To all who know me, you know what the first word of my title would mean for you all this Saturday. That's right! BROWNIES!
However, this time round, it wasn't my idea to bake. So all of you better go up to my sister and shower her with thanks. Hahah. I sound like a snobby kid right now. Courtesy of a certain Justina Wong from Toronto, Canada, I was able to make the "best batch of brownies" ever.
You all must also be wondering, "wasn't this blog supposed to be about guides and experiences?" Well, I will get to them, don't worry. Soon.
And that "soon" is now. For all of you who have yet to leave for your overseas destination, I highly recommend visiting relatives whom you probably think you would not meet again or anytime soon.
I just got back from Singapore myself. This explains why I have not updated this blog for a few days. The point of this trip was dual. One of those reasons is for my dad to meet his clients based in Singapore. The second was for me to visit my dad's uncle side of the family. Yes, we Chinese
have a huge circle. We tend to stick with each other.
The point of visiting family is to either say thank you or pay respects to them. Or both. I was never really close to that side of the family. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge your elders, especially if you have met them before. It may very well be a culture thing, but I recommend it nonetheless.
My second stop in this trip was Melaka. However, I didn't get the chance to do so because of a family emergency which required my grandmother to be busy and therefore, make the trip pointless. My grandmother has always lived in Melaka. A lovely woman with a beautiful smile. She has a photo of herself hanging in her room when she was in her youth. Truly a sight. She is also an amazing cook with no competition. Of course, I am bias when it comes to her but I do try to be impartial. I guess you could say I am horribly attached to her. I don't know why. I can't
even speak Cantonese. So we hardly ever understand each other.
What I am saying is to basically visit these relatives of yours to let them know they are special. It means even more to them than it means to you. If you can catch my drift. Especially the old folks because your presence there before your leave shows that they are still there and they mean something to you. It shows them the love and acknowledgement they need.
The other reason I forgot to mention is of course, the local food. Hahah. There are so many things in Malaysia and Singapore that you must have before leaving for a Western country. This
is simply because they do not have the same tenacity that we Asians have when it comes to flavourful cooking. Singapore has their "Chwee Kueh" (not sure if I spelled that correctly), Johor has got Kuey Tiow Kia which even Kuala Lumpur does not have. They also have really good Claypot Chicken Rice. Melaka has got Yee Kiow which is local to that state only for some reason. That state also has THE BEST Satay Celup in Malaysia - Seriously. There is also a special style Wan Tan Meen in Melaka as well. They do not serve it with black sauce. Next on my list would be Mamak food. Nothing beats the good old fashion Roti Canai or Roti Telur. Even a Maggie Goreng is awesome! There is a whole list of foods we could go through tonight but let us face it. There is simply too much. Hah!
-Chwee Kueh-
*not my picture - aromacookery.com*