Saturday, October 23, 2010

a love that went beyond words

attended a wedding. right next to a temple. religious. indian. deaf. the union of 2 persons who are passionate about life and people. i felt privileged to have been invited. i nearly walked into the temple though. just beside the temple, a flight of staircase led me to the hall where the wedding was taking place. there were shoe racks but shoes dotted the ground instead. i took mine off before ascending the stairs.

sat next to my friend and her twin daughters, leonie chen yitong and alicia chen jing. cute! they were curious as to why i wasn't wearing my shoes. i looked around me and realised that everyone had theirs! it wasn't mandatory to take shoes off. i didn't know :P i felt comfortable being barefoot though but i responded to the urging of another friend. went down, found my shoes and slipped my feet into them.

the bride's entry - her look was one of iron certainty as she walked towards her life's destiny. she was going to be anchored in her husband's love.

although i'm a hearing person, it was ironic that i understood the signed language somewhat rather than the spoken. see, i knew sign language but i didn't know the language of my friends' native tongue.

deep rich colours. glittery jewelleries. sweet scent of flowers. everyone watched as the ceremony took place with the accompaniment of 'live' religious music. after the indication from the sign interpreter that the couple was then 'officially' married, a line formed that snaked its way to the stage so that everyone could shake the couple's hands and offer blessings. that was also when one's 'red' packet could be given. before attending the wedding, i asked my indian friend if there was a special envelope i could use. he said that a simple white envelope could do the job as well. i decided to use the traditional chinese red packet. after all, it had the chinese character on it that meant blessings. i thought it would be perfect!

i felt excited as my turn came. in fact, i had 2 turns because i didn't take a picture with the couple the first time around and so i decided to line up again :) the look in the couple's eyes were sincere, gentle and full of gratitude. a love that went beyond mere words.

my life experience had certainly been enriched.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

simple but nice

out of the blue, my granny brought in a bowl of man tous (plain steamed buns) which i couldn't capture a good shot of. my granny loves them. i'm quite proud of myself that i bought a pack from ntuc 2 days ago. so that she could steam and eat them.

anyway, when it comes to those pickled vegetables, i never knew there were 2 kinds, until my granny told me to get them. i failed in my first attempt, didn't manage to get the sourish one. so i tried to make it up by making another trip to suptermarket the next day. and still, it's not exactly the one, i had bought the salted sourish one, as in the combination type. they are called pickled mustard...? ok, am i hopeless or what? my granny was gracious enough to accept it.
咸菜汤 (xian cai tang) or salted vegetable soup is what we've always had for chinese new year. and interestingly, my granny always says that my brother has a sharp taste bud as he will always be able to taste the difference should an ingredient go missing to make the soup less tasty.

as for the mushroom porridge, yeah, it's just mushrooms and porridge, as you see it. but boy, was it yummy :) fish. those slim ones? i think they are the kuning fish variety, i dunno about the other one though. i just know my granny eats them often. simple but nice.

Monday, May 17, 2010

yes, that kind of feeling

today, i went into shop n save for the first time although it's been in my neighbourhood for the longest time. for some reason, something surged in my heart as i stepped into the shop. a sense of wonder? a sense of comfort? i can't say. but those feelings made me linger a little longer in the shop. i felt that i had all the time in the world to explore the place. was it because it was a cool late afternoon where i didn't have to rush anywhere? or was it because i felt good after a great session with howe jun earlier? after making the purchase, i left the shop and tried to put a finger to what i felt. as i walked, little by little, it dawned on me. it's somewhat like a sense of having discovered something new in an old neighbourhood. and so... where does this sense lead to...? oh yah, it's a little like discovering something new about an old friend. at each meet up, with every sharing, you find yourself lingering a little longer in each other's company. you wonder why you didn't know about those new things earlier. no sense of hurry but taking the time to sip that cup of tea or coffee. comfortable. yes, that kind of feeling.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

gourmet kuih and bun

late last night, xiao gu (small aunt) came by and handed us some stuff she brought from penang. my granny was awoken from her sleep and despite her dreamy state, she was rather excited over that white-green stuff that looked like the flag of pando department of bolivia. she urged me to join her and eat. "kuih talam, 我最喜欢吃的(i love to eat most)" she said and finished it in a few mouthfuls.

i googled it and found out that it is kinda tough to differentiate between the nyonya and malay kuihs, thus kuih talam can very well turn out to be either. however, the term 'nyonya kuih' is probably more commonly used in singapore and 'malay kuih' perhaps more common in malaysia. since i'm on it, let me just add that its top white layer is made from rice flour and coconut milk, while the bottom green layer is made from green pea flour and extract of pandan leaf. these are common ingredients for such kuihs and the varieties are mouth watering. my granny said she used to make them and i'm not surprised. afterall, i've tasted her rice dumplings, egg rolls aka love letters and what nots.


