We are led to a table beside a group of fourteen – twelve women and two men, many of them in fuchsia. Perhaps the colour doesn’t feel as old-fashioned as red. The older ladies are in red; it is hard to break away from tradition. As we partake of the stewed pork knuckles, a Chinese tune sung melodiously at soprano tones rises above the cacophony of sounds in the busy restaurant. I can tell that it is a traditional tune, although I can’t make out the words in Mandarin. My friend tells me that the song is about spring.
The voices rise in harmony. Some of the other restaurant patrons turn around to see where the sound is coming from. The ladies in fuchsia, while waiting for the next dish to arrive, continue singing from their songsheets, oblivious to the disapproving looks. My friend shakes his head and laughs nervously. The nightingales in fuchsia carry on, their sweet voices serenading me through my fatty, sticky char siew meal.
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep….
The loud sound of fire crackers goes off at 3 in the afternoon. I am jolted from my slumber, a pleasant dream about udon and an udon maker rudely interrupted. The sound crescendoes to a climax after fifteen minutes, and I fall back into my goose-down pillow, willing for a continuation of my dream.
It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay
Awake when I’m asleep
‘Cause everything is never as it seems
When I fall asleep….
(Lyrics borrowed from Fireflies – Owl City)
I haven’t spent time with my friend in months, and he is back for the holidays. We agree to meet at a restaurant at Changkat Bukit Bintang. We have had enough of Chinese food for the season, and seek something different instead. A lion dance troupe makes its way up the stretch, stopping at every restaurant to bless the businesses and to bring them luck and fortune. Two hours later, the clashing of cymbals and drums compete with the music from the surrounding clubs, and all hope of conversation is lost.
Our “reunion” dinner is as Malaysian as it gets. Chinese, Indian, Malay and Lain-Lain are all represented. Days earlier, Hunky, in a drunken stupor, offers to cook prawn risotto, a recipe he has perfected over the years. We bring the yee sang. Paps makes lemon pudding for desserts. The essence of a reunion dinner is present via the creation of new traditions while upholding the old. Laughter fills the air as fireworks light up the sky with the silhouette of the Twin Towers in the background.
For a brief moment, my heart is filled with hope.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
eek. the halloween jack-o-lantern crossed with cny orange mutant butterfly is gonna haunt my dreams tonite
You were having sWEeT dreams about hunk-a-san? Hehehe “I like to make myself believe, this planet earth turns sloooowly”
Yay! Gong Xi Fatt Chai, Lovely LL and Hunky-san…. 🙂
Sean: Pbbthhhh.
A Lil Fat Monkey: You laugh at me, ar? *piaks*
J: GXFC, lovely J. 😀
Nice pictures! 🙂
It must be so great to have a reunion with friends and especially catching up with a friend that you haven’t seen for quite sometimes.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
gong xi fa cai oh lemongrass.. ur so pretty!
I love what you did with the pictures. Happy CNY to you and BE! 😀
Nice way of capture the Yee Sang photo 🙂 I like it ^^
Gong Xi Fa Cai!!! Great to know you had a fantastic reunion!!
Selba: Yes, friends are special and I love spending time with them.
cumidanciki: hehe…gxfc to you too sweetie!
Bangsar-bAbE: Thanks! Happy CNY to you too!
uLi: Thank you! Always looking out for different angles. 🙂
Precious Sista: GXFC sista! Yes, my reunion was special. 🙂
Gong Xi Fa Cai to you too Meena!!!
Been missing for a while… but now back in full force! See you soon
Aww (sobs sobs) so touching. My own CNY reunions were far more noisy and boisterous, no touch of sweetness at all. (Well, other than the fizzy soft drinks.) 😛
thule: Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family too!
Life for Beginners: Touching? hehe. Just real life observations. 🙂
That’s a gorgeous pic LL! I now know what has made me resolve to skip CNY next year.. the absence of reunions in shades of fuchsia!!
minchow: thanks! LOL…you silly…go start your own fuchsia club. Hmmm…isn’t fuchsia a term used for something else?
Reading this felt like I was having dinner with you. It was as if for a few minutes I was reliving the whole experience through your eyes.
Or maybe it’s that see-through gauzy photo effect of yours… 😀
It was great lou-sanging with you. Next time we have coffee, remind me to come in an empty stomach, k?
Gfad: I want to maintain that we should keep our traditions alive, even if it means that we wear fuchsia coloured shoes. Perhaps it’s a sign of age. 🙂 I loved spending every moment with you. Who cares that it was just at a kopi chain. So what if we just drank Milo peng. It’s the company, sweetie, so thank you for spending that afternoon with me.
okay, i know its gonna be tooooo deep a post when there’s a word in the title that i dont understand. so l look at pikchers only la hor. gorgeous.
FBB: You dunno the meaning of hope?
haha, is fuchia a cross between our two friends, fuich and chuisia? how to pronounce ah? foo cha ah? like bitter tea?
hope? that’s like sh** right? both float….
fbb: a cross between our friends, fuich and chuiz would be a world class orgasm.
Not all sh** are floaters. Depends what you consume.
love what you did wid the pics! fabulous… kung hei fatt choy to you and my foo chow brother LOL
Ahem, correction. I was the one drinking milo peng. Haha.
We are really fortunate to celebrate the many colourful bottles of hope in this land of ours. Let’s make sure no one dares to spill them. GXFC! Where’s my fuchsia ang pow? Hehe.
Gong xi gong xi! Cant help but giggle with what u did to the mandarin oranges. The best time of this year is catching up with relies and friends and simply taking in the good food!
The pictures are getting nicer and nicer. Envy! Happy Chinese New Year!!
Happy new year to you LL!! 🙂
Looking fabulous dah-link. Happy CNY! 😉
babe_kl: Who’s foo chow? GXFC to u and ur family too!
Bob: Creative licence. Your drink was our drink. I don’t give ang pows lah. Got same policy as FBB. 😛
daphne: Check out my FB pics to see what else we did to our mandarin oranges. 😉 Hope you had a good CNY celebration. 🙂
superwilson: Thanks! You have great photos on your blog too! GXFC!
Manggy: Happy new year to you, Manggy!
unka: Miss you!! Happy CNY, dear!
fuchsia is the new black! in fact, lemongrass (the bud) is a lighter shade of fuchsia .. innit? so LL is the new black .. hehe
oh, but I am .. the new blackie! hehe
ciki: if you’re the new blackie, let the whole world be black! yum!
can i recruit u ar.. black n white minstrel show.. haha
love your oriental looking pictures! very rustic and romantic 🙂 enjoy the remaining of the CNY!
Dahlink, I love mah new shoes. I just made a pearl necklace to go wif mah black cheongsum and pom-pom shoes. One day I’ll do my hair in a
bunchignon, wear the dress, shoes and necklace and take a pikcher for you. 😀ciki: cannn but i don’t have any white bits.
sc: thanks! you have a great cny too!
gfad: You MUST show me pics of your new pearl necklace! You made it yourself? Kewl. I dunno how to knot the silk string for pearls yet. Yes, take a pikcher. I wanna see. Sure like Wong Kar Wai movie ony. 😀
U all sure enjoyed the reunion!
“Chinese, Indian, Malay and Lain-Lain are all represented.”
I just watched Avatar this morning. Hmmm were the Na’vi tribe from Pandora also there? hehe…
Yar yar.. your effects are very In the Mood for Love! Just the right effect for the cheongsam photo. 🙂 Then can put up in restaurant with other old memorabilia like charcoal iron and rattan briefcase.. 😀
I did not string myself an expensive pearl necklace ler. Just a simple one with crystals in between. No need for silk strings or complicated knots.
keropokman: No, they were all attending some Umno meeting.
gfad: Yes! I hope Kenny Mah sees your comment. 😀 Too bad I can’t take your photo when you’re all dressed up in your cheongsam. Do email a picture to me, though, so that I can turn it into an old chinese picture for you. Eh, be careful with your necklace ar. If the string breaks, all the pearls will jatuh.