Dong Zhi 2011

Dong Zhi falls on three days before Christmas.

We celebrated this great Chinese festival this evening with a family dinner. Yian came out with delicious homecooked delicacies.

It was truly a great time together!

Happy Duanwu festival 2011

I wish all those who are celebrating this important Chinese festival a "Happy Duanwu Jie".

Have a great time with your family! Don't forget to sample some zongzi on this occasion!

The picture shows some homemade zongzi (stuffed with peanut and red bean paste).

Mooncake Festival 2010

This traditional Chinese festival is more commonly called Mid-Autumn Festival in Malaysia.

Today is the 15th of the 8th lunar month and it marks the conclusion of the month-long celebration. According to the tradition, the festival comes with eating of mooncakes. The highlight of the occasion is a sumptuous dinner on the 15th day.

It is now getting common for families to dine out on this day. Still some families hold on to the tradition to homecook the dinner.

We had a wonderful homecooked meal this evening!

Happy Mooncake Festival to all my Chinese readers!

Duanwu Festival - Egg Standing Upright (立蛋）

Duanwu Festival is also referred to as Summer Solstice. It occurs exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is closest to the sun. This day we experience the longest period of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere.

Our tradition tells us that at 12:00 noon on Summer Solstice/Duanwu Festival, we are able to make an egg stand upright on its own (立蛋). This is the only instant in a year that we may defy the law of gravitation.

Yian tried out at 12:00 noon today and she did it! Wow!

Duanwu Festival 2010

Zongzi stuffed with chestnut, salted egg yolk, mushroom and spiced up pork. This homemade dumpling is exceedingly delicious!

Homemade Roasted chicken - This dish is my mom's favourite!

Orange and plum-flavoured pork fillet.

Rendang zongzi - coconut milk-flavoured glutinous rice stuffed with rendang pork and wrapped in pandan leaves. It is irresistibly good!

Mixed vegetables dish.

Pyramid-shaped zongzi - It is a must for Duanwu Festival!

Deluxe Fried Noodles in Foochow style.

Fried Whole Egg with meat filling.

Mouth-watering Salad Fish Fillet.

My childhood favourite - Fried bread with meat filling.

Today is Duanwu Festival or Dragon Boat Festival. Traditionally it goes with zongzi - a pyramid-shaped dumpling. Dragon Boat Racing is still popular in places like China and Hong Kong. But locally this tradition is almost lost!

Ever since I started blogging, I never missed to cover this festival. Our lovely culture and the enticing zongzi are the reasons!

The legend of Duanwu Festival tells us to be patriotic. Love Malaysia and do all you can to help this beautiful land to prosper!

Happy Duanwu to all my Chinese readers.

Duanwu Festival 2007

Duanwu Festival 2007

Duanwu Festival 2008

Duanwu Festival 2009 (1)

Duanwu Festival 2009 (2)

Gawai Dayak Visit 2010

Group photo of the visitors with John Bantan's family.

Happy family of John Bantan. Second and third from left are John's missus and John Bantan.

Festive Open House is a Malaysian tradition well preserved and practised by all racial groups to upkeep admirable harmony.

In the same way, Dayak groups open up their longhouses or modern houses in towns to welcome their visitors. They extend their hospitality to all well wishers coming for festive visits.

This morning I went with Yian to pay a Gawai visit to John Bandan, Security Chief of Premier Hotel. John bought a terrace intermediate unit last year at Bukit Aup. This is his second Gawai celebration in his new house.

When we arrived there, the house was already packed with visitors. The atmosphere was warm and the air was filled with festive joy. John took us to sample his homecooked delicacies. Wow, the taste was pretty tempting!

No Gawai Dayak goes without tuak! John and his missus made rounds taking visitors to cheer the festival with tuak. This is Dayak culture and it is very heartwarming.

Seeing that the family of John Bantan was high in festive mood, I asked them to pose for me to snap a family photo for them.

Before we left, we posed for a group photo with John's family.

Gawai Dayak 2010

Photo (1)

Photo (2)

Gawai Dayak falls on 1st and 2nd of June.

This festival is celebrated by Dayak group both as religious and social occasion. Like festivals of other racial groups in Sarawak, Gawai Dayak is a homecoming season for those who are working or studying outstation.

On the run-up to the festival, Sibu has been thrown into a bustling state. Crowds comprising chiefly of Dayaks throng in the markets, bus terminals and jetties. The air in Sibu has been filled with the festive mood.

