Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

A short video to make the heart grow fonder!

Kill the cupids! They are a scourge!

Hop-Along in 2011

CNY is always an exciting time for me. I was up by 5.00am, rolled around till 7 nish and went for a 3-km run at 8am, stopping by Kanna Curry House for some roti canai. Ever since the gym in my condo went into disrepair, I have to risk getting run over or chased by dogs! (although, that ironically be very good exercise, save as I don't get rabies!) I hope the building management does conduct repairs soon after the CNY break! I'm dying to get my stamina back!

After getting home and taking a shower, I decided to read up on what the Chinese zodiac experts had to say about people born in the year of the Rabbit:-

Rabbits, like their animal counterparts, are quite calm people who do not exhibit aggressive behavior and will avoid confrontation at all costs. When angry about something, a Rabbit will approach it calmly and considerately, hardly ever raising his voice or becoming visibly annoyed. Because of their serenity, Rabbits seem to miss things, whether they are confrontational in nature or not. However, the Rabbit is quite keen and pays close attention to the situations developing around him. He is intelligent and quick and can talk himself in or out of most situations with no problem.

The Chinese Rabbit is one of the most stylish creatures of the Chinese Animal Signs and finds interest in different cultures. He is classy and sophisticated, and can be found adorning one of the latest fashion magazine cover looks. Rabbits also like artistic ventures, such as painting and music and are generally quite present in these worlds. They love top express themselves, which is evident when joining them at home for a function or a cup of coffee.

Of course, I was born in the year of the Dragon and here's my zodiac predictions:-

Most dragons found 2010 about as much fun as chewing on icicles, and while 2011 won’t be a banner year you’ll find fewer white knights prancing around with your name on the end of their lance. Leadership and passion are typical traits of the dragon and while the year of the Rabbit will reward your natural creativity, outbursts and anger will upset workmates and friends and you could still find yourself on the business end of a lance. Instead, be patient and try and fly with the more relaxed pace of the year. If you do, you should find your cavern stuffed with goblets, trinkets and treasure chests, and, more importantly, someone scaly to share them with.

Hmmm. Strikingly true, although it mirrors any average cycle of life. This year i look forward to striving hard, making amends and strengthening my faith in Christ our Saviour. Every year that passes by brings about new lessons and experiences. The cavern stuffed with goblets, trinkets and treasure chests is a nice thought but I DOUBT I'd want to share them with someone 'scaly' ???

To my dear family, friends and loved ones: Here's wishing you a happy Chinese new year and happy holidays! God bless and keep you all in his arms!

CNY Eve Reunion Dinnner 2011

The time of the year is here again. Tradition is followed. The evening before Chinese new year. The reunion dinner. My grandmother (dad's mum) and my father's aunt graced us with their presence.

Ever since my parents' divorce, we have two reunion dinners, well...one lunch and one dinner. Earlier in the day, the dinner was preceded by lunch with the old man.

My mum outdid herself today with 'loh hon chai' (pure vegetarian dish), mixed stir-fried vegetables, fried chicken, a turnip surprise and the bonus, pork knuckle, courtesy of my grand aunt. I led the the table in saying of grace before savoring the palatable variety that laid before us.

It feels nice to be seriously connected with family once a while. Our lifelong pursuits often times leave us too occupied to pay attention to certain values. The reunion dinner is that yearly reminder to us.

Almost half way through, my mum remembered one more dish still in the kitchen, the arrowhead (ngaku) dish with sausages, a typical Chinese preparation during the auspicious season. This tuberous vege from China makes excellent chips too!

Stuffed silly.

I'm looking forward to New Year's day tomorrow.

Oh, I got my first ang pow!

8th Day...

I was rudely awoken by the almost simultaneous detonation of firecrackers around the neighborhood at midnight.

Abruptly jolted (bearing in mind I sleep in an intermediate room in a condominium!) by the thunderous volume, anxiety took over. I quickly went to the balcony with my mum just a skip behind and saw strings of firecrackers being set of in a thunderous chorus.

On the horizon, giant formations of fireworks started to blaze the dark skies. First on of the west , followed by another discharge on the east side. From afar, I can make out 'airbombs" detonating, characterized by a brilliant flash in the sky with a huge 'bang' ensuing shortly thereafter. I've been up close to one years ago and I could almost still hear the ringing in my ears! After a while, the wind blew the acrid scent of gunpowder to our direction. I can't help stop thinking about my youth, donning nothing more than a simple T-shirt and shorts running around setting off my stash of fireworks at this hour...

Ahh... the 8th day of CNY... when offerings and prayers are dedicated to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven. I remember this, for as a child, I was witness to numerous prayer rituals at Uncle Eugene's old house, which ironically is just a few streets from where I live now. My dad would be trying his luck at the mahjong table with my mum chatting with the men's' wives. My friends and I would be running wild in the neighborhood with our stock of gunpowder-propelled rockets and Roman candles!

Reminiscing old days and yet feeling irritated from interrupted sleep, I can't help but wonder why we banned firecrackers in the first place just to observe multitudes ignoring it. Being trained to observe the law doesn't quell the temptation of doing it all over again.

