Sunday, December 30, 2007

Christmas Roundup 2007 - Of Family Gatherings and A Very Retro Christmas

Polvoron


It is ironic that after over a month-long buildup to Christmas, everything's put away in boxes in anticipation of the next major festival here. Lucky bamboo plants are already up for sale, and gaily coloured boxes of yee sang (or at least what tries to pass off as yee sang in its colourful artificial glory) are displayed prominently in supermarkets. Hello! Chinese New Year is more than a month away. Give me back my Christmas! I'm not done yet.

nasi dagang IMG_3504

Before I get caught up with the CNY festivities and the feastings that follow, let's do a quick roundup of my Christmas week. When Bald Eagle and I are not traipsing the planet at year end, we normally spend our time at his parents' house in Kajang. Christmas dinner this year was with a difference. Recognising the family's roots in Kelantan, there were no turkeys or mince pies or plum puddings. This was a traditional Kelantanese Christmas dinner in all its juxtaposed imagery. We feasted on typical Kelantanese fare of steamed nasi dagang (a reddish brown glutinous rice) served with ikan tongkol (albacore tuna) in a creamy curry cooked so perfectly by my mother-in-law. To add to its authenticity, Bald Eagle spoke Kelantanese for a good 5 minutes. If I closed my eyes, I would have thought I married someone else. Well, sometimes, with all his impersonations, I am not quite sure of the man I married, but...it's too late now, isn't it? :-)

polvoron

As a celebration of the traditions we hold dear, Bald Eagle presented us with a box of Goldilocks Polvorons which he brought back from Manila. His addiction to Goldilocks' Mamons (beautiful fluffy cakes) and Polvorons is a result of his 3-year stint in Manila several years back. I can understand his love for these confections. The Polvoron is made of toasted flour, butter, sugar and milk (and probably a whole host of unmentionables...err..I mean, secret ingredients) and has a powdery texture which means that if you don't pop the entire thing in your mouth, it will disintegrate in your hands. Quite a messy affair if you want to exercise decorum (i.e. taking ladylike bites). For Christmas, they coat these delicious biscuits with chocolate and decorate them with pretty shapes and colours.

A Very Retro Christmas

Christmas with the bloggers was more of a riot. The food bloggers booked the entire restaurant (My Elephant in Section 17) and as an added surprise, came up with a list of "awards" for those who were present. Some of my favourite awards are:

Masak-masak - most idolized blogger. Woohoo! (she received a "masak-masak" set to keep her occupied when her oven ever gets broken)
Precious Pea - with her obsession over crabs, it was obvious that she was going to be crowned Queen to King Crab. (prize: pepper crab flavoured instant noodles)
WMW - the Human Tripod blogger - see her photography skills with just a camera and her wrist! (prize: an empty box to replace the use of her limbs)
Kenny Mah - most flirtatious blogger (but of course) (prize: condoms - will come in handy, I'm sure)
Lianne - the enlightened blogger, for moving from an obscure blogsite to a mainstream blog this year! (prize: a lightbulb)
Teckiee - the blogger with a gender crisis. Not sure why, but some people think she's male. But seriously, she's sometimes confused as well with XX/XY chromosomes (prize: a pair of boxer shorts)
Jackson - the blogger most recognised in KL, Klang, Shah Alam, PJ and some say even in Bangkok. (prize: disguise sunglasses)
Jason - the blogger with the most kissable lips! (prize: lipbalm)
Joe - the blogger with the best nick earned - Nipples. (prize: a baby pacifier)
Tankiasu - the activist food blogger (prize: a "cert" of a certain political party)
Kampungboycitygal - sweetest blogging couple (prize: a packet of sugar)
Nic - most poetic blogger (prize: a childrens writing set)
SC - almost a vietnamese blogger - visit her blog and you'll know why! (prize: almost vietnamese coffee)
Kusahi Keat - best male cook blogger (prize: a spatula)
Paprika the Ravenous Rabbit - hungriest blogger (prize: a bunch of carrots)
Friedchillies.com (Adly) - spiciest website (prize: a bunch of chillies)
Big Boys Oven - "One of the best bakers in town" blogger (Gardenia buns)
XiuLongBao - Former Malaysian Blogger now going down south (Prize: Malaysian flag)
Christine, Ai Wei, Yin and Jun - sweetest female bloggers (prize: sweets)
Ekeng and Riz - most handsome male bloggers (prize: sweets)

I almost fell on the floor laughing when they gave me the Celebrity Blogger of 2007 award. Well, I was touched too, as the girls (Precious Pea and WMW) had gone through the trouble of downloading a newspaper interview, printing and laminating the article. And Kenny Mah delivered a lovely speech to me. *blinking back tears* I do have the dearest blogging friends in the world!!

Unfortunately, I was too caught up in the fun to take any photographs, but do visit some of the links above to see what they have to say about the event - A Very Retro Christmas 2007!

Until my next post, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a Blessed Christmas (yes, it's still Christmas in my heart and in my tummy) and a Very Joyful New Year 2008! God bless all of you!

