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Saturday, February 23, 2008

SO so so Backdated.....CNY in Alor Setar !!

U know what.....after my post on how we spent our CNY EVE, i was supposed to write a little on our simple 'kampung' life in Alor Setar during the first 3 days of CNY but there were just too many distractions or rather suprises that happened along the way hence prevented me from doing so. I owed this post so much. At the sametime, it gaves me a little wake on how unfair i've been deviding my attention & time to the other sides of my family, hahaha....

It wasn't as if there was a 180 degree variance between urban & rural CNY spending but food wise, no doubt there were a few obvious to note..... in particular for someone who has not experienced such celebration in this northern part of the country!!
Right in the morning of the 1st day of CNY, the family's dining table will be served with a REAL BIG wok of this auspicious noodle (a must-have dish), which the Teochew called "MIEN TEOW" !!!
I seriously have no idea what was it called in other dialects/languages nor have i seen them cooked in other dishes!! Over there, my MIL fried them with lots of garlic, bean sprout, 'kau choi', pork lark & egg of course!! For me, I found that it has very strong garlic taste and no other taste that my senses could detect, therefore i usually gobbled the noodle with lots of chillies (padi) to satisfy my hungry stomach! Frankly speaking, it actually took me quite a few years to grow a liking towards this noodle.
When my family was served this noodle last year, they didn't quite like it too and so were my boys!!



Then to accompany the above noodle as breakfast, here is another must-have dessert. It was the usual "lin chi kang" which could be savour in any other places throughout the country BUT the only exception here to the family was that the amount of gingko/'pak kor' that were boiled in the dessert was tremendously great!! I don't know whether it has any special meaning to the CNY but it was obviously noted that every family members of my in-law love eating them. My huby alone would take a portion as big as the size of the bowl below. It seriously scare the hell out of me looking at how they swallow these gingko......maybe i'm bias again as my admiration with gingko is again very low i would say!! Nevertheless, i still enjoyed eating this dessert......


This year i helped to place these preserved 'junks' into this beautiful authentic 'plate'....i almost couldn't believe these were still served to the guest. I think these days, people would try to stay away from eating these junks, no?








It has still been a norm to pay a visit to huby's grandma's house where most of the relatives would seen gathering around. And again the women would be busy distributing angpows while the men mingles around!




And it was also a rare time for the kids/cousins to blend.....should i say less than 3 times in a year !!!

As food becomes lacking during CNY, this famous Malay operated TELOK KECHAI LAKSA would be targeted as either a snack in between main meals or a dish to serve the guest!!


As i was busying 'kepoh' elsewhere, i suddenly saw my Sean sitting on the dining table with some aunties who had been successful in convincing him to give a try on the laksa & boy.....he loves it since then...........


Another favourite meal that me & huby would not miss during our trip back to the 'kampung' even if it means 11pm at night and i would ended up feeling sorry to my digestive system!!!


When it comes to time to depart home, usually a little emotion would run around us esp. to the kids. And to a certain extend, i think my FIL is the next person that displayed the feeling of uneasy with our departure. Right before we were about to leave, my FIL was already seen checking the calendar for our next trip back home for the celebration of his birthday which will be in May! Huby has been "informed" of the DATE to report back, hahaha...

Till i talk about the 'kampung CNY' again next year, bye for now !!!

10 comments:

LHS said...

maybe can go back more frequently, so that not only your kids happy, your FIL is happy too.

slavemom said...

It's like that when our families r in different towns. Those few times a yr visits r the oni times the boys can mingle ard n get to know their cousins hor. At least ur side of the family is in the same town. Ours r all out-station, so the kids hardly meet n play with their cousins.
Eh, hv nvr seen this Mien Teow b4. And it looked quite plain.
I oso don't fancy ginkgo. I just like the water/soup. :D

Robertjo said...

According to the other half, the Mien Teow dish is only made by the Teochew so the other clans would not then have a word for it. Have had the ginko desert both in AS (same cook eh) and here.
Desmomd has grown, he will be bigger than his Penang cousin lar!

chanelwong said...

miss going back to Alor Setar..didnt go back for quite some time...

Anonymous said...

ya very backdated ler... i like the thong sui..

got a tag for u

http://littlepaces.com/?p=972

Anonymous said...

oh my!!!
from down at the bottom right up to this current posting, all about food food food. Yummilicious and funny in between them too.

The surprise so early b'day cake, the wonderful cake, the clown bryan koh koh and of course sean and scot love to comb... i love reading them all. Wow, the past weeks, cny weeks sure happening to you and yer family. Even your hubby cooperate to look funny and smiling all the way.
Now, that is for me a very very happy chinese new year days to remember. Glad like that :)

Chinneeq said...

home cooked back in hometown is always the best hor...sigh....isnt it good tht we can travel to and fro easily :p

Anonymous said...

That laksa looks delish! Love it!

JK said...

wow, food all the way. So nice to be able to eat!!

Jacss said...

huisia...it's not as easy as u think thou we would love to go back more often....life's hectic in KL, u know....

yeah genie, i'm still more blessed than u...i admit!!

uncB: ooh...u mean it's only made & eaten by the Teochew ehh!!
ya, not only desmond potentially as big as the 'Wong' in Penang, there is also kenneth who is now 1/4 bigger than desmond...hahaha

wow papaj, u had a good reading ahh & gave me good summary too...hope u really enjoyed them!!

cnee: i know u miss yr mom's cooking in melaka too....sigh!!

really giddytigress?? u will have to try it to know....

yes jo...nice to eat but not nice at all to the body, haha...