Since my birthday and Chinese New Year coincide on the same day this year, my friends decided to throw me parties a week in advance! It’s always very thoughtful of them! Thank you very much!
“Sing Long” Yee Sang from Jusco, RM19.88. If you notice, no “fish”. You have to add on yourself. Haha!
Over the lunches and dinners, we had yee sang as well. I was told that yee sang is only being eaten in Malaysia. I’ve always thought yee sang originated from Hong Kong! A quick check on the internet revealed otherwise. My friends were not totally right either. In fact, I read from the Wikipedia that, yee sang was actually eaten by fisherman in Guongzhou, to celebrate their catch on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, also known as “Renri” – “Human Day”. Hahahaa! Direct translation sucks! This delicacy existed since the Song Dynasty! Then, in the 1960, a Singapore chef in Lai Wah restaurant formulated a new recipe for the yee sang that we enjoy today. For more info, you may click here.
Well, I think this blog has been deprived of food pictures lately, so, here are some of the stuffs that my friends cooked over the weekend. So, salivate away! Haha!
Vegetable penne pasta with sausages and garden salad
Fresh Yee Sang from Sek Yuen, 1 mai for RM40
Nam Yue fried chicken
Guilin mee hoon with minced pork & mushrooms
Pita bread with chopped ham and cheddar cheese
Gong xi fa cai, fellow readers and friends! May you be blessed 10,000 folds this Chinese New Year with immaculate health, abundant love and endless prosperity!
Not too long ago, we read with disgust that there are bomohs, soothsayers, etc out there to cheat and lie hapless elderly people of their life savings. A few years ago, my relative was one of the victims.
As usual, this distant aunt of mine went to the wet market one unfortunate morning. She was approached by three ladies in the market, telling her that her son is in trouble. If she didn’t do what they say, the son would die. Somehow, this aunt is very well known for being rather shrewd and stingy, we were surprised that she fell victim to their lies. She took the three ladies home and started to ransack her own house for jewelry and cash. Her son – the one that supposed to die, was at home when the mom came back with the ladies. He tried his best to ask what happened but his mom kept pushing him away. It was as if she was possessed. He yelled and screamed and tried to stop his mom but to no avail.
After making away with RM30,000, the three ladies left her house. Then only, the aunt suddenly woke up and realized she has been duped. But it was too late. They went to lodge a police report but as usual lah, what can they do? Not even offering comforting words. The best part is, some 2 weeks later, one of the ladies came back to look for my aunt but this time, the black magic/ voo doo/ santau didn’t work. The stupid woman was almost beaten to death. When they handed her over to the police, the police said, they did not have any evidence to lock her up and let her go! HOW FUCKING STUPID AND IDIOTIC!!!!
Yesterday, I was having dinner with my friends when I was told of some stories of being lied and cheated. A friend’s friend is single and in her 30s. She got to know a Caucasian man via internet and romance was “hot” online. The man promised her everything – the sun, the moon, the stars. He even said, he would come visit her soon. On the day he was supposed to arrive, he went missing in action and unreachable for days. Then, he called to say that he had fallen very ill. To compensate for his absence, he said he had delivered a present to her.
As usual lah, the package got stuck some place and needed money for clearance. If you are talking about RM100, then fine lah. This one is RM20,000!!! What fuck clearance can cost so much money?? Probably the “present” also not worth that much! Against all protests and advices from rational friends, this stupid woman quietly took a loan from the bank to pay for the “clearance”. Yes, you guess it right. The man and the money magically disappeared in thin air. Till today, she is still financing the RM20,000 she gotten from the bank to pay for her stupidity. If you ask me, she memang asked for it! Loh lei jin!
Another story was about a divorcee in her 40s. Same thing happened. The Briton promised to see her but he never turned up. She is all ready to quit her job, pack her bags and move to England. Seriously, if a man is very much in love with you, nothing will stop him from coming to see you! With cheap air tickets nowadays, he can practically fly to see you every month! Nothing can stop him! Oprah said it best – If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn’t want you, nothing can make him stay. Stop making excuses for a man and his behaviour. Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache. Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that’s not meant to be.
