Bai Tian Gong

Bai Tian Gong (拜天公) literally means praying to the Heavenly Grandfather. After some research only did I find out that actually the Heavenly Grandfather refers to the Jade Emperor (玉皇). In Chinese folk culture, the Jade Emperor is the ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell. He is one of the most important gods in the traditional Chinese religion pantheon. However, in actual Taoism, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realms and below but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.

The worship of the Jade Emperor, or bai tian gong takes place at the strike of midnight of the 9th day of the Chinese New Year. Mainly practiced by Hokkiens, there are two legends that relate to the origins of this practice, one of which I am more familiar with.

During the Ming Dynasty, the coastlines of China were often raided by Wokou or Japanese pirates. There was one Chinese New Year when the Wokou plundered the coastal region of Fujian. As the villagers ran for their lives, they prayed to Tian Gong for protection and came across a field of sugarcanes, where they hid. After the Wokou left, the villagers returned to their homes. This day was the 9th day of the Lunar New Year and since then, the Hokkiens offered prayers of thanks to Tian Gong on this day of the Chinese New Year.

This year, for the first time in my life, I joined in to bai tian gong. I did not realise that it was such a big deal for the Hokkiens.

The whole of OUG was in war, a war of fireworks and a war of whose offerings were more elaborate.

Normally, there would be offerings of roasted pig, duck, fruits, incense, mock gold paper and such. This year, the Kohs decided to go vegetarian.

Sugarcane stalks tied together with red ribbons or paper strips are always included as remembrance of the protection provided by the sugarcanes.

At the end of the prayers, the mock gold and elaborate mock mansion are burnt to be 'sent' to Tian Gong.

Valentine's Day

For the first time in many years, I feel pampered on Valentine's Day. I've not 'celebrated' Valentine's Day in I don't even remember how long. As if to 'make up' for all the uncelebrated ones, I had two dates this year. 

Hm, well, technically, I would consider it one date because the lunch date was purely just lunch. However, it was pretty awesome roast duck gonlo mien (干捞麵) at Yummy Duck Roast House (鸭味无穷) over  at Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park. And no, he did not pay for me, I paid for my own portion.

When VK asked me two days earlier to choose between Wednesday and Thursday to catch up, I chose Thursday because Wednesday was totally booked out. When he asked where I would like to go, I told him I had no idea but I would like to watch the Aniu movie, The Wedding Diary 2 because I watched the first installment last Chinese New Year. So when he suggested to catch up over dinner and do the movie, I thought why not, since I get to kill two birds with one stone.

He bought the tickets online and he came to take me from home to Pavilion. Along the way, there were many ad hoc stalls selling flower bouquets, which got him wondering. I went, "今天是情人节呀..." and his reply was, "是吗？我完全都忘了..." Haha, I did not think he'd realise, anyway. 

After some window shopping, we had dinner at Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen on Level 6 of the classy (and not to mention crowded) shopping complex. He and his usual trick to get himself out of making a decision on what to order for himself: You choose the two dishes that you would like to have most and I'll share with you lor....

After dinner, we shared a green tea soft cone (which by the way, was orgasmic and I don't know why I did not take a picture of myself indulging it!). Then it was off to enjoy the movie. Then, it was more catch up over drinks downstairs at Malones.

For some reason, he decided to try a blend of Guinness and ale. He does not like ale so no surprise he did not like the mixture.

I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed my red Sangria. Lots of fruits for me to chew, so I slowly took my time to enjoy it.

I ended up looking just as red as the drink after that. When he got me back to my doorstep, he quickly dashed out of the car to open the back passenger door. He handed to me a little silver box wrapped with a big flower ribbon. 

I was very surprised, "I thought you said you didn't realise that it was Valentine's Day today?!" 

A cheeky smile flashed across his face, "Happy Valentine's Day..."

Sigh... such friends are hard to come by and I thank my lucky stars for friends like you. 

VK, thank you.

Friends are like family

For the first time, I sent out invitations to friends who have given much meaning to different parts of my life. The invitation was for Chinese New Year, and also to catch up with them given my short stay in KL this time around.

To all of you who came, a very big thank you!

