munsta ramblings

"Por Lor Pau"

This was apparently the "Por Lor Pau"...literally translated as Pineapple Bun. Depicted as a popular staple of dim sum parlours in the standard TVB serials, I suppose bro's curiousity was piqued. Well...as they say...the test is in the tasting...so, we eagerly sunk our teeth into it.

EEEEEEWWWW!!! Its so horrifically SWEEEEEEET!!!

Well...of course we'd anticipated any item purportedly containing pineapple to be sweet...but really...this was over the top and gulps and gulps of tea hardly helped to wash it down any easier!

As the dish was ordered by bro...he fulfilled his obligation without much grumble and polished off one. My grandparents shared the other...while I was left, woefully eying the fist of a lump of sugar on my plate.

Shucks....what was i going to do with mine...I attempted a few more valiant bites before concluding that there was no way on earth I'd be able to voluntarily shove that thing down my throat. Bro kept shooting amused looks at me and mouthing..."hahahahah....i'm done with mine...so just do your part and eat up!"

Sneaked him the evil eye...*hmmph*

In view of my grand dad's philosophy on waste, there was absolutely no way that we would leave prior to me finishing the half-eaten pineapple ball ......so there I sat nursing my cups of tea, displaying an air of nonchalence, but in actual fact, racking my brains like crazy for a way out of the spot I was in....

Then suddenly, a light bulb went off when I vaguely recollected this particular Mr Bean episode in which he provided a step-by-step guide with respect to the discreet disposal of a revolting meal at a smart French restaurant...

well...what works for him should work for me...so i decided to adapt and adopt the principles ...and improvisation led to the following scheme:

Whilst granddad got up to get the teapot refilled (he has this strange insistence of doing this personally), bro helped to distract grandma, as I quickly scooped what was left of that offending ball into an empty bamboo steamer. Deftly, I placed another empty bamboo steamer on top, effectively hiding the unfinished spectacle from sight.

Voila!! Mission accomplished.

hahahahaha...bro and I were pretty chuffed at our smooth execution...and all seemed to go well, with the usual chatter and conversation flowing.... right until a diligent waitress cleared the table of all empty plates and steamers...all, save the particular steamer with the skeleton in the closet!

ello!?!? when a customer goes to such great lengths to bury some left-over morsel in a sea of empty steamers...it can only mean one thing: Please take it away (discreetly) without further comment!!!

*groan* - silently hoped that grandpa had not yet seen it as i tried to strategically shift my arm (tra-la-la-la-la...as if that was the most natural thing for me to do!) to obstruct his line of sight.

Back-up plan would have worked only if bro had not started giggling at the development of events...the little self-restraint he thought he possessed soon errupted into a hearty guffaw....it was just as lucky that he had not begun spewing tea all over the table as well!

Kicked him hard in his shins...and shot him another evil eye...but alas...twas too late!!

Grandpa had seen the ball of sugar and was insisting that I finish it off....nevermind all the excuses I could proffer...it was clear that there was no way I could worm myself out of the dilemma.

Need to think out of the box, need to think out of the box....

Couldn't conveniently export it to neighbouring tables as they were all occupied by patrons. The nearest dumpster/rubbish bin was nowhere in sight.

Then i reasoned out a compromise....what i hated was that solid sticky filling....was ok with the crust itself....so as Grandpa, yet again, rose to refill the teapot....I quickly sprung into action:

Dug out all the offensive filling (pretty much the consistency of lotus paste) and hid it all by stuffing it under my downward-turned spoon...and when grandpa was back at the table, I was obediently finishing off what was left of the crust.

He beamed at me and said: "See...that wasn't so bad after all..."

Bro and I began doing shots (well, as best as possible) with cups of hot tea....we simply could not risk leaving the last pot of tea to be savoured at leisure ...just in case another diligent waitress comes along and reveals all.....

For me, that was probably my first and last "por lor pau" for a heck of a long time!!

munsta ramblings @ 12:04 pm