The best things are the ones that come unexpectedly, pleasant things, of course, that come as a delightful surprise.
I have not seen Justin for a long long time ever since we went out for dinner a few times with our friend, Julia, from Perth Australia, here and here and here, for instance. What I knew was he completed his studies at a university in Kuching and then he went over to the peninsula to work but all these years, we never got to meet each other again though we stay in touch on Facebook.
Imagine how happy I was to hear that he would be coming back to Sibu for Chinese New Year and he sent word to tell me that he would drop by my house as he had some stuff to give to me. Oh? Isn’t that so very sweet of him…to remember me after all this time and to go through all the trouble of bringing things back for me?
First things first, he had these the sweet gifts of gold…
…specially for me. In Chinese culture, eating fresh fruit symbolises a new life beginning, and eating sweet fruit is a wish for a sweet year ahead. I had neither seen nor heard of these amik melons before but according to Justin, they are very popular in West Malaysia and Singapore and they are now trying to break into the local market, Sibu especially. He graduated in the field of agriculture so that is what he is involved in right now over in the peninsula.
Other than those, he also brought me a pomelo…
– an auspicious gift for family and friends during Chinese New Year. “Pomelo” in Chinese is called ‘da ji’ which means ‘to have’ so the real meaning of ‘da ji’ is like a wish to achieve prosperity.
Then, of course, there is this thing about eating fish during Chinese New Year – 年年有餘, “Year Year Got Fish” literally or a more accurate translation would be “Have abundance every year“. The word for “fish”, yu is a homophone for “abundance” and “affluence”…and Justin brought me these Muar otak otak…
…for me to try and also the prawn version as well.
Thank you so much, Justin – you really made my day and with all the auspicious gifts that you brought specially for me, I bet a truly wonderful year is in store for me in the days ahead, that’s for sure. A Blessed and Happy Chinese New Year to you and all your loved ones too, cheers!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Lovely gifts of substance.
Yes, very auspicious and appropriate. for such festive occasions. I know some give imported cherries, plums and all those – so expensive and not necessarily sweet.
What lovely gifts! I love fresh fruits! 🙂
Yes, I loved the melon, very sweet and very juicy, none of that strong green smell and taste that one finds in honey melon. Very nice.
Lovely auspicious gifts just in time for the CNY. No joke in bringing them back.
I wonder if they can be checked in – they’re very big! I remember bringing back a box of Thai mangoes from KL, checked in. By the time I reached home, they all had to be thrown away. All over-ripe, spoilt already.
I do love pomelo. You can get different types right – some on the more sweeter or sourish side.
I’m not really a fan of pomelo but I love to eat it Thai-style salad or kerabu style. Usually, people here will buy the honey variety, sweeter but there are quite a few types.
Wow.. indeed the gifts are meaningful, now only I know what pomelo meant.. no wonder so many come to Ipoh to “borong” back to their hometowns…
Yes, Ipoh ones are very big, very famous. My friend gave me once, ok…not really sweet like the honey variety. Dunno this one – I think it is from Muar, Johore. What I knew was we call it “Eyew” and in Mandarin, that means “got”, eyew chien, for instance, got money!
The melon as in the first picture is nice, i love it…
I hear it is very popular in Singapore – my first time seeing and eating it. Very nice!
What a good friend you have, so thoughtful and generous.
Indeed! It sure was a welcome surprise, did not expect it at all.
Hello Arthur, wishing you and your family Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Thank you, and the same to you and yours. Cheers!
Wow I never seen melons packed in a box
Never ever seen these melons before and yes, they are never treated with such dignity – the ones available here like honey dew and the rest.