Well, not all men are out there to cheat you. There is this friend who got to know a Briton from the internet. Within three months, the man actually flew to Kuala Lumpur to see her. Knowing that their relationship is still new, he didn’t force her to quit her job to move with him to England. He gave her time to think things over and came to visit her again in Kuala Lumpur six months later. The relationship has been blossoming well. He knew that my friend is afraid of the cold weather, he bought her air tickets to fly to England this coming summer!
Well, if you ask me, how do I know for sure that this man is not after her money? Well, she’s relatively broke every month and lives from one pay check to another, in heavy debts with the credit cards which the man eventually helped her to clear and he even bank in money for her to use every month! And, really.. she’s not even drop dead gorgeous. Hahahahah!!! So bad! I really hope things would turn out to be good for her.
So women! If you feel unsure of your “relationship”, please get advice from your rational friends. Seriously, when you are in love, you would be too blinded by emotions and passion to make any sound decisions. (Sometimes, I could never understand “what passion?” since everything is ONLINE! The only passion you get is probably with your fingers. LOL!).
Please! Listen to your friends! Even if the truth really hurts.
During dinner last Sunday over salmon lou sang and poon choi at UK Four Seasons, we spoke about a few things, amongst which, the Chinese tea culture.
Have you guys ever wondered why do we tap our fingers on the table when a friend pours us tea?
Poon Choi
A friend’s dad used to work in the timber industry. Those who are familiar with hiking understand very well that they should not call out names when they are in the dense forest. Calling out names would invite spirits to also call out to you and would somehow cause mishaps and accidents. So, most hikers would keep silent as they hike and would not walk anymore when it turns dark. So do the timber workers. When they work, they would not talk to each other and do things as quietly as possible in order not to disrupt the spirits in the forest. Hence, when it comes to lunch and drinking tea, they would go about it silently and they would tap their fingers on the table to show their gratitude when someone pour them tea.
We also learn that, this gesture has been carried out since the many Chinese dynasties in yester centuries. Amy pointed out that, there was a story in the Ching Dynasty back then which the thanking gesture of tapping fingers eventually made its way till today.
A quick check on the internet reveals the origin on tapping fingers on the table to gesture thanks.
In the Ching Dynasty some 300-400 years ago, the emperor liked to dress casual and visit his kingdom. Servants were told to stay low profile in order not to reveal their master’s identity. One day in a restaurant, the emperor, after pouring himself a cup of tea, filled the servant’s cup as well. To the servant, it was a huge grace having the emperor pours him a cup of tea. Out of reflex, he wanted to kneel down and thanked his master. But he was stopped because that would give away the emperor’s identity. So instead of kneeling on his knees, the servant knelt with his fingers.
That “thanks” knock is still in use today in the 21st century.
I am in the festive mood already for Chinese New Year this year, which is very rare. Don’t know why. I have been going out to have reunion dinners with friends. I am looking forward to the reunion dinner with the family this 13th February in Port Weld, Taiping. It’s going to be big!
A friend shared with me her story in the office today. Her manager pushed her forehead when she accidentally caused her panic. Well, my friend is a very tiny girl who might even fly when the wind blows, so imagine. I was very furious. How can you use physical force to intimidate people, let alone in the office??
I told this friend that, if someone ever push me on the forehead or touch me for that matter, I’ll make sure that’s the last time he or she will be able to use his or her hand. She said, I am so ganas! Haha! Anyway, I don’t think anyone in their right minds would want to pick up a fight with me. They know very well that they will lose by sheer size alone. Haha! Normally, in office, so far, I’ll engaged in perang mulut if colleagues behaving moronically. The trick to win any argument hands down, is to listen to what the other person has to say first. Then when it’s your turn, use whatever evidence you have subtly. Best is, to use their own words against themselves. It’s akin to slapping themselves hard on the face without them even knowing and without provocation. I am pretty good at this. Haha!
