Cooking in preparation for our worktrip!

In preparation for our Bo Kluea ADP trip, a few of us met at Abby's house to bravely try our hand in cooking. The idea was to present the 'Singapore flavour' to our Thai friends, who will be spoiling us with their huge variety of authentic Thai food.

In my opinion, cooking as a way of expressing our gratitude and appreciation was a HORRIBLE idea.

When i signed up for the trip, doing heavy, manual work and interacting with boisterous Thai kids was what i had in mind. Cutting and boiling vegetables and meat was definitely not in the picture. I have tried cooking, not once, but many times. But from lower Secondary school days where i failed Home Economics class, my love for cooking has been non-existent.

Nonetheless, we were determined to rise up to the challenge, and reciprocate ADP's kindness with equal gusto. We tried our hand at Lontong, Chicken rice (complete with soup), Laksa and Tang yuan for dessert. To minimise risk, we trusted professionals and bought Prima Taste Vegetable curry, Prima Taste Chicken Rice and Prima Taste Laksa mixes. The Tang yuans, we did it ourselves, from the mixing of dough to filling, and to the boiling.

Needless to say, Tang yuan was unsuccessful. After enduring 6 tasteless Tang yuans each, we decided to find another recipe and try again another day. The rest of the dishes were saved by Bao Zhing, Bo Nian and Hnin Hnin and they tasted delicious. However, making the tang yuans with friends has been one of the most fun experiences i have had with cooking. Unlike others' tang yuans (which were either just dough balls studded with peanut chips or HUGE out of proportion ones), mine looked great :D This totally increased my confidence in cooking.
Cramming 8 mostly inexperienced teenagers in one kitchen was dangerous, but Abby was courageous enough to let us wrack havoc in her kitchen and dining table. THANKS ABBY!

All in all, it was rewarding to see the food you made look the way it's meant to look in the end. It was a great bonding time for everyone.
If not for our worktrip, who knows when we'll discover the fun in cooking?

Written by- YA Ding Ding

YA Ding Ding and YAP President Jun En making tang yuans

YAP Secretary, Daryl and YA Hnin Hnin cooking Lontong

The end product of a hard day's work of cooking

YAP Fundraising Comm Director, Bonian. Satisfied with the chicken rice!

The wonderful chefs of the day, including YA Bao Zing(not pictured here)