Brain Ooze

This year is my first year celebrating chinese new year in my wife’s hometown, Kuching. For the past 2 years, we flew back to Kuching on the second day of chinese new year. One thing I noticed is how everyone asks the same question, how is it here compared to Penang?

Most customs are the same, as we are all still chinese. The wife is Christian but they too celebrate the new year. We go visiting, exchange ang pow, have reunion dinner, the works.

The intepretations and implementions of these customs are a bit different than what my family are used to. Maybe other families in Penang celebrate like the wife’s family.

In most houses that we visited, a full meal is served. Speciality that I noticed being served in every home is “kacang ma” cooked with chicken. Kacang ma is this dried leafy green herb that is an acquired taste. Big thing in Kuching, never seen it in Penang, also not big outside kuching.

I got drunk after the first house before noon. Felt woozy but I have felt worse. That is the first for me. The host, a family friend of the in laws, kept pouring beer. They even broke out the red wine and vodka, hell bent on getting everyone drunk by noon.

Bak kua is a must in every home. They are served like normal kueh, which is welcomed for bak kua monster like me.

They also fry up sarawak keropok and served with acar, pickled, not like the cooked one in Penang.

Then there are the kek lapis, layer cake. All collours and flavour.

Finally, chinese new year is the raining season here, a welcomed respite from the heat of Penang.