Dead People Are Naïve
I was having this conversation about dead people with my mom over lunch just now. She said, an undertaker used to tell her, whenever she has problems dressing up a dead person because the body was too hard, she will trick the dead people by saying good things.
For instance, when my grandmother died a few years ago, she was dressing her but found it hard to clothe her. So she persuaded my dead grandma by saying, “Come on, let’s dress you up. You will wear very nice blouse so later you can go and meet the Buddha.” The body went relaxed automatically and made it easier for her to dress her!
The same happened to my cousin’s grandma. The daughters in laws were trying to put on shoes for her but they didn’t fit because of her bloated feet. So, my aunt spoke to the dead and said, “Wah! This shoes cannot wear ah? Never mind, mother. I’ll throw this away and buy you a new pair!” My aunt threw away the shoes, then went to pick them up. This time, the shoes fit just nicely!
Believe it? You betcha!
Water bed
Last night as I was preparing myself to go to bed, I found my pillow and bolster were wet! Then my blanket was also wet! So was my comforter! I thought QQ must have slept here in the afternoon and peed on my bed! I was furious because I had to change my bed sheet and pillow cases in the middle of the night when I was so damn tired! Just when I was about to sleep, the neighbour’s house alarm was set off! It’s happening rather frequently that I thought of the story – the Boy Who Cried Wolf. I think nobody is going to give a shit if it happens every 2 nights and no one is going to render help if one day, the house is really being broken into.
Anyway, this morning, I discovered that, my “water” bed was due to leakage on my room’s ceiling. Apparently, there was a heavy rain in the afternoon yesterday and since I was in the office, I didn’t even notice. Poor QQ kena cursed for no reason!
Last Friday, I was at my friend’s pre-wedding buffet party. There were much merriment in the house with close-knitted family and friends. The buffet spread was great, especially when Mrs Yap cooked them all herself! Imagine rendang ayam at its best, stewed pork belly, crispy buttered prawns, yam cake, chai ngor.. (she’s my chai ngor sifu by the way), etc. Then, there was this little girl from next door came over to celebrate too with her mom and dad. She’s only 2.5 years old but the way she talked and walked, she sure looked like an adult.
She was polite enough to address everyone in the house. When she was about to address me, she didn’t hesitate and called me, “Fei Fei” on the spot. My friends laughed so hard. I too, chuckled away. Cilakak budak! Never give face! I thought to myself. Then I told her, it’s okay for her to call me “Fei Fei” but she better not start calling all fatties she might meet, the same.
Then, we were looking at my friend’s wedding picture. Curious, the little girl demanded to have a look too. Since I was engrossed in looking at the pictures, I ignored her. Then, she suddenly called me “Jie Jie” instead of “Fei Fei”. Her mom came in just when I teased the little girl, “Very pandai ah you! When you want something, you call me Jie Jie lah? Just now you call me Fei Fei?” The little girl looked disappointed and started to sulk.
The mom turned red and somewhat appeared to be apologetic. I was thinking, she must be very embarrassed that she didn’t teach the daughter how to behave.
“Oh! She was watching tv with this character Fei Fei in the series. So, she thought you look like Fei Fei. Fei Fei in the series ah, is pregnant. So now, she sees somebody looked like Fei Fei, she will call her Fei Fei. She didn’t mean it.” Her mom offered explanation rather apologetically and hoped that I forgive her daughter.
My mind went blank for a nano second.
What was that? What was her mom trying to tell me? Is being labeled pregnant far, far better than being fat? Hello? I know I am fat. I am ok if small children called me a fatty because I know one day, they will too, ended being as fat as or much, much grossly obese than me when they grow up. Karma is a bitch! LOL! Evil thoughts!
I was rather amused by her explanation. Hilarious! Sometimes, things are better off left at where it is. You know. Just laugh at it, and shut the fuck up if you have nothing better to say.
Well, I think at least, one thing came out good for sure. We know her daughter is not capable of telling lies.
