Chinese New Year 2006

Chinese New Year just ended on the 13th after 15 days of celebrations. This year was kinda nice and different. Different as I didn't go back to Penang to visit the uncles and aunties and different as it was a two-week break for me! Of course, we had the obligatory family reunion dinner. For other families, it is usually a big celebration where all the kids would return to the parent's home for dinner, women would of course follow their husbands home - poor parents who have a bunch of married girls. Anyway, my family consists of 3 people in total, including myself, so its usually just a quiet dinner where mom cooks too much food. This year, she took my advice and was of course also self conscious of her weight, so she actually cooked smaller portions and less variety of dishes. She cooks in the Penang nonya style learnt from my dad's mom. If you ever go to Penang for CNY, or come from there, you would know that all the Hokkien nonya families would have pretty much the same dishes on the table. Correct me if I am wrong but here's the list:
1. Ju Hu Char with the salad leaves for wrapping
2. Kiam chai ak - which would be turn into kiam chai buay in the next few days if nobody can stuff anymore food
3. Prawns - it signifies happiness as it sounds like laughter in Cantonese
4. Fish maw and sea cucumber with mushrooms - maybe not this one but its my favorite dish, mom makes it exceptionally well. I was told that fish maw has suddenly become a delicacy this year as more people are learning to appreciate it, the price has risen dramatically this year

Anyway, those are my favorite dishes, one that mom doesn't make as the family hardly eats pork is pork ball soup with black fungus. Geez, I do sound chinese after all! My 2nd aunty in Penang always cooks a huge pot and everyone in the family would take turns to go over her place to eat.

One thing I learnt this CNY was mahjong! Its the 3-player version which is supposedly faster - chinese translation : "can make money faster". When you initially pick up mahjong, you will be told upfront that you have to pay "tuition fees". This fee is actually the losses for not knowing the game. Apparently the only real way of learning is to pay your way through your mistakes. I for one grew up with a very strict protestant Christian father so betting, gambling nor even playing with any games associated with money was strictly prohibited...until probably a couple of years ago when I make minor bets on blackjack and learnt Pok Kuat. I love Pok Kuat but because I only play it once a year and forget the strategy and point of the game, I end up losing money all the time. Blackjack has been one lucky game for me though, I usually make quite good returns, but that's really not the point of the game for me, I just like playing with friends and keeping them company. Its quite funny how pantang/superstitious some of them can be when gambling - some rules to remember, dont touch gamblers on their shoulders, somehow they believe that you will take away their luck, or some would sit facing a certain direction only and etc

Anyhow, back to mahjong, I had kind enough teachers to actually not charge me tuition fee, in fact they also fed me with tips and good food! My 1st set of very patient teachers, Dominic and Irrena followed by Julie who along with Wan Kit actually added to the confusion with direct English translations such as "touch yourself" (che moh) and color tv (papan tile). My cousin Irene was a really fabulous coach in fact I ended up winning some rounds with her watching me. I like the game, you need to be fast, alert, have strategies that can change over the second and various plays on hand occasionally. I guess apart from Sudoku, this would be a good game to slow down Alzheimers. Apparently some family members are quite seow about it, with bets running up to a few hundreds each round (to a non-gambler that is large and unnecessary). Worst story told was that my uncle spent all his time sitting around the table and played from morning till night, neglecting to drink water. He had a transplant because his kidney failed! Gosh...I can see how it is addictive.

It was a nice CNY overall, a good long break for my golfing - more of that later with a review of the courses and enough time spent with family and good friends. El came back from Shanghai and we got to catch up for a bit, I do miss that girl, she is so much fun to be around and is an excellent chef. Gosh, I miss her cooking. Ai Lin was also back with baby Ryan, he's a sweetie and looks a bit kwai lo at angles. Amazing, my friend is now a mother, she finds it hard to believe sometimes but looks like its her thing. Its lovely to see a mother's love for their kids.

I had 3 tossings of Yee Sang - hopefully the money starts rolling in. I was told its an ok year for Tigers and will start off quite quickly...hoping for the best this new year!

To family and friends out there - A Happy and Prosperous New Year!