Always welcome…

This year, I did not really hold an open house for the Chinese New Year festival the way I used to. We would cook a lot and for at least three days, we would be inviting relatives, colleagues and friends to drop by for lunch or dinner or in-betweens. However, our door was always open for anyone who cared to drop by and other than the cakes and cookies featured in my previous post, on the first day, there would be some special dishes for everyone to enjoy.

My cousins and their families came from Bintulu, Hanoi in Vietnam, KL…

…and Penang…

…and like we usually did every year, we had my in-laws over for dinner in the evening of the 1st day of Chinese New Year…

…and they included those back from Bintulu, KL and Singapore…

These pretty ladies dropped by too…from Hongkong, Singapore and Kuching…

…and here, you can see them helping themselves to the pai tee (top hats).

My friend, Kongkay, and his family from Kuching were here as well with their boys, currently back on vacation from Melbourne, Australia…and my godson and ex-student, Andrew, and his wife were home from Christchurch, New Zealand and they came with my other ex-students from Sacred Heart – Chuang Bing from Miri and his wife and Hang Yuh from Kazahstan…and these were my students in Form Five 1995 – from Penang, JB and KL (not in photo)…

…while these were my students 2006/2007 for two years up till my retirement…

…currently still furthering their studies in Penang, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, Perlis and Kuching.

My good friend, Lim, and his family took time off to visit us too…

…and what a delight it was to meet a long-lost friend from way back in 1975! Jackie (far left) and I were renting rooms at a house and staying with a family in Kuching – she was working there while I was a temporary teacher at St Patrick’s at the time…

It was Peony Bryan, her niece, who brought her to my house and gave us a pleasant surprise! Peony Bryan’s living in the UK and all this time, she has left comments time and again in my blog and we also communicate via Facebook…and she was back in Sibu for the very auspicious festival.

She also gave me these, thanks so much…

…but I think I will keep them for a while till when I do not feel so bloated so I can really enjoy them to the fullest.

Julia and Luke, back from Perth, and Justin came to say Happy Chinese New Year and goodbye as the former two would be going back to Australia in a few days’ time. Hopefully, I’ll get to see them again when they come back for the summer holidays at the end of this year.

The biggest group that came comprises my ex-students from Chung Hua where I was teaching in the 80′s…

They used to visit me way back then in BIG groups and this time around they came with their wives/husbands and children and there were so many of them that there wasn’t any space to move…and many had to just stay put where they were or sit on the floor. As far as I know, some are living in Sibu while others are presently based in Kuching…and one’s in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei…and it certainly was so sweet of them to remember this old teacher of theirs and go through the trouble to drop by to wish me a Happy New Year.

Well, it does not have to be Chinese New Year or any special occasion. Our door is always open and everyone who cares to drop by is free to do so and is always warmly welcomed…

People get ready…

We’re into the 5th Day of the Chinese Lunar New Year now – the Year of the Dragon. So how has it been for all of you? Gone back to work already, some of you? I guess most people have taken the whole week off to go back to their respective homes.

Did you have to contribute your part in the cleaning and the cooking? Before the big day arrived, everybody would be cleaning the house from top to bottom…and in my neighbourhood, I would hear the sound of pressure pumps as they all diligently washed their driveways till they were all sparkling white and clean. I wonder why they bothered since they would get it all dirty again with all the fireworks and firecrackers on New Year’s Eve. They would also put up the red lanterns that would all be gaily lit all through the night – I did not bother to have any. I don’t think I would want to waste my money on the electricity…but I did decorate the house a bit…

…just the bare minimum…

…to brighten up the house a bit and to have a little bit of that festive mood…

…but I had no intention of overdoing it and making my house look like some kind of Chinese temple.

Then there would be the cooking and the baking to be done. I was lucky as I had the intoxicating fruit cake that Elaine gave me…

…and I also had the extra-old fruit pudding from my aunt in Kuching, also heavily-laced with brandy…

…and the meat floss rolls from Annie-Q…

I bought this very nice muruku from a bakery here…

…and their peanut cookies were very nice too…

My missus bought these pineapple rolls from Penang…

…and she also bought the pineapple nuggets from another bakery in town…

They used to be very good…but I found that they had shrunk and there wasn’t very much pineapple jam inside. I think we would not buy those anymore from now on.

She made two types of cookies of her own – the butter cookies, Golden Churn no less…

…and the Nestum cookies…

…both of which were very nice, and she baked/steamed these cakes as well…

There were also the baked cashew nuts with garlic butter added, her fried peanuts with ikan bilis (dried anchovies) which would have been a hit among those who could drink but nobody did…and  a whole lot of other cookies that she bought, all in their original containers, sealed airtight, as  there were simply too many to serve so those were never taken out in the end. Hmmmmm…I really must remind her to be more prudent come this time next year…

The night before (2)

It has always been the annual practice of the true-blue Sibuians to travel from near or far to get home to Sibu for Chinese New Year every year. In fact, right after this one, there would be people booking their air tickets for next year already just to make sure that they do not miss out on the joyous and auspicious occasion. In fact, air fare is often the most expensive from KL or anywhere else to Sibu…and I’ve heard of people flying to Kuching or Bintulu and taking a bus from there home as it would be cheaper that way.

