HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAIN-POT...

My vain-pot sister is gonna turn 19 on the 20th...
So I'm taking this opportunity to wish her a happy birthday...

Happy Birthday to you,
Selamat Hari Jadi,
Zhu Ni Sheng Ri Kuai Le,
Zhuk Nei Sang San Fai Lok...

Happy Birthday Joanna...
I wish that you don't become a bigger vain-pot than you already are...
HAHAHA

Post Little Nyonya...

After watching Little Nyonya, I got kinda obsessed with all things Nyonya (it's actually Peranakan, Baba is the Peranakan man and Nyonya, the women). I do have a little 'Baba Nyonya' blood in me *mind you*. Now I get excited when I see kuih nyonya, baju kebaya, kamcheng and so on. I feel it's a pity that I didn't get to inherit any of the nyonya skills such as sew beaded shoes, baju kebaya and cook Peranakan dishes from the older generation. However, I do wear kain batik and baju kebaya... In the olden days, the Baba and Nyonya, although they are part Chinese, most don't speak Chinese (Mandarin). They mostly speaks Malay and Hokkien (Chinese dialects) but they hold on strongly to the Chinese culture, tradition and believes. There's 1 line in the drama that I remember clearly, "A person who doesn't know his/her pass is like a leaf who didn't know it's part of a tree". I feel strongly towards this line. It got me thinking that if we don't preserve whatever culture/tradition we have left today, it will all be gone in no time...


picture from mediacorptv.sg
L-R: Ng Hui, Xiang Yun, Jeanette Aw(Ou Xuan).
Actress in The Little Nyonya wearing baju kebaya nyonya.
They are worn with sarung (kain batik).




^ kamcheng- (means love in Hokkien)
it's use to put red and white glutinous rice balls (tang yuan).
red symbolises joy, and white symbolises purity.
It is believed that after husband and wife eats the tang yuan from the kamcheng, they will never part...


^ There's another phrase that I learned from the drama.
Read from R-L.
追远 (zhui yuan) - it means that one should remember their origins. One should not
forget their ancestors. This is place on top of the ancestral worship altar to remind the
younger Baba and Nyonya.


*Jeanette Aw as Huang JuXiang/Yamamoto YueNiang
and Qi Yu Wu as Chen Xi in The Little Nyonya*

Before I conclude this post, I'd like to include a pantun that I wrote
(inspired by The Little Nyonya).

Dari Singapura sampai ke Malaya
Kuih Nyonya gemar disantap,
Apakan nasib, apakan daya,
Ingin terbang tiada bersayap.

Perahu dimudik hulu ke hilir,
Mana nak cari si bunga melati,
Aku mencari awal ke akhir,
Mana nak curah kasih di hati.

Please make do with this for now.
Until next time...

All picture, unless stated is from google.com

The Little Nyonya...

I've heard about this drama for a while now. I don't understand what's the fuss all about, that is until I finally watched it myself.
My mum got so caught up with it dragging me along. Although I didn't watch it from the 1st episode, I fell in love with the culture, clothes and food showed in this drama. I got home yesterday around 6.30pm and my mum was watching somewhere in the 10th episode. I sat down to watch and when I looked at the clock it 12am already.

picture from google.com

This drama stars the beautiful Singaporean actress Jeanette Aw. I started to notice her when I watch Holland V sometime ago. She plays 2 characters in here as mother and daughter.
I think that this is NOT just a drama. It actually brings you closer to the Peranakan culture.
Now that I've watched it, I finally understand why The Little Nyonya is the highest rated drama in Singapore.
I see the dvd's on sale in Speedy now.
Here's the official website of The Little Nyonya.
I hope my mum doesn't continue to watch the drama when I'm at work... haha