When I was younger, I used to entertain a lot. I loved having friends over to the house as I loved having company coming over and besides, it would be an opportunity to show off my culinary skills. Thus, I had a few sets of crockery that I would use on such occasions but by far, my favourite is my blue and white collection.
I did not buy all the items in a set; I actually collected them one by one, so it is in fact a collection in the true sense of the word. I got this soup tureen as a wedding present from the Willie family in Kota Kinabalu…
…and I have a pair of this. They were the free gifts for two consecutive years with the bottles of brandy that Gerrie’s late father would give me every Chinese New Year way back then…
I have six pieces of these that came free with Jacob’s biscuits…
…but only one of this…
My wife got it free with Indomie…but by the time I found out about it and rushed to the shop, it was already out of stock. This one came with one of those Made-in-China chicken essence…
I think I bought it for somebody in maternity confinement…and I kept the gift! LOL!!! It is kind of different from the rest as it has that Chinese antique kind of look. I also have a few of these Chinese-looking bowls that came free with something but I cannot recall exactly what, probably toothpaste…
…but this one is obviously not Chinese. I got it from my late aunt who used to stay in that kampung house that I had featured in an earlier post. I cannot put my finger on the exact occasion…but my guess is it was for my 50th birthday…
…or was it from her foster daughter? I can’t remember exactly now. Well, I do not use them at all these days as it would be less of a hassle to entertain guests in restaurants…and on festivals like Chinese New Year, I would just pack my bags and go with my family to some place and relax in a comfortable hotel, coming home only when the festivities are over.
I suppose I can just keep them, especially those that were given to me by ones so dear…to cherish the fond memories of them and ever hold them close to my heart.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 