The Koh family: Xin Wen, we finally get to be in KL at the same time for Chinese New Year after so many years!

Dave, thank you for coming and glad that you are enjoying yourself in Malaysia.

My AsiaWorks buddies, Henry and Evon, thank you for coming all the way from Klang just to catch up. You guys are the best!

Uncle Wong and Miss Yong, thank you for coming and for your angpau.

Miss Lew, I am so touched! You came alone, driving in the dark with a bad flu, all in the name of 'love'.... hahaha... thank you so much! Muaks!

My CPUian buddies, Alan, Lian Shien and Mong, thank you for making your way over. Alan, thanks for organising. So happy for you and Shieny with the baby on the way. And oh, thank you for the angpau :P

My Perdanarian juniors, Pin Kean, Siew Ching, Kah Fai and Yun Hau, thank you for spending some time at our place. You guys seem to have really enjoyed the board game. Pin Kean, you really enjoyed the prawn crackers, yea? Haha... Siew Ching, congratulations to you and How Ran. Kah Fai, congrats to you, too. Yun Hau, continue to work hard la, ya? Haha... and we know your office is surrounded by good food but you really 'fat fuk' ady leh... :))

The 'reunited' lovebirds, Chee Kit and Sandra. Okay, that sounded a little wrong but I think you get what I mean. Thank you for making it. Chee, all the best with your part-time studies and Sandra, we sama-sama gambate, ya?

Primary and high school friend, Yuen Chai, thanks for coming all the way, too. Always nice to meet up with you to catch up and laugh over stuff.

Kean Giap, thank you for all that you have done for me during this trip. Really appreciate all your help!

My besties, Max, Jeunn and Cat, thank you like always. I know you love my house, I do, too. Will inform you on how much it will cost to rent my place to you for your photography shoot... lol. Love you guys!

My Perdanarian juniors Guek Ming, Hwee Lee, Jwu Hoe and Chai Ling, thank you for visiting. Your interest in the house, especially Jwu Hoe, was apparent. Must be an architect thing. Ray and Aunty Cindy, thank you for the Martini.

For all who could not make it this time, no worries, there is always next year!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year has got to be the event I most look forward to every year, after our annual Concert and Graduation. I really enjoy the balik kampung feeling each time I board the plane to KL. Perhaps due to the distance and also my long absence, I really appreciate family reunions.

Reunion dinner is always on the eve of new year. This year, the Temerloh peeps came to put up a night at our new place - would be the new kampung, as we are the main house now.

After dinner, it would be catch up over beer and tidbits, and also long cousinly chats into the night with a background of fireworks. I normally stay up till midnight to literally usher in the new year.

The next morning, we (very single and very available young adults) go through the ritual of receiving angpau packets from the elders before enjoying a plentiful vegetarian breakfast. 

There is also tangyuan or glutinous rice balls, symbolising reunion and not to forget the endless supply of cookies and Chinese New Year delicacies of sorts!

The first day of Chinese New Year is never complete without a trip to the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields. Every year, we come to pay our respect, give offerings and receive blessings for a peaceful and healthful year ahead.

Here is to wishing everyone a very Happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜发财，新年快乐！

The Prosperity Toss

The Prosperity Toss, or lo hei (捞起) / lousang (捞生) is a must have during Chinese New Year. Traditionally served on the 7th day of Chinese New Year (Renri 人日) to celebrate the day humans were created (which is why it is everyone's birthday on this day), it is now also consumed during any other day throughout the 15 days of Chinese New Year.

It is normally served with white radish, green radish, carrot, capsicum, turnip, red pickled ginger, pomelo or lime, sun-dried oranges, key lime leaves, Chinese parsley, chilli, jellyfish, peanut crumbs, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five spice powder and is accompanied by plum sauce, rice vinegar, kumquat paste and sesame oil. And of course, lousang would not be lousang without raw salmon.

Well, we all know that us Chinese love attaching meaning to everything, including our food. The ingredients that go into this dish are no exception.

Raw salmon: Nian nian you yu (年年有余) is for abundance through the year, as the word 'fish' in Chinese sounds like 'abundance'.

