I ate SO much during our holiday. When our Dutch relatives asked us what we did, we couldn't really answer because we didn't do anything much! We didn't visit anywhere exotic and did anything cool like jungle trekking or caving. We just spent time with family and ate. All the time. We ate from the time we woke up right til we went to bed at 3/4a.m. We'd have breakfast, follow my parents while they ran errands and it would be time for us to have lunch (usually at some Kopitiam or other). Then, we'd laze at a mall or at home til it was dinnertime. After dinner, we'd head to my aunt's for some poker (Chinese New Year so everyone gambles), snacking all the way til about 3a.m.. Of course, by 3a.m., we'd be hungry and go have a teh tarik and mamak mee goreng/tandoori chicken.... It's no wonder I put on 2kg in just 9 days.
Oh yeah! First, let me tell you about our surprise! We grabbed a cab from KLIA and arrived at the house but no one, except the maids, was home! Kakak let us in, said parents went out for breakfast so we waited til they came home. No one screamed when they saw us (which we expected because my family's just not like that) but they were happy. Typical Asian style of showing happiness (aiyah," why you waste money to come back"... and similiar to me but they'd tell everyone that their daughter came home for CNY).
Kuih Bangkit (homemade) at grand-uncles house
Chinese New Year was great- less busy than usual but nice anyway. It's funny how many people have died since I moved over 4 years ago. Normally, we'd visit about 8-10 houses but this year, we only went to 3 homes.
Jonker Walk at night
I did not help much with food preparations this time as we were somewhat jet-lagged and Dutchman is from a rather strict Christian family.
New Year's Eve prayers (ancestors). Nyonya style (much more elaborate than the modern Chinese). Learnt something new from my aunt. Pong Teh (quintessential Nyonya dish) is actually not for celebration but is a food for more sober occassions (mourning, prayers etc.).
Gotta go to school. Rest will follow!
3 comments:
Oh, I would enjoy the life of a tai tai while it lasts over there !
Back here cant even take a day off being the designated kitchen slave :-(
Like u, we also spend most of our time lazying around (n out of the heat) or jalan-jalan in the malls (kijken, kijken, weinig kopen). Which always bring up the question whether if it's worth the long trip just to shop n eat ?
hey esmee!
for me, it's always worth the long trip because i'm in malaysia, not for a holiday, but to meet my parents (and other family members). i figured that my parents will probably live for another 15 years or so and once a year (=15 times) is just too little. i don't mind leaving all the other more exciting trips to later (and we also manage to fit in shorter exotic-ish destinations into our agendas at the moment).
did you also go back for chinese new year?
I wanted to meet up with my best friends (Oz/US/CA)for CNY but there were several hiccups n it's been postphoned to June this year (get the chance to try out the casino n integrated resorts).
My family understands if I dont go home for the big occasion - it's afterall just makan n tidur right, haha ! With skype n facebook, I'm in touch with them regularly, so homesickness has eased over the years.
First 5yrs of marriage we did go back every year n to be honest, it gets boring. Very little to do in a crowded city state, as u can wel imagine. Had to go to JB every weekend for a change of scenery.
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