a spot of randomness : orh nee and me

what is Orh Nee? = "a Teochew yam paste / hot dessert made of yam, pumpkin, etc., ground into a smooth, creamy paste, mixed with oil and sweetened. topped with pumpkin, gingko nuts and water chestnuts" [paraphrased via] ie: my favourite all-time Teochew dessert, with intense memories of my dad cooking this dish decades ago, a grey-hued purplish base (color of yam) with a bright orange pumpkin pulp on top ... not the torrid monstrosity folks serve now in so-called-"Teochew restaurants". but when the heck does gingko-nuts come into play? (i reckon tis a singaporean-concoction) *i hate gingko nuts* ... gimme my pumpkin anytime (truly hard to find nowsaday *sob*)

and here i sit with me dad, while waiting for the rest of the family to turn up, at the Ban Seng restaurant @ 82A Boat Quay, ticking away what teochew-dish to wolf-down (mediocre fare, IMHO) and of the pale mush they try to pass off as Orh Nee (image-right) and that has left me wanting ... *sigh*