Meeting Of Friends

It was another pleasant day at Ernest’s yesterday. Followers of my blog will know by now that Ernest is an artist friend of mine who loves to cook and entertain. Our group of friends meet once a month, or more, if there is a special occasion at his place. Due to commitments, twelve of us rarely make it together at the same weekend. Usually, there were only five or six of us who could make it.

Yesterday, there were five of us including Ernest. As per our habit, we arranged to meet at half past three. We had afternoon tea – with pastries and whatever we bought on the way. We then catch up on what’s been happening in our lives since we last met. We shared our views on what’s happening around us, and in the world.

With five adults chatting and sharing anecdotes, time slipped by very quickly. At some point, the host will excuse himself to prepare dinner. All food preparations were done, he just needed to cook them. Some of us will help lay the table while some wandered into the kitchen to see Ernest cook, and hoped to pick up some pointers on cooking.

After dinner, there were fruits – whatever fruits that are in season, or whatever looks good from the supermarket. Last night there was jack fruit, strawberries, dragon fruit, mangoes and one of the girls made some jellies. We were all stuffed by the end of the meal.

We continued with our drinks and chatting until it was time to go. Some left at about nine, and some left at half past ten. For me, it was a great day spent with friends. It must be what people call the simple pleasures in life – catching up with friends, eating, drinking leisurely, laughing, having fun with friends.

The following were what Ernest whipped up yesterday.

Chinese Salad

Pork chop with a lovely creamy mushroom sauce

Ernest's first try at butter chicken. It's a bit different from the butter chicken I am used to. But it was still very nice.

A simple potato dish stir-fried with onions and lots of herbs and spices.

And finally our staple rice - fragrant rice with ginger.

For tea, we had these delicious cakes from 'Chalk Farm'. Very, very nice! There were also some curry puff. They were gobbled before I remembered to take pictures of them.