Lobster Bisque & Yi-Mein noodles

For my final blog post, I wanted to use a culmination of all of the conversations I’ve had with friends that explored my own creative autonomy. I invited them all over for dinner, thinking about the main mission of ‘the Copy Cat’. I realised through this journey that all I wanted was to expose the pretentious attachments the word ‘authentic’ has while challenging the boundaries of tradition. Tradition is beautiful; it is a stable foundation that keeps us grounded. But change is what keeps us going. 

I thought of my own identity both as a cook and my upbringing. The staples my grandma used, both from her garden and the local wet market. I decided to do the naughty fusion that you either violently hate or adore: Asian-European. 

Yi-mein noodles are best cooked simply. Using the wok and hot neutral oil to swing it around with soy sauce and chives. Lobster bisque, on the other hand, is its Cartesian pairing. Incredibly complicated with a cooking process opposite that of a wok. 

The base of the entire thing was a lobster stock that was reduced to a mere glaze before infusing it with Gippsland cream. My kitchen smelled bizarre. Yet, as I paired the two- not with emulsification but gently atop each other- it was the perfect marriage. The subtle crisp from the noodles, the freshness from the chives, the simplicity of the chopped lobsters, and the heartiness of the creamy-rich bisque, everyone was floored. Especially me. I could not think of anything obvious that it reminded me of, but the love of curiosity and nuance that exists with dishes existing outside their traditional boundaries.