will i am's delayed diary

The MCO has made me realize how much I miss going on my weekly morning market visits. This post about the CNY hustle and bustle at the OUG morning market will help tide me over for now. Every year, this lady would sell colourful longevity peaches for the altar. To keep things fresh, she would introduce some new variation as a sales gimmick. Nice to look at, but not for eating. Plants and flowers also sell very well during the CNY season. The Chinese would decorate their homes with plans and flowers to create a 'lively' atmosphere. Among the staples is the coiled bamboo stalks which are called "Guan Yin Bamboo". More elaborate varieties can be found at plant nurseries. These kids are selling Chinese calligraphy with auspicious words. Pretty skilled work if you ask me. Good strategy as well because its by donation and their cost is not high. Customers won't underpay them, and probably some generous people would overpay them a lot! A good way to earn some m

By association, I was invited to a fun CNY party organized by Big Monster's bestie's grandmother! Although the family is Muslim by marriage, CNY is still a big deal for them. Every year, the matriarch would invite her relatives over for a boisterous gathering. Whenever someone walked in, they would blast the classic song "財神到", and greet each other raucously. The food served was very more Hari Raya than Raya Cina. As the party went on, they started a dance off, and boy could they dance! Amazed by their moves without the influence of alcohol. To encourage everyone to get on the dance floor, they even prepared lucky draw red packets! They really know how to let their hair down. Later that night, we had dinner with Lifebook, Bless, SK, and KH at Ding Tai Fung , Empire Shopping Gallery. Not a place that I usually eat at, so SK did all the ordering. Then it was coffee and cake at Whisk . On a whim, mum suggested that we visit an old family friend who lives in USJ. Be

Surprisingly, mum decided that she would not be visiting relatives on the second day of Chinese New Year. Instead, she wanted to go on a road trip, and have fun. Worked for me. The only challenge was to decide where to go and what to do. The general idea was to drive north. Our first stop was Kellie's Castle located near Batu Gajah. Arrived there an hour past high noon. As one can guess, it was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. For a small fee, we entered into the compound to admire the beautiful mansion built by the Scottsman William Kellie-Smith. Located beside the Raya River, the mansion looks imposing, as it is on higher ground. The architecture is also unique, employing the use of much marble and red bricks in a mash up of Scottish, Moorish, and Tamilvanan Indian influence. Although it was very hot outside, one could find refuge inside the vacant mansion. The interior was surprisingly cool. Kellie started with Kellas House, and started building a grand extensio

The Lunar Chinese New Year Mass at my parish is a major affair that involves many ministries working together. Planning started months ago. Kudos to the altar ladies for their beautiful centerpiece at the altar. Gratitude to the volunteers who had unpacked and washed all the mandarin oranges before the big day. And also gratitude to the kulis who came early to move the few kilograms of mandarin oranges into position ( never fails to work up a sweat! ). This guy even had to climb so high to hang the 'green' ( Chinese lettuce ) for the lion dance. And there were many, many, many, many chairs to be arranged outside the church. The liturgy was led by the Chinese-speaking congregation, but they also roped in the English-speaking congregation for added hands. Setting up the table for commemoration of ancestors also takes special know-how by the liturgy group. And look at the special offerings just for the occasion. So pretty! And at the end, mandarin oranges an

Note : Let's revisit CNY! As usual, before mum started work on the reunion dinner, we would make a trip to AEON Equine Park for some fresh ingredients. She started cooking at 3 PM, serving up dish after dish : Pak cham kai Fried threadfin Pork stew with mushrooms, fish maw, and tendon Lotus root soup Salmon sashimi salad Pan-fried soy sauce prawns Pan-fried scallops Braised duck Just a little bit of everything and we were full! So lazy to move after that, but had to wash the car and floors before CNY! Tok-tok-chiang !

One Utama recycled their giant Christmas baubles into giant polyhedral pigs. Bro treated us to Samsui chicken at Soup Restaurant . "Cobra Commander wishes you a happy Year of the Pig!". Once you generate 10,000 steps at One Utama, it's time to sit down for cookies and coffee at Cookies & Coffee .