Pomelo or lime: Da ji da li (大吉大利) is for good luck and smooth sailing experiences.

Five spice powder: Zhao cai jin bao (招财进宝) is to attract weath and treasures.

Sesame oil: Yi ben wan li (一本万利) is to make 10,000 times of profit with your capital and Cai yuan guang jin (财源广进) is for numerous sources of wealth. 

Carrots: Hong yun dang tou (鸿运当头) is for good luck approaching.

Green radish: Qing chun chang zhu (青春常驻) is for forever young.

White radish: Feng sheng shui qi (风生水起) is for progress at fast pace and  Bu bu gao sheng (步步高升) is for reaching a higher level with each step, both for prosperity in business and promotion at work.

Peanut crumbs: Jin yin man wu (金银满屋) is for a household filled with gold and silver.

Sesame seeds: Sheng yi xing long (生意兴隆)  is for prosperity for the business.

Shrimp crackers: Man di huang jin (满地黄金)  is for a floor full of gold.

Plum sauce and kumquat paste: Tian tian mi mi (甜甜蜜蜜) is for a sweet and pleasant relationship.

The fun part is the tossing part, where we mix all the ingredients together using chopsticks, tossing them as high as possible while saying auspicious wishes.

Always a messy but super fun affair.

Our new tree house

Recently, we bade goodbye to our old home in Taman U of 20 years. That cosy home atop the hill will now be rented to a family friend and he sure is lucky to get all the built-in furniture Dad designed those years ago.

Our new home is very different to our old but it is a welcome difference. I am so proud of Dad for finally building his own home. His own meaning a home he designed from scratch (don't worry, Dad's a licensed architect, not some dodgy contractor). He tried to be as friendly to the environment as possible and some of the things he did to ensure this were:

• Keep as many of the trees as possible
• Not level the slope where possible
• Install a rainwater tank
• Use as many biodegradable products as possible
• Use LED and energy-saving bulbs
• Design the building with high ceilings for a cooling effect
• Allow natural lighting by using glass panels and louvres
• Use salvaged wood cuttings / railway slippers
• Install solar panels (pictured below)

Let me show you my room to illustrate some of the other points above...

The high ceiling plus the windows and sliding door really help with keeping the room cool. My air-con unit has only been turned on once and at night, I have to wake up to turn the fan off because it gets too cold!

Yes, that is a full sliding door that opens out to...

... a tree and oblivion. I am on the first floor so I think everyone would have to help keep me away from this door when I am intoxicated.

And in the mornings, I get to see sunrise.

The best part of my room would have to be my bathroom. I complain to Dad that it is too huge but actually, I love it because it is the only bathroom with a view. See that hole in the wall?

That hole is in fact a window that allows me to look out to the front part of the house (living room, entrance and tree well):

What's a tree well? It's like an air well just that we have two trees. So this is what I get to see from my bathroom when I look directly up:

Rain and leaves fall straight through into the heart of the house, like those old Peranakan houses in Malacca and Penang. This is why our home is known to the security guards as the 'rumah dengan pokok 'kat dalam' (house with the tree inside).

For neighbours, we have silverleaf monkeys, who are a real friendly bunch, as well as squirrels, chipmunks, different types of birds (a woodpecker said hi to me outside my window). So far, touchwood, no internal disturbances. The only 'disturbances' have been from creepy crawlies.

The tarantula was found in the kitchen and the scorpion was out in the front deck. No harm done. After all, we are the ones who have invaded their natural habitat so we have to give and take, I suppose. Share share la, right?

At least our cats have kept themselves out of trouble. No beastly confrontation for now, other than one prison break attempt by Remy into the next door jungle of a playground. But he has also found other hiding places.

Later on, Mum will be doing up her compost heap and worm farm. There will be fruit trees, herbs (we already have serai), pandan, chilli, lots of orchids, and petai.

We are all really happy with the house. So far, visitors have given positive feedback, too. They enjoy the cool and fresh air and the greenery, which is a welcome scenery change from the increasing chockablock cement and brick landscape of KL.

Not sure how long this bliss will last. Well, at least until the neighbours decide to build their homes and hopefully, they will keep their trees, too.