The One with the Shepherd’s Pie

Today is Labour Day in Singapore, so it’s a holiday. Yay!

I still had to work because it’s not a holiday in the countries where our clients are, but it’s still a yay for me because working on a holiday means free lunch! It’s our company policy. And who doesn’t like free food, right?

Recently we’ve been getting these free lunches catered. There were lots of different kinds of food but the only dish on the eight-course-or-so menu that tasted delicious to me was the Shepherd’s pie.

Look, May 1 is red on the calendar

Can I take this entire tray home?

I love spaghetti, and this is kinda like spaghetti, isn’t it, with ground meat and tomato sauce and instead of noodles, a layer of mashed potatoes on top. Okay, so maybe it’s a stretch, but I just love all tomato sauce-based food!

Shepherd’s pie actually reminds me of an episode in one my favorite sitcoms, Friends. In the episode “The One Where Ross Got High,” Rachel made an English trifle for a dinner with the gang and Ross and Monica’s parents. Unfortunately the pages of the cookbook she was using got stuck together and she ended up making half of an English trifle and half of a Shepherd’s pie. English trifle is a dessert made of custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or gelatin, and whipped cream. So imagine mixing that up with meat and tomato sauce and mashed potatoes. Not a good combination, to be sure.

When the gang realized this, they tried to spare Rachel’s feelings by pretending to like it even though “It tastes like feet!” as Ross put it. They all made up an excuse about having to go elsewhere to enjoy it, like the balcony or the bathroom or the bedroom. Later on Chandler lied that a bird suddenly came out of nowhere and ate his share. Only Joey actually loved the stuff, saying, “What’s not to like? Custard – good. Jam – good. Meat – good!” And he ended up eating everyone’s discarded share. 😀

The funny thing is, if I had been there, I have a feeling I would have been with Joey. I like to mix up my food on purpose. My friends even used to laugh at me for doing this. I also tend to do the same when I cook, so, if you’re not a brave soul, you are warned to steer clear of my cooking. 😛