Remnants of the Past

We know that everyone we meet has some kind of influence or impact on us that shapes us to be who we are presently. No matter how insignificant a conversation might have been, a passing comment, a smile, a look, a game, chance meetings, everything gets stored in some form or another. Some memories are stronger than others, and I often find myself remember snippets of conversations or experiencing the feeling of deja vu, but the full picture always eludes me. It's terrible, because more likely than not, I will remember the topic of conversation but not the person I had the conversation with.

So, I remember this particular conversation with someone about yum cha, during which I was told the dish where the restaurant owners rake in the most profit. That dish is mango pancake- cheapest to make, sold for the same price as other dishes.

From cookkk

So I made my own. I remember making this ages ago, but filling it with cream and durian. It was absolutely awesome, but unfortunately, I'm not allowed to bring durian home. I had most of the ingredients at hand already, except for one: custard powder. 

From cookkk

Method is simple: 2/3 cup flour, 1 tablespoon each of custard powder, vegetable oil and caster sugar, 1 cup milk, and 2 eggs for the batter. It's a matter of whisking the lot together, passing it through a sieve into a pouring jug. I FINALLY got my hands on pyrex measuring jugs. They are essentials in the kitchen which I know I need, but never got around to getting. I used to have plastic ones and fearing each time I put boiling liquid in to measure that it will melt. Now I have "1 cup" and "2 cups" pyrex jugs which is super handy especially for pouring. It was on special at some Birkenhead outlet store.

The most time consuming thing is standing in front of the non-stick pan, low heat, making super thin pancakes individually. Talk about testing patience... all you have to do is pour just enough to coat the surface of the frying pan, wait till the top surface is dry and you're done, but you have to repeat that about 15 times. I cook it on one side only and because it's so thin, the heat cooks the other side even without flipping. These don't tear very easily so it's simpler to just peel it from the non-stick pan with your fingers than using a spatula (it's winter, things get cold so quickly, which is a good thing when making this).

From cookkk

Whip some cream with a bit of caster sugar, I had frozen mango in the freezer, ensemble and you get yum cha style mango pancake. I'm sure you can fill it with other types of fruits like strawberries or peaches.

My mum and brother's reaction when eating this was enough to let me know how similar to actual yum cha mango pancake this recipe was. 

Now who was it again, that I had the conversation with about yum cha and the cheapest dish to make....