my "tong yuen" sunday

i have been quite busy with personal things this weekend, especially since my mom and dad decided to host a "tong yuen" celebration for our friends. the worst part of this weekend was the fact that jabatan bekalan air decided to conveniently chop off the water supply on christmas day! indeed we had no water whatsoever flowing through the mains . i went to the gym hoping that i oculd take bath there instead but i was appalled to find that the gym was closed for christmas. hey, good health never took a break even on christmas!

anyway needless to say the celebrations last night (my aunt came from brunei) consumed all our available time and today was spent making the house spick and span. indeed it had to be tidy as we were expecting easily 50 plus people (who did in fact turn up).

things were off to a chaotic start as i had many things to attend to, all of course run of the mill when it comes to hosting events but even with more than 15 years of preparing for makans and things it's still rather tiring to climb up ladders to dust the ceilings, clean the fans, etc.

then there was the shopping for groceries that my dear ole mum had given me n my fortunate dad to do. apparently she trusts our judgment coz we were given the sublime task of picking out fresh mandarin oranges. (as elmer fwudd would put it, "oh-wanges".)

the "tong yuen" that most people make are sweet; but my mother remembers the memory of her dad, and she said that he preferred them salty. so she cooked the soup with mushrooms and pork and cabbage and all sorts of delicious sauces, together with the "tong yuen". in reality she said that the "tong yuen" (soup balls) would contain meat, and other condiments. but we were hard pressed for time. we began the work (on the "tong yuen") in earnest at 5.30pm, but by 7.pm some of my dad's friends began trickling in.

i was really ticked off by the fact tht these fellows had no idea of what 8.30 meant! oh well, typical malaysian style anyway. i was under the impression that the food was meant for "light refreshments" only... that's what my dad told me. but my mom's friend (who sells food in the pasar malam) catered for us tonight and cooked enough for 50 people! excellebnt.

well, by 8.30 everything was in full swing, we had many people sitting around the house. even my pesky young cousins who usually make a lot of hassle for me were indubitably quiet. but my dog was vying for attention, barking its silly head off until it was fed. and then it would be quiet for 2 minutes before it began barking again. i guess this dog of mine just can't bear to see other people eat food without itself being fed.

well, needless to say that this entire night was good. i feel if i ever get a place of my own i would like to have a spot for people to cook. i would like an open air type of space. that way i could get my friends over, we could have a big cookout every two weeks. i'd like a vast empty space as my living room with a few couches a few televisions in different rooms, so that my guests can lounge. but i'd not have any doors, i'd hate people to lock up the rooms and start making out inside. come to think of it, glass doors are ok, but the question of ventilation still remains. but glass doors n glass walls can still shield out the noise so that the people inside can watch telly like there's no tomorrow and not disturb the next door people who are having their karaoke session.