This week saw three new dishes and one of which I had reminded myself many times I would never. Ever. Try. But the time was right to be bold and daring and I was feeling brave. Later I would realise that feeling bold, daring and brave was synonymous for stupid.

The dish I told myself I would never ever do? A laksa.

“I will never try making a laksa in the chance that I’d ruin a delicious and comforting meal for the rest of my life”.

I was desperate as I hadn’t had a decent laksa for a few months after my favourite noodle restaurant moved and forgot to pack their service. And on the back of my personal project, I thought why not? Also, if you’re new to laksa, make sure you have them with some dunked in fried tofu as the explosion of flavours you get coupled with the texture of the tofu after biting them is stunning and often calls for some cube refilling.

But before the laksa, I thought I’d give prawn toasts a try as I’ve quite enjoyed one most times I go eat out and will have some spare prawns from the kilo pack I bought.

These turned out really good but cooked quickly for my liking (even on the lowest setting). Aside from a darker tone, they still tasted delish and were dead simple to make. Additionally, I only needed half of the mixture so will either make some more again or just fry them like fish cakes.

So off to a good start.

The laksa recipe called for half a kilo of pumpkin which I thought was strange but I didn’t question (this should have been my first hint as I didn’t recall a pumpkin like flavour). Making the broth was easier than anticipated but it asked for a jar of already done laksa paste which should have been my second giveaway. I’m not sure if that is normal in restaurant conditions (I’m assuming it isn’t) so I was questioning its use when I normally make things from scratch (eg pork spare rib sauce).

The pumpkin reduced the spiciness of the dish and made it a little too sweet for my liking. It also thickened up the broth drawing attention away from the laksa essence and coconut milk. It seemed like I had pumpkin soup with noodles.

At least it looked the part.

I think I just lucked out. Maybe next time I’m feeling courageous, I might go bungee jump or parachuting. At least tonight I was able to reaffirm my stance on not making laksas.

The next night saw some crispy skinned lemon chicken which I don’t think I’ve ever had. Again this one was quite easy to make and the ginger and shallots drew similarities to the Asian style oven baked fish I really enjoy. The skin definitely turned crispy and biting into the ginger strips I added to the end of the baking gave it a caramelised gooeyness. The chicken meat was delicate and oh so soft. I’ll do this one again – perhaps with slightly less lemon juice.

To top off the night and no this isn’t a new dish, I made some of my long time fav: lychee ice cream with left over roasted sesame seeds. Always yum.