Bald Eagle and niece, little Lydia





29 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

Wahh, Kelantanese Xmas at your in-laws! And I thought a Thai-themed Xmas with the floggers was something new...

Hmm, can start plan for CNY makan now? Hehe...

Your Most Shy Blogger,
Kenny Mah

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year and may this year be a happy & fruitful year 4 u!!

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year..! i look forward to reading alot more good food.. :) and who is the cute kid.. and handsome fella .. at the bottom of the page..??

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Kenny: What's with the Most Shy Blogger thing? Flirtatious means flirtatious lah. No need to go changing your hard-earned award. hahaha.

Kopi soh: Happy New Year to you too, dear!! *hugs*

mama bok: Happy New Year to you too!! That cute dude is my Bald Eagle hubby and that cute kid is our niece! She's only 3. :-)

WokandSpoon said...

All that food looks great! Congrats on your award and have a Happy New Year!

Precious Pea said...

I like the last photo of Tim and his niece. Yummy looking food and ohh...cupcakes! Anyway..Happy New Year to you and Tim!!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

a toast to celebrity blogger of the year..i wonder how ur real firm has taken the news in? haha

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! Those cupcake lookalikes from Manila look too good to eat. Slurps! Eh, no fruitcake this year?

HairyBerry said...

my acceptance speech (tak malu :P):

thank you for the night,
everything went right,
despite the dim light,
smiles where shining bright.

In the coming year,
Wishing you many a good beer
Many more features to appear
And endless foie gras to sear!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Wokandspoon: Happy New Year to you too!! Good to see you blogging regularly once again!

Precious Sista: Yeah, it's a nice photo, isn't it? Happy New Year to you and ur darlings at home!! *hugs*

Joe: A toast to the Nipples of the year!! Woohoo! Happy New Year!

Barbie: Of course got my MIL's legendary fruitcake. Which reminds me...has Bald Eagle finished them all??!!?!! Happy New Year to you, dear friend!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

nic:

Dim light, you say?
It's called "romantic", my dear
But with forty people
It's not quite cozy, I fear

Glad you had fun
We made many a friend
Let's do this more often
Before the next year end!

KY said...

love the last photo, happy new year

Kenny Leong said...

Oh, nasi dagang.. i miss that so much.. hope this CNY my family will go back to kelantan.. miss all the food there, haha!
Happy new year!
All the best in 2008!

amna said...

have a wonderful new year :)

yammylicious said...

happies new year to u!! gosh!! i heart ur cupcakes!! so kawaii-licious!! =)

Big Boys Oven said...

I agree with ky, the last photo was lovely but I think you should had posted there other one! lol!
Thanks for the retro evening, it was lovely!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

KY: Happy new year to you too, dude!! :-)

Kenny: Yeah, I love Kelantanese food. I'm glad my MIL is such a good cook. No need to go to Kelantan to get the same stuff!

Nags: Thanks, and a fabulous 2008 to you too!

yammylicious: happy new year to you! and yeah, those "cupcakes" are adorable!

BBO: naughty naughty! Happy New Year!!

backStreetGluttons said...

we earnestly wish for the next time you may close your eyes a little longer by our sides , for it might even be one of us...

Happy New Year !

Henry Yeo said...

can we sweet our careers to professional eaters now?

Jason said...

Happy New Year!
It was a real fun night *hugs*

teckiee said...

hahahah... aiyor.. mistake mistake. im pure XX

LianneK said...

Our celebrity blogger poemed well too! Happy New Year to you Meena and any Polvorons left over? Looks really good! Cannot imagine the taste.

sc said...

cupcakes looks so pretty! and the last photo looks great! happy new year, many good food and beautiful photos to come! cheers!

Cynthia said...

Is, is that your daughter? Oh my goodness, beautiful does not begin to capture her beauty. Wow!

Happy new year to you and your loved ones.

Cynthia said...

Ohhhh, she's your niece - my awe at her beauty comment still stands! :)

wmw said...

Happy New Year! May the year ahead be filled with fun, laughter and tasty food that does not show on our hips! hahaha...

Aleckii said...

Wow! Look at all those food! To die for! AHHHH!!! I'm so deprived here in Russia.

Here's our celeration: http://intrepidlywrong.blogspot.com/2007/12/christmas-eve-grinch-rat-missed.html

I was the one who devised the menu and all of the dishes. Simplistic but meaningful.

Anyway, have a happy new year 2008!

catsndogs said...

HAPPY NEW YEAR .. may the coming year a blast one for you and youre family :)

infact i do really enjoy that floggers's night , food n new friends... :) well, although i didnt get any nomination for the awards this year, i will work hard for next year... hahahahaha :D.
still .. i wanna thanks my parents , mom ..n dad.... i love u.
and friends.. Menna.. i love u all..... thanks you.... hahahahahha :P

allaboutattitude said...

Lovely cupcakes. So pretty.
Visit me at www.about-attitude.blogspot.com