For several years now, I have been attending Love Eternal Charity Association of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur's CNY gathering with mum. This Christian non-profit organization primarily works with single parent families, providing them with monetary and non-monetary support. 2018's event ( their 18th ) nearly didn't happen because of the recent death of their founder, the late Reverend Dorcas Wong. But they pulled through anyway, so there we were at SJK(C) Chung Kwo. The luncheon was attended by around twenty charity organizations, including old folks homes, the handicapped, the visually-impaired, the hearing-impaired, single mothers, and dialysis patients. During the lunch, there were many performances, mostly song and dance. And what's a CNY luncheon without a lion dance right? And thank goodness they used the traditional Big Head Monk. At the end of the event, they gave out goodie bags to everyone. Several months ago, SimonLover proposed a CNY gathering at his co

A member of my BEC was leaving KL for Kuching after spending 18 years in Peninsular Malaysia. Let's call her ZZ. She organized a CNY gathering at her flat for several friends, and mum and I were invited. It was actually our first time visiting her flat in Taman Medan. Typical of low cost flats, the place looked pretty run down. When we arrived at her floor, the whole lift lobby was a playground for a bunch of kids. From the lift lobby, there were four radiating corridors. We went down one of them and tried looking for the correct unit which was quite difficult due to how to house number was nailed right on top of the grill. Two kids tailed us like puppies and asked us which unit we were looking for. Kids: "Rumah nombor apa?” Moi: "Lima puluh dua." Kids: "Bukan sini, belah sana." (They beckoned us to follow them) Moi: "Oh sini. Thank you!" Kids: "You are welcome." Should have enlisted their help earlier. Practically ushe

Remember the qipao that mum bought on the first day of Chinese New Year? It was specifically sourced for the "2018 Chinese New Year Grand Gathering" that was organized by the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia or more commonly known as HuaZhong. As it was a major event with our beloved PM ( ex-PM at the time of publishing ) as the guest of honour, mum had to go out quite early in the morning. While mum was out, KH and I had our skank session at home. Got KH to sit at the edge of the bed, while I saw on him. Must say that I never had such an experience on any 'chair' before! A much needed release. Picked mum up at around 1:00 PM. Helped her take some photos in front of the giant banner with Najib's head. She told me that she met Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan at the event.  Tea time was a carb fiesta with miku , nian gao coated with crushed peanuts, and bakzhang! At night, I treated Sis to an ageLOC spa session. LumiSpa, Galvanic Spa, the works! 

The Tribe made a date with mum and I to have a porky breakfast at  Bacon and Balls , Happy Garden. Although we tried to order a variety of stuff, we ended up with loads of eggs and bacon on the table. Just different combinations of it. Thank goodness we asked them to omit the bread. But I did like the Signature Meatball Platter. Platter is not a suitable word to use actually. It's actually a tasting plate of four types of meatballs-- pork, chicken, beef, and lamb. Halfway through breakfast, the neighbouring vegetarian shop had a lion dance. We went out to take a look at the 'breakfast entertainment'. The lion dance troupe looked like they forgot their morning coffee. So lethargic. And the red crackers went out so quickly that it might as well had been a sneeze. In the afternoon, had a coffee and cake session with KH, Apollo, and  Don . Met at MTree Hotel in Puchong Jaya, not a place I would have ever visited if not for Don's recommendation. There's a cafe

By CNY3, we were back in church because it was a Sunday. Sis and the two monsters arrived at my place early for breakfast. A favourite for the monsters was my maternal uncle's miku . Each of them ate two! And they still wanted more. After church, we went to lunch at Apollo's home, at the invitation of his mum. A feast was prepared for us-- a total of ten dishes! Fish maw egg drop soup. Egg roll. Stir-fried jicama. Curry chicken. Stir-fried vegetables. Fried pomfret. Roasted chicken. Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Deep-fried meat dumplings. Braised chicken with sea cucumber. All of us retreated to the living room like beached whales after that huge meal. The monsters dug out all of Apollo's party games: Ice Breaking Save The Penguin ( Little Monster's favourite ) Pop Up Pirate ( simple and fast ) Falling Tumbling Monkeys ( takes ages to set up )