I slept well when I returned to bed, with memories of CNY past!

Red Envelopes

Certainly another indispensable tradition is the giving of ang pao or red envelopes or packets containing a small monetary gifts. The giving of a red packets are considered very auspicious and for warding off evil spirits and ushering good luck into one's home. I use to keep a list of all my collections in a small little book kept alongside a envelope serving as my makeshift "safe" hidden away in a drawer.

The story of ang pow" dates back to the Sung Dynasty in China. A village called Chang-Chieu was at the time terrorised by a huge demon. No one was capable of defeating it, not even their greatest warriors or statesmen. However, a young orphan, armed with a magical sword inherited from his ancestors, fought the evil demon and eventually killed it. The villagers were triumphant and the elders presented the brave young man with a red envelope (more like a red pouch I would imagine) filled with money for his courage in saving them. Since then, the ang pow has become a part of traditional Chinese customs.

Practically every Chinese family practices giving out thee red packets during the Chinese New Year period, weddings, birthdays or important events like one's child's graduation. Kids or the unmarried stands to gain more from this exercise.

The obligors are normally married couples and older folks. Newly weds are "encourage" to make their "contribution" more sizable in order that their marriage will be a fruitful and lasting one. I've always been taught by my mother to have notes in pairs, depending on the denomination of currency available, e.g. RM11- comprising of one RM10 note and one RM1 note.

The handing out of red packets are reciprocated by kids' parents respectively when families visit one another.

Yee Sang & Low Hei

A timeless ritual chinese practices during the Lunar New Year celebrations aka Chinese New Year celebrations. The common dish known as "Yee Sang" or raw fish, transliterated. In Malaysia, there is almost no option for every Chinese family to indulge in this exercise at the dinner table on the eve of the new year, commonly called the "Reunion dinner" or at any place where a table of guests are preparing to dine.

The Singapore-originated (as I found out) dish had fish served with white radish, carrots, red capsicum, turnips, red pickled ginger, sun-dried oranges, lime tree leaves, Chinese parsley, chilli, jellyfish, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five-spice powder and other ingredients, laced with a sauce using plum sauce, rice vinegar kumquat paste and sesame. Originally, the dish used raw mackerel, although in deference to the popular wishes of customers, salmon was later offered as an alternative due to the growing its popularity. These days, there are variations with raw jellyfish stripes, which serves as a cheaper alternative.

The act of communal mixing or "low hei", involving tossing the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks (much like you would with Caesar salad) while exclaiming various "auspicious wishes" out loud. It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the dinner's growth in fortunes, thus dinners are expected to toss enthusiastically; the level of enthusiasm commonly depicted by the "height" of the the toss.

There is no real specific technique in the toss, but I've come to realize the "toss experts" could manage to mix the ingredients up in midair with skillful chopstick-play!

The tangy taste of Yee Sang sets out your palate for the tantelizing dishes which comes after that.

Hope everyone has bought their new clothes, mandarin oranges and charged-up their "ang-pows" for the Tiger year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

to all my family, loved one and friends!
Happy Chinese New Year!!

I look forward to renewing friendships, culling old habits and reinventing myself this year!

Happy Deepavali To All Of My Indian Friends!

To all of my dearest Indian friends celebrating Deepavali!

I would like to wish all of you dear brothers and sisters in the light a Very Happy Deepavali!!!

May the lights be onto all your paths and may your destiny be ever so illuminated for time to come and may all the streams of light point you all in the path of good community and righteousness.

I say this with all my heart to amongst others, Sankar-son-of-Supramaniam (my partner-in-crime and colleague at Khaw & Partners), Xavier, Raymond, Laurence and Colin Balachandran (the 'empat sekawan' at Online Pub and Restaurant who has introduced me to good food and company), Rachel Yong and b/f Mani (whom I've heard a lot off and yet to know), Aru (my trusted despatch person at Khaw & Partners), Dhush (Rachel's friend whom I've had the privilege of meeting at Bodega last week or so), Giri Thesan (my lecturer then), Ravindran Shanmuganathan (also my lecturer and my favourite land law mentor), Shamini Sumitra, Raveena Rajaveethi, Hema Devaraj, Kavitha Arumugam, Pravin Tilaka (and Premela Menon), Sashiraj Uthrapathy (Raja Darryl & Loh), etc (all my ex-schoolmates during my years reading law) Dayan Selvarajah and Willie (my ex-schoolmate and fiance) and my dearest Indian contemporaries and friends at heart (in case I've missed out your names)...

Have a good celebration and holiday. May God bless each and every one of you.

For my "machas" out there, please don't forget to leave me some chicken kurma and ghee balls when I get back to work.

In the meantime, I am packing for Kuching tomorrow. Can't wait to be there and be with Francis and my fellow 'Heng Tai's'. Vivian, watch out.... the Head 'Heng Tai' is on route and ready to take on any devious games you 'Chi Mui's' would hurl at us. I am saying this with the most rueful manner and as they say, "BRING IT ON"...

Francis, prepare for the stag nite of your life...trannies and banana mans included...hehehe.