Now what is the attraction here that they can never find anywhere else?

Weeks before the day, there would be sporadic outbursts of fireworks and firecrackers that would gradually get more intense as the day approaches. On the eve of Chinese New Year, families and friends would gather for the reunion dinner…and they would ignite a string of the explosives before the dinner and sometimes, after as well. This would go on all afternoon and evening and into the night, when one would get to see fireworks of all colours and designs…

…lighting up the skies here…

…there…

…and everywhere…

The climax would be when the clock strikes twelve…

There would be a barrage of sound and smoke as everyone lights their strings of firecrackers…

…and set off their fireworks of an array of designs and colours into the smoke-filled sky. By around half an hour or so, it would all be over and everybody would go to sleep to rest for the big day the morning after.

This would be the typical sight outside every Chinese home in town the next day…

…except mine!

Now, if anybody’s keen on coming to Sibu for Chinese New Year next year, it will fall on the 10th of February, 2013. Book your air tickets early to grab the bargain fares and to avoid disappointment!

The night before (1)…

Come Chinese New Year, members of the family would come home from near or far to sit down together at one big table for the reunion dinner. Unfortunately, this year, Melissa has just left for Sungai Petani some three weeks ago and would not one to go through the hassle of travelling home and going back there again even before “the seat has become warm”, so to speak and my brother and his family overseas have never made the trip round this time of the year. Thus, there were only my parents and my sister, my missus and me this year.

When she was in Penang a couple of weeks ago, my missus bought some pai tee (top hats) shells so I cooked the filling and we had that for the dinner…

She cooked her ngor hiang (five spice meat rolls)…

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…and also this fish fillet and fish maw vegetable combo…

…and this was the steamed chicken and abalone soup that we had…

Even though she doesn’t eat duck, she cooked this lor ark (braised five-spice duck) and eggs…

…for the rest of us to enjoy and she also prepared the salad that we usually have and everybody loves…

All in all, it was a delightful dinner to bid goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one…in the hope that we would be blessed abundantly with health and happiness in the days ahead.

Something for me…

Oh? There was something for me too? Golly gee! I didn’t realise that! Well, if you’re wondering what I’m talking about, this blogger-friend of mine, [SK], was giving out some awards to his readers and commenters recently. I did take a peek at the list of winners and I did see my name in there but not in the top positions, so I just reckoned that I would not be getting anything. Imagine my surprise when I checked my emails one fine day – I don’t do it regularly – and saw I had one from him and he asked me for four of my favourite songs. Of course, I wasted no time in responding…

…and on the eve of Chinese New Year’s Eve (Saturday), the postman came knocking on my door and handed me this…

Inside was this very colourful and beautiful cd…

…with not four but eleven of my favourite songs…

I was pleasantly surprised that [SK] took the trouble to find out what other songs I love and include them in the cd. He must have spent a lot of time getting it done and I do appreciate that a lot, [SK], thanks.

This certainly was a great start to my new year. I really love the cd very much…and I am enjoying myself every day since – listening to the songs again…and again…and again.

I wish you love…

Amidst the deafening sounds of the firecrackers
And the colourful glare of the fireworks in the air
Everybody, young and old, all in good cheer
Happily welcomes the coming of a brand new year

Thank you all for everything in the year gone past
Hopefully, the new one’s even better than the last.
Now, with fond thoughts and lots of love, I fervently pray
That we may be blessed abundantly each passing day

Here’s wishing all my loved and dear ones wherever you may be
May the Dragon Year be a great one for you and me
Filled with good health, wealth and happiness too
Qong Xi Fa Cai greetings I send from me to you…

Descendants of the dragon…

Well, it’s Chinese New Year’s Eve today and finally, we get to say goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit and usher in the brand new Year of the Dragon 2012…

So are you a descendant of The Dragon (龙的传人)? Or to be more precise, were you born in the Year of the Dragon out of the 12 astrological animals in the Chinese horoscope? Well, I was…and if you are too and you’re wondering what the year ahead would be like for you, perhaps this may interest you:

The Dragon will have a great start to 2012 with an extremely positive attitude and this will work very much towards their favour.

Hmmmm…that certainly sounds very good. I certainly hope it will be as predicted but I don’t think the following will apply to me as I’ve retired and I am no longer teaching…

If you are keen to do well this year and set plans to stone fairly early in the year, then you can get a great deal accomplished in 2012. There will be many opportunities for the Dragon to work their way up in their profession this year and there is the possibility of big advancements in the work place.  There will be doors opening that you thought had closed a long time ago – the most important thing to remember is to spot a good opportunity when it comes and do not overlook the small print in any offer. Dragons seeking work should look forward to new opportunities this year as long as they are not afraid to work hard for it.

Now, I am certainly keeping my fingers crossed though in the hope that money will be coming my way…

There is the possibility of accumulating good finances this year as long as you do not take a lazy approach by sitting back and letting things pass you by. If you commit to something, this may come back as a reward to you in the form of a gift of money or a bonus at work.

