le pig. *grin*

so el cerdo means the pig, eh? dad was asking what it meant so i texted jCe for reference. lol.

lunched with dad and his business people in a restaurant off... was it jalan raja laut? not sure. anyone who knows deusche haus, its just right opposite. i was greeted with an atrocious parody of the mona lisa emblazoned on the door handles: a pig's grinning face and trotters were photoshopped in place of lisa's delicate visage. yikes.

however, the food was phenomenal. deep fried pork skin crisps as appetizers, an entree of caesar salad, and assorted sausages accompanied by mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. then piggy trotters (by now you ought to have guessed by the restaurant name that everything's pork, and strictly pork), wrapped in bacon, also with sides of sauerkraut and a salad. very well done indeed. who knew i'd actually like sauerkraut? not that delectable eaten alone but eaten with the meat it is quite delicious. oh, i forgot. we had ribs too. not bad, not bad, but the best's yet to come.

next came the suckling pig, half of it, served with the ears and tail intact. delightfully tender, the likes of juicy succulent roasted pork (and the crisp skin) you seldom get to taste (Mr Ho loses hands down). before we could partake however, a (hmm, spanish? german?) girl came out with two plates and asked who would like the honour of breaking the plates, as is the tradition. being frugal chinese, naturally everyone declined. i remember her expression taking on an odd look and she asked dad (to whom everyone had pushed the 'honour' of plate breaking): 'you chinese?'

is it just me or did she sound a tad bit condescending/patronising? meaning:

A) you cheap chinese who're nitpicking about a silly plate, who cares how much the plate costs??

B) or perhaps, you superstitious chinese, whats the big deal about breaking a plate??

C) or was it just plain and simple disappointment that we werent sporting enough to join in the fun?

guess we'll never know. apparently we were supposed to use the edges of the broken halves to cut the meat. i simply cant imagine how they'd manage that. in any case, if its either choice A) or B) from up there, then her prejudice's gone barking up the wrong tree since it was neither. in truth, the adults were concerned about unseen shards of broken pottery that might crumble into the meat, and enter your tummy via the food. and then, you'll suffer when it starts cutting you up inside. neither did they see the logic in breaking a plate for just such a reason. wasteful. ahhh... there comes the frugal nature of my race, generally speaking. so much for being indignant about her reaction. *chuckle*

dessert was decadent, raspberry/blackberry sherbet. it teases the palate nicely, since the sherbet owes its slightly tart flavour to the fresh berries mixed in, followed by sweet vanilla ice cream, and then a taste of bittersweet chocolate mousse to round off. beautiful combination. i wonder if i could try making that when i get home? lol... will have to dig around in mum's recipe books then.