Hotels in Sibu experience brisk business. In the past, it was mostly budget hotels raking in. Starting five years ago, with more Dayaks crossing over to JB and Singapore for greener pasture, resulting in them moving up in their purchasing power, star-rated hotels have been standing to benefit from the season. This is economically a good sign. But, sadly, Sarawak is losing manpower.

Photo (1) shows busy embarking on express launch.

Photo (2) shows a busy jetty in Sibu. The bridge looks dangerously overloaded.

Photo (3) shows old hens on sale. These hens are ideal for curry chicken.

Photos: Meng Lei

Chu Yi, St. Valentine's Day, My Birthday

Chu Yi is the first day of Chinese New Year. This year it coincided with St. Valentine's Day. And my birthday happened to fall on this day also.

It was a trio occasion for me.

When I cut the Oreo Cheesecake made by Yian, I thanked God for the joyous birthday celebration.

My message to Yian on St. Valentine's Day - You are my love!

Our Reunion Dinner On Lunar New Year's Eve

It was a home -cooked reunion dinner and it was pretty sumptuous. It took Yian a good while to come out with the delectable dishes. We said a thanksgiving prayer before we settled to the reunion dinner.
Fish is a must for Lunar New Year's Eve reunion dinner. This king-sized white pomfret made a wonderful dish.

Ushering In Lunar New Year - Rush Hours

It was a last-minute rush for new-year shopping amidst the rising festive mood. I spotted this rush-hour scene at Premier Departmental Store, Sibu where the jostling crowds queued up at the payment counters.

There seems to be a lot of excitement in last-minute rush for festive shopping.

Rainbow Tangyuan

Rainbow Tangyuan

Stuffing: Red bean paste.

Dong Zhi is still 10-day away, but the temptation of homemade tangyuan had already overwhelmed us.

Very much motivated by Tan Kee Hian's Blue Ocean Strategies, Yian put her brain to work to come out with Rainbow Tangyuan. Top on her priority list is healthy style of cooking. As such, she included all natural colourings in her recipe. Freshly squeezed pandan juice, blended dragon fruits, mashed sweet potatoes and blended black sesame seeds turned out to be excellent colourings healthy for consumption.

The tangyuan ( stuffed with red bean paste and covered with desiccated coconut) looked tempting!

Yian also prepared some traditional tangyuan (coated with ground peanuts and soya beans) for us to sample.

My mom and my kids said absolutely there was only one word for the above: Yummy!

The picture shows the traditional tangyuan.

Sibu Lantern Festival 2009

A brainchild of Sibu Municipal Council, Sibu Lantern Festival 2009 has emerged to be the latest attraction of Sibu. Sibu Kutien Association is the organiser of the event, with various other Chinese clans coming in as either co-sponsors or co-organisers.

Sibu Lantern Festival 2009 is tied up with Mid-Autumn Festival. The 7,000 lit-up red lanterns along the streets really make this year's Mooncake Festival a lot more glamorous in Sibu.

Come and see for yourself to get a feel of the cultural atmosphere.

Photos: Steven Wong www.benniao1z.blogspot.com

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2009

This year Hari Raya Aidilfitri fell on Sept. 20. I spent the first day visiting business associates and colleagues, giving them my best wishes on this grand festival.

Open-house tradition is a valuable Malaysian cultural heritage. It works towards promoting racial harmony.

Let's preserve this culture with our hearts and spirit!

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat shaking hands with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the PM's open house in Putrajaya on Sept. 20. Photo: The Star Online

Mooncakes

Mooncakes started to creep in to take up shelves in all supermarkets weeks before the Mid-Autumn Festival, giving an early heat-up of this major Chinese festival.

This traditional Wu Ren Bing ( 五 仁 饼 ）is both luscious and nutritious.It has been Yian's favourite. I started to like it also.

I recommend it to you for trying out!

Ramadhan Bazaar At Sibu Town Square

Ramadhan is nearing its end and that signals that Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just around the corner. Sibu market is hotting up as festive shopping trends up. If you go to shopping malls, you feel easily the mood in the atmosphere.

This year, again, SMC set up a Ramadhan Bazaar for the convenience of Muslims. Over the years, the Ramadhan Bazaar has evolved into somewhat like a Malay food fair. It is an attraction if we promote it well.

I went there with Yian last Sunday to look for some goodies. Eventually we settled on grilled chicken. At RM 16 per whole chicken, it was really not pricey. We gave a big thumb up to the taste.