Belated Birthday Breakfast For Yoke Choo

22 years is a long time. Yoke Choo and I have been friends since our days as colleagues at Resorts World Berhad. Yes, we got to know each other when we were working at Genting Highlands Resort all those years ago. We were colleagues in the Finance Department, I in F&B Cost Control and Yoke Choo in Admin.

 

Working and living up in Genting Highlands meant that our colleagues soon became our friends, and the ones we got along better with became our good friends. Spending so much time together, we became somewhat of a family, often having meals and enjoying social activities as a group. Sadly, most of us who left the highlands and in particular the company, have also lost touch with the many friends that we spent so much time with during our tenure there. As of now, Yoke Choo is the only one whom I am in contact with.

 

Our somewhat busy lives means that we don't often see each other. But every now and then there is the occasional phone call, and we stalk one another from time to time on Facebook. We remember to call and wish each other happy birthday without fail. And when the stars align and our schedules permit, we meet to catch up in person. Although our conversation revolves around the present and the future, there will inadvertently be flashbacks to our time up in Genting, a period of our lives that created an opportunity for us to initiate and subsequently nurture a friendship. Perhaps it is also time for us to try to track down some of the others. All it takes is a willingness and a little effort.

 

 

A belated birthday breakfast for Yoke Choo at Dome Café, The Curve in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Chinese New Year Feasting

OK I've done a count. From the eve of Chinese New Year till today, the 13th day of the year of the Golden Rabbit, I've feasted at 17 Chinese New Year-related meals! And that is not including the 4-day holiday I took in Samui! There are still 2 more days of festivities to go and I've got 2 more dinners set. I should therefore hit 19 by Chap Goh Mei. That is quite a lot of food.

Just today alone, being a public holiday, I enjoyed 3 major meals. It started with an early lunch with my friends Yoke Choo, Tony and Soon Kok, the former two ex-Genting, the latter still Genting. Dim sum and Waxed Meat Rice started the ball rolling. From lunch I headed straight to an afternoon tea hosted by our family friends, the Khaws. Roti Jala with Chicken Curry, Seri Muka, Layered Cake and Fruit Jelly; I didn't even dare try to take on the Mee Siam. An afternoon nap later, it was off to Chinese Treasures at Sime Darby Convention Centre for an 8-course banquet dinner hosted by an uncle from my Mum's side of the family. It was a wise move on my part therefore to have gotten in a swim this morning right after I completed the morning news at RTM. The exercise in a way relieves me a little from the guilt of such indulgence. I think more swimming and gymming will be required over the next few weeks to shed the excesses.

The thing is, what is a celebration without food? Chinese New Year is a time when we renew ties with family and friends, mostly over a meal, or more accurately, numerous meals. Communal feasting enhances kinship, promotes camaraderie, creates memories. And when the company is good, the experience goes up a notch too. It is a blessing and we should be thankful. I guess what I am trying to say is I look forward to more feasting over the remaining days of the Chinese New Year celebrations. I hope you do too!

Photo of Waxed Meat Rice.

Yee Sang

I had my first 'yee sang' of the year today at lunch with two of my good friends from my Genting days, Yoke Choo and Tony. Our new year resolution is to meet up for lunch at least once a month and in order to do so, I suggested that we fix the next lunch date every time we meet. This practice been working with regards to lunch with my other two friends, LC and Bunny, the past year, so it shouldn't be any different with these two. So, our February lunch date is set.

Sad to say, Yoke Choo and Tony, in particular the former, are the only ones I keep in touch with regularly from my Genting days. It is always good to catch up as we share a common bond of having worked and lived up in Genting. We have a good laugh over the good ol' times and share plans for the future.

We hope to add another to our lunch company come February. Let's see if Soon Kok makes plans to join us.

Lunch at Grand Palace at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Comfort Zone

I rarely venture out of my comfort zone on my off-days, which means I usually hang around in the vicinity of PJ and the Lake Club. Yesterday was a little different. 2 reasons. The 1st - I had to go get a 'house gift' for a friend whom I will be putting up with in Kota Kinabalu this weekend. Another friend of mine, Kay, had introduced me to this chic homefurnishing/interior design store called Peter Hoe, which is located on the 2nd floor of Lee Rubber Building in Petaling Street. Kay has an eye for designer-wares and he is a good reference point when one is looking for something stylish. The 2nd reason - a long overdue lunch date with Yoke Choo, a friend and colleague of mine during my days up in Genting. Yoke Choo works in Maybank, not too far from Petaling Street. So voila, I decided to 'kill 2 birds with 1 stone' so to speak.

I probably haven't ventured into Petaling Street in years, even a decade perhaps. The variety of food and drink, the hustle and bustle of street vendors plying their goods, the throngs of tourists, the sights and sounds really, all these were a feast for the senses. A little over an hour is not sufficient to fully appreciate the allure, complexity and charm of Petaling Street. As I told my friend Yoke Choo after a lunch of 'char kway teow' and 'air mata kucing', I will make it a point to come back for a more thorough experience.

What all this boils down to is the fact that when we venture out of our comfort zone, we sometimes get to savour new experiences, or at least get re-acquainted with experiences of the past that have somewhat been altered by contemporary influences. Whatever the case may be, these are the encounters that keep life interesting, reminding us not to stop dead in our tracks, but rather to embrace what the world has to offer, no matter how trivial, no matter how significant.

Photo depicting the long queue at the renowned Air Mata Kucing stall, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur.