2012 started on just the right note, for wifey and I, with Fr Andrew Wong marking us with God's blessings and sharing with us a New Year cake to welcome Jesus into our home and hearts.
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| The New Year Cake with compliments of Fr Andrew |
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| Michael and Lynna blessing our guests. Shown here is Lydia. |
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| Our guests blessing us in return. Shown here is Vivian. |
After the blessings of guests, Fr Andrew in his own uniquely playful manner, blessed the food before the guests tucked in the home-cooked nyonya fare.
For this special celebration, my food repertoire included 7 popular Nyonya dishes. Like a true blue baba, I prepared everything from scratch following very strictly the method and recipe handed down from dearest mom. Absolutely no ready mix was used. The aroma of a wide array of herbs and spices wafted from the various pots and pans in the kitchen and any self-respecting gourmet would have sniffed out the fragrance of kunyit, lengkuas, serai, daun limau purut, chili kering, bawang putih, bawang kecil and belacan. And here, you'll see the end result of all that chopping, frying, stirring and simmering:
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| Sambal Petai |
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| Babi Pongteh |
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| Ayam Buah Keluak |
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| Nyonya Stewed Chap Chye |
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| Sambal Udang Masak Merah |
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| Acar Nanas |
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| Nyonya Ba Mee |
And of course, the guests besides enjoying the food also had a wonderful time browsing through our collectibles, chatting and catching up with the latest 'shop talks'.
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The girls exchanging cooking tips.
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| Myra, Florence and Annie enjoying the food. |
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| God-daughter Laura with Angela in their private cosy corner. |
It has been a very good start to the new year and we look forward to hosting many more friends and relations for the rest of 2012. A house is not a home if it is not filled with the presence and warmth of loved ones.
