The Soup Queen

I know. It sounds unbelievable right? Steamed green apple with American ginseng will cure your headaches forever? Isn't it such an audacious claim? Really? Does it work? Actually, these were my reactions too when I heard it from - of all people - my mum! As I live in Penang and my mum lives in Selangor (Banting, to be specific, which is a little town near Morib and one that's well-known for its seafood), we have regular phone conversations. These days it's much easier because calls are free - we use Viber a lot. So we have long conversations. About food. About life. Mostly food. She knows I love my food. And I like taking good care of myself. I am a hedonist. I probably learnt that from her. She's always telling me how we should all eat better. It is true though. With better nutrition, you do feel immensely better. That is why SoupQueen exists, right? ;-) Here's how the story goes. My mum often goes to the Sunday market in Banting where there's lots...

Do you like mulberries? I find them rather fascinating fruits because they're a cross between raspberries (in look) yet with the tartness of lemons. My friend, Don, once offered me a tiny mulberry that he plucked off his mulberry plant. As we live in Malaysia where the weather is hot, the mulberry was prized indeed. It was barely red enough. It tasted tart. But I like tart fruits so that was all right.  When I was in Hong Kong last year, I managed to buy some fresh ones and they were much larger than the tiny one grown by Don. For about HK$15, I bought a box (see below) at the local Hong Kong evening market. Looks like a lot of fruits right?  Mulberry fruits or mulberry berries? Bought these from a market in Hong Kong. Don't be fooled by the overflowing basket. The berries are propped up by lots of foam! Sneaky HK fruit sellers prop their baskets with foam so that you just get a handful but it seems like a lot! I think that is really cheating. I'd prefe...