…but as I do not have any source of income other than my measly pension, my only hope would be to strike a lottery and enjoy a windfall. In the meantime, I will definitely have to wary of this warning…

Please keep an eye on your finances this year as the Dragon year is very fast-paced and overspending can easily happen.

…and change my spending habits and lifestyle…and cut my cloak according to my cloth.

The following will definitely happen in the coming year, this much I know…

You can look forward to a good and rewarding year with many new friends coming to you in 2012 and there is also a great chance to strengthen existing friendships as it can become easy to neglect loved ones and friends when your social circle grows.

…as a number of my blogger-friends have booked their air tickets to come over in early March and I certainly look forward to that. I do hope that there will be others coming my way as well in the year…and those who were here last year, I hope they will come again and stay a lot longer this time around.

2012 will overall, be a great year but please keep an eye on your diet and be sure to eat plenty of healthy food and exercise as much as you can. Dragons born in 1952 may feel that their talents are not of much use to them but believe me, they are – put all of your skills to use in 2012 and you can be sure of reaping the rewards.

Sigh!!! I guess at my age, I have to be more careful with what I put inside my mouth but then again, I’m sure this applies to everyone- young or old.

Yes, I was born in 1952 – I wonder what talents the prediction is referring to…and what lies in store for me. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

This is home…

This is the coffee shop at Rejang Park here in Sibu that I go to quite frequently to buy the braised chicken feet aka phoenix claws that my mother loves to eat…

A long time ago, I used to drop by once in a while for the kampua noodles in the afternoon and I remember that they were pretty good and I liked them a lot. Sometimes, way back then, I would skip lunch especially when I had a late breakfast…so by 3 something in the afternoon, I  would be quite hungry…and this was one of those few places in town that would still be open for business. Most of the rest would close after lunchtime. Somehow or other, I never went there again for the noodles until the other day when I decided to stop by and have a plate – white (with chio cheng/light soy sauce) tossed in chili sauce…

…and at the same time, I also ordered a small plate of pian sip (meat dumplings), dry…

If I’m not mistaken, they charged me RM1.50 only for the latter…and I must say that I enjoyed both of them very much.

So, if you’re in town and you’re looking for authentic Foochow kampua and pian sip, this is one place that you can check out.

Like I said…

Like I said a couple of posts ago, I would go back to this coffee shop…

…to try the mee sua (thread/string longevity noodles) served in chicken soup cooked with ginger and traditional Foochow red wine, the reason being the fact that I saw a lot of people eating it that day so I took that as an indication that it would be really very good.

I ordered a bowl (RM5.00) of that…

…and I must say that I was a bit disappointed when it was served. I think I would get something a lot more substantial elsewhere but then again, the price may range to up to RM6.00 or more…and RM9.80 here.

The meat was well-marinated and was thus reddish in colour…

…but I did not really enjoy it as it was way too gingery for my liking. I know a lot of people do enjoy that – having that very strong ginger taste in the soup but not me.

That same day, I also bought some of the deep fried or koi (yam cake) that they were selling at that shop at 40 sen a piece…

- 5 pieces for RM2.00.

They were pretty good but I remember the time when they would probably be sold at 10 sen per piece or 4 for RM1.00. Well, never mind! The purchasing power is in my hands and I have the choice not to buy if I think it isn’t really worth it. I think I’ll just wait for my mother-in-law to make and then I can fry my own – after all, I’m not really crazy about those Chinese cakes…

In the dark…

My missus and I went for the evening service on Sunday and when it was all over, we came here for dinner…

This is their 3rd outlet – their first one is at the other end of the commercial centre and the 2nd one is  right in the middle of the town centre.

This one is very big but I would not say that I like the decor. This part with all the curtains looks like some kind of a boudoir…

…and sticks out like a sore thumb.

Besides, it was very dark and we would not know what we’re putting in our mouths. My missus had this chicken Chiengmai or whatever noodles (RM8.50)…

…and there were some slices of something in it and we could not tell what they were. Probably they were carrots and I certainly hoped so – not bamboo shoots! As for the taste, it wasn’t much to shout about – something like the Foochow-style fried noodles that we can get outside at any coffee shop.

I  ordered the pad thai (RM10.90)…

…and I wouldn’t say I would be dying to have that again. I thought it tasted something like tomato kway teow but spicier and maybe  a little bit better.

The waitress told me that this was one of their signature dishes…

- lamb satay (RM15.90)…and if this is one of the best, I wonder what the rest that they have on the menu are like. It was quite well-marinated and tasty but I found it very tough and what is satay without the peanut sauce? They served it with some kind of Thai chili sauce instead. Tsk! Tsk! And I do wish they would be more creative in their presentation – other than dumping on every plate a generous helping of those not-very-nice keropok (prawn crackers).

Frankly, no matter how much they’ve put into making the place attractive and impressive, it is all spoilt by the ghastly-looking market, now reduced to half its original size, beside it. Service is good and prompt though – but you will have to be able to speak Mandarin as they are not conversant in English or at least, the one serving us was not and the food comes out very fast. For want of something to do while waiting, I tried my hand at taking some shots in the dark…

Should I HAVE to go there again anytime in the future, I think I will bring a torchlight…