I arrived home today to find a parcel stuffed into my post box. Yes, it has finally arrived – my food parcel from Cheryl in Singapore, sent to be because of the recent blog by post.

Lets see what is inside (clockwise from top right).
The first thing we found are the most fantastic peanut butter biscuits, homemade by Cherly (please give me the recipe!). They got a little bit squashed in transit, but they are still fresh and are really tasty! I am desperately trying to eat them slowly, but without much success.

Next is some Bak Kuet Teh, which is basically a spice mix to be added to pork ribs or similar. Cheryl describes it as a herbal chicken soup which is a hit with both the locals and the tourists, so I shall look forward to it. Listen to some of the ingredients – Chinese Angelica, Wolfberry Fruit, Dried Tangerine Peel, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Pepper, Fennel – yummy! I wonder if I can use it as a basting sauce for a braai?

Next up is a Hainanese Chicken Rice, a spice paste which is added to rice, or to a stir-fry. I’ve been given a recipe for it at Visiting Singapore. In fact, the website describes it as a candidate for ‘national dish’, it can be found in every street corner coffeeshop and coffee houses of hotels in Singapore. Brought to Singapore by immigrants from Hainan, China, it has evolved to become the delicious Singaporean dish it is today. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

The curry powder is not going to last very long, we have already decided to use it in a curry tonight, along with the papadums. The popadoms we have in South Africa are much larger than these, so I shall have to compare.

Finally, because Lois and I are such chilli fans, we have been sent a packet of Earthen Pot Chilli Powder. I think if the curry is not hot enough this will set us on fire!

Cheryl – you have done a great job with the blog by post, thanks a ton!

Sam – thanks for organising the blog by post.