We were recently invited to celebrate the 70th birthday of a grandfather and the 45th wedding anniversary of the same man's marriage. Although I had never met either of the grandparents, I'm never one to say "no" to a party/cultural experience especially when I teach three of his grandchildren.
At precisely 7:00 pm - we were exactly on time - on Sunday night we arrived at an already-almost-full large banquet hall. 6 tables across by 12 tables deep by 10 guests per table means the four sons forked out a lot of money for this party. At the opposite end of the hall was a large stage with drums, a large keyboard, microphones and stands, and a giant picture of the guests of honor in their happily-married-for-45-years smiles.
We took our seats near the back with the other teachers from the school. Small talk and eating peanuts with chopsticks(easier for Eric than for me) occupied our time for only a few minutes, when the master of ceremonies, a young women in a pale yellow dress, fitted at the waist, with a full skirt reminiscent of a 1950's frock minus the cashmere cardigan, completed with white patent leather shoes, welcomed us in Chinese.
The emcee then directed our attention to the back of the large hall, fanfare music began blaring on the loudspeaker. We all stood and clapped as the beaming couple processed down the center aisle, followed by the entourage of four sons and their spouses and a gaggle of grandchildren. It was all quite formal and extravagant.
The first speaker was a national parliamentarian representing Kampung Jering, the name of this village, in Kuala Lumpur.
In answer to my question, yes, this event will be in the newspaper.
After a long Christian prayer in Chinese and a digital photo show on the large screen, the night's entertainment and a steady stream of food began. There was singing and classical Chinese dancing by the grandchildren, singing by the eldest son with the lyrics posted on the screen telling about how thankful he was for being born, having his diaper changed, and all the financial and spiritual support from his parents - all very showy and over-the-top from my perspective - more dancing , more singing, and the presentation of large financial gifts on behalf of the parents from the sons to many local charities - I think there were at least 5 poster-sized checks and photos of the formal acceptances by the charities
In the middle of all this entertainment was food. Lots of it. Here are the courses I remember:
1. Fish soup
2. A large steaming bowl of fish- some I recognized like shrimp, scallops, sea cucumber (yes,can you believe I know this one, now) and cat fish. And much I don't recognize and probably don't want to know.
3. BBQ pork and steamed rice buns - I like this!
4. Stir fried vegetables.
5. A yam flavored birthday cake. Eric stabbed a piece with his chopstick and we shared it thinking this was the end of the meal.
6. Rice wine soup.
7. Whole steamed catfish (or some kind of freshwater fish that feeds in places I don't want to think about.)
8. Red bean soup that is purple and sweet.
9. Flaky thin pastry that tasted kind of like an apple strudel.
10. Ok, so I've lost count. Does the endless refills of beer count as a course?
Eric's non-existent-until-tonight Buddha belly had taken shape over his waste band, and I was silently applauding myself for wearing my Malaysian batik shapeless, non-binding tent dress.
We were thankful that the tradition of the number of courses of a traditional Chinese banquet has shrunk from 14 courses to tonight's 10.
And we were thankful that we got to attend such an event that, by Chinese culture, is required for 50th, 60th, 70th and up birthdays, and funded by the adult children.
At precisely 7:00 pm - we were exactly on time - on Sunday night we arrived at an already-almost-full large banquet hall. 6 tables across by 12 tables deep by 10 guests per table means the four sons forked out a lot of money for this party. At the opposite end of the hall was a large stage with drums, a large keyboard, microphones and stands, and a giant picture of the guests of honor in their happily-married-for-45-years smiles.
We took our seats near the back with the other teachers from the school. Small talk and eating peanuts with chopsticks(easier for Eric than for me) occupied our time for only a few minutes, when the master of ceremonies, a young women in a pale yellow dress, fitted at the waist, with a full skirt reminiscent of a 1950's frock minus the cashmere cardigan, completed with white patent leather shoes, welcomed us in Chinese.
The emcee then directed our attention to the back of the large hall, fanfare music began blaring on the loudspeaker. We all stood and clapped as the beaming couple processed down the center aisle, followed by the entourage of four sons and their spouses and a gaggle of grandchildren. It was all quite formal and extravagant.
The first speaker was a national parliamentarian representing Kampung Jering, the name of this village, in Kuala Lumpur.
In answer to my question, yes, this event will be in the newspaper.
After a long Christian prayer in Chinese and a digital photo show on the large screen, the night's entertainment and a steady stream of food began. There was singing and classical Chinese dancing by the grandchildren, singing by the eldest son with the lyrics posted on the screen telling about how thankful he was for being born, having his diaper changed, and all the financial and spiritual support from his parents - all very showy and over-the-top from my perspective - more dancing , more singing, and the presentation of large financial gifts on behalf of the parents from the sons to many local charities - I think there were at least 5 poster-sized checks and photos of the formal acceptances by the charities
In the middle of all this entertainment was food. Lots of it. Here are the courses I remember:
1. Fish soup
2. A large steaming bowl of fish- some I recognized like shrimp, scallops, sea cucumber (yes,can you believe I know this one, now) and cat fish. And much I don't recognize and probably don't want to know.
3. BBQ pork and steamed rice buns - I like this!
4. Stir fried vegetables.
5. A yam flavored birthday cake. Eric stabbed a piece with his chopstick and we shared it thinking this was the end of the meal.
6. Rice wine soup.
7. Whole steamed catfish (or some kind of freshwater fish that feeds in places I don't want to think about.)
8. Red bean soup that is purple and sweet.
9. Flaky thin pastry that tasted kind of like an apple strudel.
10. Ok, so I've lost count. Does the endless refills of beer count as a course?
Eric's non-existent-until-tonight Buddha belly had taken shape over his waste band, and I was silently applauding myself for wearing my Malaysian batik shapeless, non-binding tent dress.
We were thankful that the tradition of the number of courses of a traditional Chinese banquet has shrunk from 14 courses to tonight's 10.
And we were thankful that we got to attend such an event that, by Chinese culture, is required for 50th, 60th, 70th and up birthdays, and funded by the adult children.
What a lot of amazing experiences you have had! This one sounds fascinating!
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