A Chicken Rice Treat

The Tea Gang members and the staff of The Chinese Methodist Message (CMM) were treated to chicken rice at Premier Hotel this afternoon (12th March.

The lunch gathering provided a wonderful time for the gang members the CMM staff to chat over some fine foods.

Premier Hotel is currently promoting chicken rice. Come and try out yourself!

Tea Gang At Premier Hotel

The tea gang moved the weekly meet out of Meng Lei's office to Cafe Palmelia at Premier Hotel yesterday.

The shift was at the arrangement of Steven Wong who treated us to some goodies at the coffee-house to celebrate his first anniversary in United Daily as a reporter.

The invitation was very heartwarming and I deeply appreciated his hospitality.

Steven, all the best to you in your career as a journalist!

The gang members posed for a group photo. On the right is Steven. Photo: Liong

Tea Gang & Visitors

Seating (2nd & 3rd) left to right are the two Kutien guests. They speak authentic Kutien dislect.

It was our regular tea gang gathering with a surprise! Joining us were two guests of Meng Lei flying in all the way from Kutien, China. The visit was too brief for me to find out the purpose of their trip to Sibu.

Anyway, it was nice to have their presence.

Photos: Steve Ling

Ben Niao - Steven Wong

Steven Wong is a journalist. He is a blogger too.

Ben Niao, as Steven calls himself in his blog, is a new recruit in the field of of journalism. He may be a little bit green, but his enthusiasm and dedication would keep you impressed.

That day he popped in Premier Hotel and sat down with me for a short chat. Over a glass of teh tarik and a plate of fried noodles, we had had a lot of blah.

Keep up your good work, Ben Niao!

www.benniao1z.blogspot.com

Our Tea Gang Is Growing!

Our Tea Gang is growing!

It may soon outsize Meng Lei's office. We gave cheers to the growing gang!

Photo: Liong

Cheers For Nizar And Sarawakiana

Our tea meet today turned out to be cheers, cheers and cheers!

Firstly, we were overjoyed by the High Court judgement that Nizar is the legitimate MB of Perak. The true spirit of our constitutional law has been upheld. Hurray!

Secondly, we were very much appreciative to Changyi for her warmhearted treat to pao ( dumplings). From Meng Lei we learned that Changyi sent her gift of love in the form of RM 50 cash through Rev. Dr. Su for the tea gang to supplement the meet with pao. Thank you, Changyi, for your wonderful snacks.

The photo shows each of us holding up a paw and cheering. Photo: Meng Lei

Holy Matrimony of Ing Chiong & Eian Ling - This Is The Day The Lord Has Made

When Ing Chiong and Eian Ling walked hand in hand on the red-carpeted aisle to the altar, they beamed all the way through. This was a moment of outburst of joy for the two.

To Ah Chiong and Eian Ling, March 21 is a dream coming true! What else could be more joyous than entrusting to each other in God?

Psalm 118: 24 says it right, " This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it".

Close to 200 guests turned out to witness their solemn matrimony and share the joy of the two.

From calling to order to benediction, the whole matrimonial service was joy-filled and smooth in flowing through. The event was themed "Blue and White", signifying an ocean-like love. Most of the guests came in white or blue at the request of Ah Chiong and Eian Ling to tie in with their theme.

A grand wedding banquet was held at Blue Splendour Restaurant to feast the guests. The Tea Gang was honoured with an invitation to partake of the reception. We grabbed hold of it to take a group photo with the bride and groom.

Thank you Ah Chiong and Eian, and we wish you all the best!

(Photos: Steve Ling)

Sarawakiana And Yan With The Tea Gang

Today is Prophet Muhamad's birthday and it is a public holiday in Malaysia. We are mostly off for a break, stealing some precious moments away for some personal pursuits. I thought the gang meet would be called off similarly.

But a text from Meng Lei pulled the gang together for a tea on this public holiday. It was perfectly nothing unusual, but little did I know that the host was actually expecting a guest - somebody I have read about and heard of, but never met in person.

And it was none other than Changyi, a popular blogger and writer who is enthusiastic in the history of Sibu Foochow. A retired teacher, Changyi's zeal extends beyond writing about Sibu Foochow. She blogs wonderfully about the oldies - those past age things that I still cherish so much. Wow! At times, I can't resist to dwell in memories reading her posts.

Coming together with Changyi was Yan, a stronglady with The Borneo Post, a local popular English daily. Yan has been keeping fit pretty well - she doesn't look her age at all. Her blogging zeal is equally admirable - she maintains well two blogs, one in English and another in Mandarin.

When Meng Lei proposed a lard-laced kampua at a well-known coffeeshop on the following morning, Yan was fast to put it on hold first, saying " let me add on a few extra rounds of jogging first before we come to it". Wah, there is little wonder that she is getting fitter!

We posed for a group photo with the two guests ( Changyi, seating second from left ; yan, standing fifth from left).

(Photo: Liong)