Whilst still on subject of chinese roots, I thought I'll steal Cheung's thunder and divert some interest away from his near century post. My typical dinner will have foll : 1) Steamed chicken 2) Sea cucmber briaised in Soy 3) Ginger duck in soy sauce 4) Abalone and pig stomach soup 5) Fried glass noodles. Very obvious of it's Fujianese influence. How about yours ? Sorry to those feeling homesick. I met and played with Cheung, his Cantonese is passable in KL and Ipoh, maybe not HK where medium of instruction is cantonese, not Hua Yu.
no mention of "Yee sang", something like a four season dish??? <snip> As for the tradition of eating yee sang during Chinese New Year, this is a recently invented “tradition” of the Chinese in Malaysia (and Singapore). Yee sang – a dish of raw fish slices mixed with crunchies and other ingredients plus sauces of various kinds – is not part of New Year cuisine among the Chinese of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong etc. Part of the attraction or fun of eating yee sang comes from audience participation or participant observation, i.e., all those present at the dinner table, whether young or old or men or women, are supplied with chopsticks and are actively encouraged to indulge in boisterous mixing of the ingredients simultaneously. I suppose one could also say that the kids enjoy this because it allows them the rare chance of playing with their food without being reprimanded for it by adults! In my opinion, yee sang dishes at Chinese restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore are grossly overpriced during the New Year season (traditionally the period of celebration for the New Year is 15 days). Nevertheless, diners are willing to pay for it because of its association with good luck, prosperity and business success (sale of expensive yee sang dishes certainly brings prosperity and business success to restaurant owners!). A classic case of successful marketing indeed. Upscale yee sang containing slices of expensive fish or abalone can burn a big hole in one’s pocket. From what I have read in the Singaporean mass media, the ordering of grossly overpriced yee sang dishes also allows one to indulge in “kiasuism”, i.e., one can display one’s wealth to poorer relatives, friends and business acquaintances by ordering expensive dishes of yee sang or other foods in restaurants and never mind the taste. A local version of the potlatch, I suppose. As for the masses, they can still eat yee sang during Chinese New Year by buying do-it-yourself kits and by using cheap fish for the fish slices. The eating of yee sang during Chinese New Year is a good example of the “invention of tradition” in Chinese culture in Malaysia and Singapore. If it spreads to China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or to citizens of other countries who are of Chinese ancestry, it would be an example of cultural diffusion. </SNIP> It is also available in Australia, but also at an overpriced rate. source: http://phuakl.tripod.com/eTHOUGHT/yeesang.htm
New Year's eve dinner usually have steamed chicken and fish, plus vegetables. On New Year's day mostly will be 'Chai' - vegetarian dish.
Fish, what's that? Fish in Msia is so costly one only eats them in fancy restaurants ! Yee Sang is usely consumed by the Kiasu for business purpose to show off, not part of family cuisine. Sounds incredible that fish is a luxury, but that's the way in a country with a limited coastline.
hmm, i wasn't in town this new year eve but in previous years, the family dinners consist of : 1) steam chicken 2) sea cucumber/mushroom/tofu soup 3) steam fish 4) a vegetable dish (brocolli and/or snow pea) with shrimp 5) glass noodle braised in soy I'm not much of a duck fan.
well yee sang can be done at home as well, they sell kits with all the bare necessities and all u need is just the fresh ingredients (vegetables, etc.) don't have to be costly. don't have to be at a restaurant.
Bbn very nice guy. The nicest thing he said to me was my style of play very similar to the Chinese players as opposed to M'sian or Indonesian style. I guess that what you get when learning in China Badminton very popular in Ipoh. Some people queue up at 4am to book courts at DBI. All available courts are fully booked in evenings elsewhere. My Cantonese is pretty bad no matter where I am!!!
Are you going to report how the badminton game occurred, as you usually do? About playing styles, is it only me? I think nowadays most players play very similarly, that is technically speaking. It's hard to say i.e. Taufik technique is much different from say Chen Hong. Even Peter Gade and Hoyer-Larsen playing styles resemble a lot more Asian, if I can say so. Looking back into the olden days you could see the difference between a Liem Swie King, Louis Pongoh, Hastomo (?) Arbi with Luan Jin, Yu Iao Tong, Niehroff, Kevin Jolly, Steen Fladberg for example. Nowadays everybody plays so similar.
We were to meet in PJ's PUI CHAI scchool hall. I waited for the crowd to gather. Then I saw someone quite different, pale as if from a temperate country, sporting a HK/Jap style haircut and wearing stylish sports gear. I just walked up to him and introduced myself.
Hey, I was wearing my Mizuno shoes and Yonex shorts. My T-shirt was really ordinary...even by M'sian standard's (more than 15 years old - but I have washed it in that time so it isn't smelly )
So how did the match go? Do I sense some reluctance to go into details? Maybe the match was very uneven? Anyway, at my corner of the world, a typical New Years dinner would probably include oysters, definitely lobster and lots of Champagne... But then again that's not the same New Year! But I must say that your menu sounds more interesting!
Well Cheung could have been at least a state doubles player in Msia at his prime. Of course the players were not as effective as they have never undergone formal training .As for me I'm always one or two steps behind. Oysters, lobster and champagne, my, in M sia that's gping to cost half a month's salary.
