food from the maid

After granma Lee passed away, her maid was left "idle". The Cambodian grrl was hired to take care of my granma after the Indonesian one was deemed a little rebellious and had to be sent back.

I remember when Han first came to the household, she looked soft spoken and very young. That time, the government was having some issues with Indonesian maids; the alternative was to get Cambodian maids, nevermind that they hardly speak the language.

Almost 2 years later, and seemingly more fluent in Cantonese than myself, Han has grown. I bet her family wouldn't be able to recognise her when she goes back next month.

Han eats rice and poultry for 2, and is probably bigger than me and my brother combined. She's learnt to cook Cantonese dishes the Lee family way, with sprinkles of sugar for flavouring.

Sometimes when she's back to clean our house for the weekend, I can't help but salivate at some of the dishes she's managed to cook.

She only cooks for my granma who stays with my youngest uncle and his wife. Other than taking care of granma Lee, she has a pretty relaxing job actually since my uncle's family has a house with very little furniture, and a simple lifestyle. Not surprising that she's grown bigger with ample of naps and plenty of food!

Now that she doesn't have to take care of anyone, we brought her back to our home to help with some household chores. It's a little luxury at least for my mum who works till quite late. The extra help in washing clothes and ironing really helps.

As for me, I even asked to taste some of the food she cooks. So much so that when she sees me in the kitchen grinning away, she automatically knows how to keep a small portion for me.

I told my mum about this, and we joked about how ironic it is that the lady of the house have to "beg" for food from the maid!