Even as a child, MARY AU was an unabashed lover of music as well as of food. Her mission is to make classical music part of the fabric of everyday life, in settings where both audience and artist can share in the joy of live music.

Feel free to view Mary's music biography, performance schedule, and repertoire lists.



 

Mary's Love of Food

Mary's Love of Food

I have always loved food, even when I was still in my mommy's tummy. I was born within two hours after my parents went out for a midnight snack at Nam Yeung ("South Pacific"), a Singaporean restaurant in Hong Kong for Satay, Beef Haw Fun and congee, all still favorite foods of mine.

satay image from barbecue-online.co.ukGrowing up in Hong Kong was great. The island has restaurants that feature food from all over the world. Even fast food (including hamburgers) tastes much better there than anywhere else in the world. When I was twelve, I asked if we could braise the leftover beef used in making beef soup in some dark soy sauce and sugar... and voila, my first recipe.

I didn't actually learn to cook until I was a student in England. I was quickly introduced to Fish and Chips, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Vindaloo, Chicken Biryani, Scottish Haggis, English Tea Sandwiches, Irish Stew, and loved them all. But I craved for the comfort food and great cuisine I grew up with. Since I lived in the suburb, Central London was too far to travel to every time I had a craving for good food. I decided that I had to learn to cook for myself. My mentor, auntie Pui-Laan Liu, taught me many dishes: Roast Pork with Crackling, Curry Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Foo Kwai Chicken to name a few. My mother bought me cook books to indulge my curiosity in learning to make Drunken Chicken, Chicken a-la-King, Beef Stroganoff, Baked Alaska... But my first dish was Scottish Eggs, followed by Minced Beef in Tomato Sauce (Chinese style) and Chocolate Mousse.

Subsequently, I graduated to cooking for larger banquets, the largest of which was a Mexican feast for a party of 300, with help of course. The biggest mix-up occurred when I prepared a ten-course Chinese meal for 70, only to find that it was only for 17 (they made a mistake). We were eating leftovers for weeks afterwards.

I hope to include some of my favorite recipes in this section, and I hope very much that you will enjoy them. Feel free to e-mail me your favorite ones if your spirit so moves you.