My aunt, Vivian was preparing the dough to make the glutinous rice balls for my sister, who has to partake them at midnight during the prayer session. Symbolising peace and unity, the round, soft, and chewy balls served in syrup are a must for chinese grooms and brides on the night before their weddings.
Aunt Vivian making the dough
Adrian and Aunt Shanny helping to roll the dough into balls
The midnight prayer for my sister Wendee, dressed in new set of peejay for the session, after which she ate the glutinous rice balls in syrup
It was the country's National Day and while the nation celebrated the day Malaysia declared independence with parades, dances and a whole lot of other local activities, we started the day helping out in the kitchen cleaning, peeling and cutting vegetables - broccollis, cauliflowers, carrots, sweet peas, turnips, french beans, shallots and garlics - in preparation for the bridal shower buffet in the evening. Aunt Vivian was scraping fish meat to make fish paste and cleaning the smooth, soft square-shaped beancurds for stuffed beancurds, whilst Aunt Poh Yee, Aunt Shanny and my mum were cleaning and cutting the vegetables. My cousin Maggie was busy shredding turnips and
carrots and I was slicing the french beans finely. The vegetables were for mixed stir-fried vegetable dish and fried popiah - deep-fried shredded carrots and turnips with dried shrimps, wrapped in 5" x 5" square paper-like wheat sheets.
The kitchen was buzzing the whole day with loud chatters, click-clacking of clogs as everyone was moving about getting the ingredients ready for the three dishes that were to be served with five other catered items for the dinner buffet. The last two items, fruits and cordial were prepared by yours truly.Tables were laid out and lined on the porch an hour before the dinner started.
At six in the evening, guests started arriving - family friends and neighbours. The whole place livened up with hearty laughters, carefree and happy chatters and good food. It was the first time our family had a bridal shower buffet at our family house, and probably the last as my other unmarried cousins unlikely to have their weddings in Taiping. My sister was the exception as Kenny, her hubby-to-be was from the state well known for assam laksa and nasi kandar - the Pearl of the Orient; and the wedding dinner was to take place at the chinese restaurant next to the Penang Chinese Recreation Club.
The family matriach walking out to greet family friends and other guests
Guests seated at the tables out in the porch
Guests helping themselves to the spread
Aunt Poh Yee and Aunt Shanny in light chat with family friends
Family members getting the food after most guests have taken their shares
All cousins - (from left) Maggie, Anthony, Calvin, Kenix and cousin-in-law-to-be, Mei Yee
We arrived in Taiping the day before in the morning about 9.30. The drive was smooth, and the highway was unexpectedly congestion-free, much to our surprise since it was the Merdeka weekend. Upon arriving, my grandma impatiently asked us to put up the red cloth over the main door. Maggie and I quickly got to work, least the matriach start nagging.
Up and good
In the late afternoon, Adrian, Maggie and me took a short drive into town for the famous cendol from a stall behind the St George La Salle secondary boys' school. It is a norm for us, cousins to treat ourselves to that refreshing dessert each time we make our trips back to our hometown, especially in the hot afternoons. That afternoon was just the three of us as our other cousins had not arrived from KL and Bentong, Pahang.
Simple pleasure of life
During the drive back to the house, my attention was on the blue sky and the cotton like clouds. Somehow the sky seemed bluer than in KL. Perhaps having caught up daily with driving to work as early as 645am and leaving after six, and sometimes much later, with no driving out in between since I bring lunch to work, I have not seen such blue sky for a long time. That afternoon, I was reminded of God's handiwork, and such a master painter He was. In all His wisdom and creativity, the sky looked beautiful with such vibrant blue that I decided to capture a few more pictures of it.
(Bottom two pix) The big cactus in the house garden against the blue sky, with one of its flowers
That night, our dinner was at a chinese coffeeshop-restaurant in town. The food served was quite good, except for the sweet and sour pork, which was rather bland. The fish curry and the stir-fried kangkung with chillie and dried shrimps were delicious and we cleaned the plates (both ours and that from the older folks' table because they could not finished).
The five dishes for the family dinner. (Left, top down) Fish curry, steamed homemade beancurd with minced pork, sweet and sour pork
(Right, top down) Fried chicken with crispy onions and stir-fried kangkung with chillie and dried shrimps
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