Author: Kwan, Kevin
Book: Crazy Rich Asians
Deliciousness rating: Outstanding

Jenne: One of our co-workers said he liked this book, and even though I almost never take book recommendations (I am the worst) I thought it sounded like my kind of thing and ended up binge-reading it in like, two days. It sort of fills the Judith Krantz-shaped void in my heart (come back, Judy!) and the food in it is amaaaaaazing so of course I immediately started trying to get Miko to read it.

Miko: Jenne recommended Crazy Rich Asians to me as a great 36 Eggs book, so I read it knowing that we would be recreating a meal from it. The characters really do eat ALL THE TIME and SUMPTUOUSLY, like I imagine the Romans did. Here is a list of the dishes and beverages that I found in the story.

OUR CRAZY RICH ASIANS MENU
Click on the orange links for the recipes — it was way too long to include on one post!

First Course: Starters & Drinks
To start our meal, there were fluffy scones, served warm with jam, cream and tea.

“You sure about this?” Rachel asked again, blowing softly on her steaming cup of tea… Nick laughed, slathering jam and clotted cream onto a scone still warm from the oven. (11)

Erica also made us Singapore Slings, based on this recipe from Food.com. They were BEAUTIFUL. They also went down way too easily. “This drink tastes like college!” I was heard to shout joyously that evening.

“Well, I have to admit, this Singapore Sling is better than I imagined,” Peik Lin said, taking another sip of her frothy crimson drink (402).

Second Course: Salad

Our greatest challenge for the evening was creating a langoustine and calamansi lime gelée terrine, especially since we couldn’t find a ready recipe online. We had to cobble the steps together, and I have to say, it turned out rather marvelous. No idea if this is what Kevin Kwan had in mind, of course, but it was indeed “surprisingly tasty”!

The second course had just been served — a surprisingly tasty langoustine and calamansi lime geleé terrine (Kwan 202).
Third Course: Entrées

Our third course was char be hoon, or fried vermicelli noodles.

They could play soccer until the sun went down, and then head to the nearest kopi tiam for cold beers and some nasi goreng or char be hoon. (76)

“Try Malaysia’s most popular dish — nasi lemak,” [Nick] said. Rachel undid the string and the glossy banana leaf unfolded to reveal a neatly composed mound of rice surrounded by cucumbers, tiny fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, and a hard-boiled egg. (344)

 

Fourth Course: Desserts

For dessert, we had chocolate chiffon cake.

     [Nick] offered some cake to Rachel. “You’ve got to try this–it’s one of our cook Ah Ching’s greatest hits.” …. She tasted the cake, her eyes widening instantly. It was the perfect combination of chocolate and cream, with an airy melt-in-your mouth lightness. “Hmmm. I like that it isn’t too sweet.” 
     “That’s why I can never eat other chocolate cakes. They’re always too sweet, too dense, or have too much frosting,” Nick said. (152)

The ladies sat around enjoying homemade bobo chacha… Eleanor began her lament as she savored her chilled coconut-and-sago pudding. (82)

Did it measure up?

Jenne: This was SO FUN, and the food was a lot better than we expected! We kept reminding each other, when totaling how much money we spent on this, that our hobby is WAY cheaper than skiing. Or marathoning. Or polo.

And everyone should have a tiara. You never know when it will come in handy.

Miko: The dishes all turned out remarkably well, and it is so much fun to dress up when it’s not required. It turned into a grown-up version of tea party. And I sure loved tea party as a kid.

Kwan, Kevin. Crazy Rich Asians. New York: Doubleday, 2013.