A Banana in China

If you are young and single and Chinese, I bet you are relieved that the Spring Festival (or the Chinese New Year) is over, especially the family reunion

Why?

If you’re like MOST young Chinese folks with doting and greying parents (not to mention the grinning, inciting aunties and uncles AND that smug cousin who’s married with a son…) you’d probably endured situations like these:

Suggest situations you can meet with other young people
“Why don’t you go for a cruise? Summer is a nice time. You can stop at various ports and make new friends. Many youngsters go for cruises nowadays as you don’t need to check your luggage in/out of airports when you visit different cities.

You can eat, dance, swim and gamble any time you want - it’s so easy to find someone who shares the same interests as you! Did you know that Mrs. Huang’s son met his wife on a cruise?”
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Hello! I’m terribly, terribly, terribly sorry for not posting the past 2 months. If you’ve been following my other blog, you’ll know that I’ve just had a baby.

Of course, I’ve also had my Mum cooking dinner almost every night thus I didn’t need to dig up recipes or slave in the kitchen for home-cooked food LOL

Anyway, my Chinese confinement lady (who is with me for 2 months) will be leaving soon. She has been an amazing woman - one because she’s a whiz at whipping up delicious dishes!

What’s more, she’s not selfish about sharing her recipes.

For lunch today, she cooked a simple fishball soup made of 100% fish, which Hubby mentioned growing up with because my mother-in-law is another super housewife.
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Oct 1 was China’s National Day (guo qing jie) and for 2009, China chose to showcase its armed forces in their full glory at Tian’anmen Square, culminating in the unveiling of its “giant nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

The camouflage nuclear missiles, riding on 18 launch vehicles, rumbled past Tian’anmen Square and were reviewed by Chinese leaders and foreign guests.

The parade, marking the 60th anniversary (1949-2009) of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, reached a crescendo of excitement when the gigantic vehicles, each had 20 wheels, came to the center stage, carrying “remarkable symbols” of China’s defense muscle.

(Photos of the missiles are at: Xinhua News)

I wish that I were still in China to watch the national day parade on TV because we don’t have CCTV here and anyway, you get to see more through the local TV stations!

*****

When we first arrived in China, I didn’t know what to expect living in a Communist country. After all, life here is pretty normal.

When I saw the Chinese version of the “Uncle Sam Wants YOU” recruitment (or promotion?) poster, I was unfazed.

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Coming back to Malaysia, I find that I need to prepare breakfast for the boy to eat at home or to go to the preschool.

In China, the preschool serves this daily menu ALL prepared in their kitchen:

1. Breakfast - man tou, bao, porridge serve d with powdered milk, almond milk, peanut milk or soybean milk;
2. Lunch - fried rice or rice with chicken/pork and a bowl of soup;
3. Snack - fresh fruits and
4. Dinner - Noodles in soup (mian tiao) or rice with dishes AND a soup.

In Malaysia, the preschool serves this:

1. Breakfast - white bread slices spread with kaya (spread made with egg yolks, sugar and coconut milk); buns filled with cheap, sweet jam or biscuits! Kids drink plain water from their water tumbler.

2. Lunch - fried rice, rice with one dish  i.e. bits of chicken, chunks of sausages etc (vegetables optional) or porridge.

3. Snack - biscuits or breakfast leftovers and

4. Dinner - ditto as lunch.

Now, for a country like Malaysia renowned for its multi-racial delicacies, I find it quite shameful that our children are eating such a poor diet in the kindergarten. I think we need a Malaysian Jamie Oliver to start a revolution in our preschools!

After complaining to Hubby about it, I decided to prepare and then pack breakfast for him. Read the rest of this entry »