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 !!!