those chinese characters on the pink bun - they mean 'safe and sound'. yes, the bun is almost a palm long and it can probably serve as a nice little pillow for a newborn baby. just this morning, my granny steamed the buns and as i was eating, she said that these buns taste great because of a special flour used. "you can only get these buns in penang during chinese new year" she added. i made a mental note and maybe, i can get them for my granny next year.

see that little maroon ribbon linking the lid and handle of my granny's porcelain cup? my granny's handiwork. would anyone want to venture a guess why the ribbon's there?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

but that was a dragon

The International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) seeks to educate the public about childhood cancer and to support local fund-raising by member nations. Everyone can play a part.

ok, so i was volunteering at this event and i was assigned to man a game booth for kids. this game booth seeks to educate the public on what are helpful and what are not helpful for families who have just lost their kid to cancer. so i try to lure kids to my booth with the prize magnets and when they come, i start explaining "when a child has just passed away from cancer, how would you help his or her parents? here on the board, i have 2 columns labelled 'helpful' and 'not helpful'. with these cards that i am giving you, i want you to decide which card should go where."

there's a particular card that says 'tell them that they can make up for their loss by adopting a child'. now, how do you explain this to a 5 yr old girl? anyway, i began by saying that it's like making someone else's kid your own. she knitted her eyebrows and asked "isn't it like stealing then?" i was struck dumb for a while and then i said "that kid is most probably an orphan, left behind by his or her parents who may have passed away or gone away for some reasons. and they would need to ask for permission first." she seemed to accept that explanation. phew! btw, that card belongs to the 'not helpful' category.

another girl, 11 yr old. while she was thinking hard, trying to fit the cards, her mom pulled me aside and whispered into my ears "her dad passed away from cancer 4 years back and she's still grieving." upon hearing that, my heart ached. no wonder she seemed to take the game rather seriously, considering each statement carefully. she proceeded to put the card 'let them take the time to grief' under the 'helpful' category. something in my heart prompted me to say this to the mom "that's why you stayed strong for her right?" she gave me an appreciative smile.

there were some performances going on and i was vaguely aware of a dragon dance. the dragon swished here and there in front of my eyes. after the whole din was over, a little girl tugged at me and asked "when's the lion dance happening?" i was quite amused and i think i was wearing an incredulous look when i said to her "uh.. you were here just now, isn't it? it was just over." perplexed, she replied "but that was a dragon.." as if jolted from a hypnosis, i was enlightened by that statement and immediately, i burst into laughter "oh yah, you are right, that was obviously a dragon." while i was still reeling from my own foolishness and wondering what came over me, the pounding drum beats started again and there! the lion dance was just beginning. i pointed the girl in that direction. saved by the lion!

i was having so much fun getting kids to play that when a pregnant lady walked by, i had the strange impulse to ask her if i could invite her unborn child to play. bearing a new life, i wonder if she would play the game in her child's stead. if i were her, i would :)

had a little chat with a few other volunteers. one lady works at the national cancer centre and the other does research on cancer. wow, both are cancer related if you know what i mean. it's amazing how they can still volunteer in the same field despite their full time job. this is probably an example of how passion can drive people. when both pair of eyes turned on me, er, i said "well, basically i volunteer quite a bit and i love kids! also, i was doing community development work for some while." i guess no one said that you have to work in related fields when you volunteer :) everyone can play a part.

Friday, February 19, 2010

granny the in-house chef

yesterday. it was so yummy that i asked my granny how she did it. with enthusiasm, she began to tell. and because i asked her to show me when she cooks it next time (an extremely rare request from me cuz i'm not particulary fond of cooking), she decided to make it today.

with my brother video recording the whole thing and me snapping away, the kitchen became at that moment a recording studio of sorts and my granny the in-house chef. i'm not sure if she was aware of what we were up to but it was clear that she was pleased to have her grandchildren
watching her. her actions were fluid, so it goes :

first, mushrooms in water and oil in wok
then, when the oil is somewhat hot, add in the mushrooms and vegetables, stir for some bit
next, add in a sprinkle of tapioca flour
aside, prepare a mixture of pepper, soy sauce and chicken stock bits
back to wok, put in more vegetables and some water
pour the mixture in and stir fry some more
fire off
that's it!
when i told my brother that yesterday's version had a thicker gravy feel, he said "well, just add more tapioca flour". i was dumbfounded. And genuinely impressed.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

i was lost

simply put. i was lost.
i could curse and swear OR i could be thankful for
discovering that there's a shopping mall called city square mall,
park royal hotel and the new people's association headquarters.
the cool weather.
being able to take in the sights.
the time to take a slow walk.
the ability to laugh at my own silliness.
being on time despite the longer route i took.
having reached.
it's not how long you take, it's how you get there.