My Landlady's Cantonese Chix Dish!

One weekend, while I was preparing myself for a shower prior to going out again to meet up with friends in the city, my landlady barged in the kitchen cum dining area in our tiny Chinatown apartment from outside. In her hands was a whole chicken that she soon started chopping finely with a huge kitchen knife, in expertly driven thuds given to the dead bird. I got reminded of my former nasty habit of refusing to eat anything chicken up until I reached high school. When I was still a small boy, I saw a live headless chicken running around the kitchen while our helper was trying to prepare it for boiling before getting it dressed. It was one of the most shocking sights I've seen so far at my young age that time, such that I refused to eat anything chicken based, and I would even cry whenever I'd be forced to eat this flight-less bird. I eventually overcome the habit one party time held at a high school classmate's party, and they had nothing except all chicken-based dishes (her parents were into chicken dealership business). I was so hungry then, and I soon learned chicken didn't really taste bad at all!

Zoom in to that afternoon weekend, I soon had my shower in the enclosed bathtub in our apartment while my landlady was busy preparing the chicken. I ignored the whole process as I was busy with my shower. I finished as quick as I could, and dashed inside my tiny bedroom fast paced, and got myself dressed as I also sought out some things I needed to bring to my friends. I heard my landlady went in and out at least twice in their bedroom next to mine.

I went out of my bedroom as soon as I got attired, and lo!---my landlady handed me a delightful looking chicken dish in a bowl. In her very limited English, with her chinky smiling eyes, she motioned me to eat and have a delight savoring the dish. I didn't get the chance to refuse, as she caught me offhanded by handing me right away the bowl. I had no option but to sit down momentarily, and start munching on the chicken from the bowl. It was slightly honey sweet tasting, tender and warm in light soy sauce, almost steamed-like white meat that reminded me of a variation of Hainanese chicken rice meal---which I believe is the test of a cook's abilities in preparing chicken as only the most expert can do this dish perfectly well (either you overcook it, or still have parts of the chicken raw in the end).

In their bedroom (that she shares with her husband and a son), I heard my landlady create some sounds from making her arrangements on her big bag that she's bringing with her to her live-in job, which I don't really know for sure what sort of job she does, but I think she's a housekeeper most probably with another Chinese or Asian family (that also speaks her main language, which is Cantonese). I only see my landlady once a week. Surreptitiously, I thought of getting pictures of the large plate of chicken dish that she had clingwrapped in clear thin plastic, that she left on the tiny dining table. They're posted somewhere here, and I would have wanted them to be in color, but I didn't know how to fix the camera software in my old celfone. But the results were, nevertheless, still yummy looking. Nothing beats experience combined with pouring of loving care that comes from someone's heart when it comes to cooking!