiting time for this to get served is around 10 minutes which isn't too long.
This had generous additions of meat slices (pork or beef), peanuts and yes, vegetables! The appearance might not look ravishing, but trust me, this was very tasty and the soup too!
And here comes the stir-fried flat noodles. These were freshly-made noodles too, not the commercially available ones. It's one of my comfort foods. In fact, the husband knows that when I'm having my mood swings, he'd take me to one of our favorite food corners and I'm easily appeased, lol!
The dish looks greasy, nevertheless, memory tells me that it was tasty and delicious. There was a time when I attempted to make this here at home but it was a total failure. Yes, I've got a long way to travel when it comes to cooking, but eating? That's one I'm really good at and I don't say no to, lol!