Dinner in the Shamsul Bahrain Household

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I just found out how to put emojis on blogger lol.

Hello everyone! It's been quite some time since I last blogged. So, now that I'm starting again, I guess I'm friends with Vivy Yusof again too. You know, cos she blogs and I blog. Huhu. 🙊🙊 Anywhoo, we were asked to recall any childhood memories about our family traditions or favourite food and why that memory is precious to us. I don't think I have a family tradition but I guess I could share a thing or two about my family and I. So here goes.

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I guess you could say that we're quite adventurous with the food we eat and I have my dad to thank for. You see, my dad is a Kelantanese kampung boy who travelled for his studies. (This means to say that he grew up eating a lot of, sometimes exotic, sometimes down right weird food lol). As a struggling degree student, he worked as a cook in one of the cafeterias in his uni and that was where he learned how to cook food of mostly American and Mexican influences. My mother on the other hand, didn't like cooking but she eventually took pleasure in baking instant goods (in which I can relate to on a spiritual level) and learned to cook from my dad. Now, their dishes are just heavenly. 

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Growing up, there were many things that I notice about my parents through the food they prepare for us. For starters, I realize that they are very Malay haha. I remember that while we were living abroad, we would always have rice at least once every two days. I have no idea how my parents managed this cos serving rice with Malay dishes meant spending a lot of time in the kitchen and they were both students back then not to mention having 3 kids to feed!! I'm only taking the IB diploma, I don't have to cook, don't have any kids nor do I have to wash my own clothes and I still don't have enough time!!! 😷😷 But besides that, they also enjoy trying out different dishes, though they might not turn out the way we expected it to. I remember this one time when my dad tried making sushi from scratch. I don't know what went wrong but it was terrible! We ended up having it with condensed milk which I know sounds gross, but it surprisingly made it decent enough to eat hahah. I was about 6 years old when that happened. We never made sushi ever again haha. Good times.

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Table manners were always so important to my Grandma, so that means no chewing out loud, no elbows on the dinner table, always have your hair tied when eating, no reaching arms out across the dinner table etc. These rules are now used in my father's household too. Apparently, there's also a specific way to scoop rice from the rice cooker. You're supposed to scrape bits of it from the top instead of pressing down and scooping it or vice versa lol. I never bothered to remember and I suppose my mum got tired of telling me off. But hey, if it goes on the plate then it goes on the plate! 😋😋 

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Growing up, family dinners were always cherished, especially when everyone got together. You see, my sister and I both went to boarding school, so it was always just my parents and brother at home and cooking for only 3 people didn't seem worth the trouble, especially after a long day at work. I guess this is common among Malaysian households but what makes me cherish my family time more is this. My dad tells me that my mum refrains from making our fave dishes or going to our favourite restaurants whenever my sister and I aren't at home because it reminds her of us. 😢😢😢 Poor Mirul though, abstained from good food because of us sisters hahah. But it's okay, he's not picky. Poor Abah as well. He blames us for his non existing dates hahaha.

Tbh, I'm quite like my mum sometimes. I can never go into Old Town White Coffee or go shopping for clothes or pass by South China Sea without remembering my mum. (I know, I'm such a baby ugh) I can't even smell coffee without remembering my Abah (who's a coffee addict in denial). What's precious though is that he insists that my mum's coffee is the best ever and never fails to mention this. #goals
My future husband best do this too if he wants coffee from me haha 💅

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I suppose the reason why I'm writing mostly of my parents and family members is because they are the ones responsible to instill these values in my siblings and I. After all, tradition is the transmission of values from generation to generation and this is what empowers us as a family. 

Much love to Abah, Mommy, Anis and Mirul 💗