MY BIG FAMILY DINING TRADITION

Hello Lemony Readers! Hope you guys always be in pink because I’m going to share a story about my big family dining tradition.

     In my big family, we have our family tradition when everyone gathered together especially during Aidilfitri. It is so exciting because we rarely had this opportunity and do lots of activity. Okay, to make it short, during the eve of Aidilfitri, all of us will be so busy to cook in the kitchen. The most significant thing that we will cook is our special Rendang Tok, originated from my ancestor recipe. There has several steps which are quite different but honestly I can’t tell it because I’m not paying much attention every year. Sorry!

     Other than that, my aunties will cook their own special dishes (the exactly same every year but still everyone are really waiting for it) for us during Aidilfitri morning and to our guest whose come to our grandmother home. My mom will cook her special gearbox soup with rice noodle. Her sister  (above my mother) will cook her special ‘Nasi Daging’ with mixed veggie and spicy chicken. And my other three aunties will cook ‘Laksa Kelantan’ (our family is originated from there). My grandmother will cook other signature dishes during Aidilfitri such as ‘ketupat’, ‘Rendang’, ‘Nasi impit’ and ‘kuah kacang’ with helps from my cousins. Seriously that’s a lot of food and we often take two days to finish all of it almost every year (my aunties will keep the leftover in refrigerator or heat it before sleep to keep it fresh). Sometimes, some of our big family members will be come on second day of Aidilfitri and they demanded to keep it until they arrived.

     Okay, enough talking about food cause my stomach is already rumbling. Moved to other activity that we done during Aidilfitri, after done our prayer, all of us will rush to the home (actually me and my cousins only) to grab foods cause nobody can’t touch the main dishes in the morning or else my aunties will attack you with their words (They are really good for babbling). Then, everyone must seat together in the dining place, the eldest will seat at the table while the younger will seat on the mat. Then, everyone will start eating after my uncle lead the prayer and everyone will shares stories. Nobody can change their ‘Baju Melayu’ even it is hot and no television during that time. Everybody must sit together and eat.

     Okay, I’m going to stop this cliché story. There is one year during the last day of fasting while everyone is busy prepared for the Aidilfitri celebration, it is raining cats and dog (Imagine there are a lot of cats and dogs fall from the sky and keep scratching each other, haha I’m joking. It is raining heavily). While the eldest are busy cooking at the kitchen, change the curtains and the other staff, it was suddenly flooding. Water keep entered the house and my aunt screamed, calling us the kids and teenagers to push the water out of the house by using anything that works. She was babbling while cooking (so multi-tasking) because she scared that water will entered the Rendang that she was still cooked. She was using portable stove and put in on the floor because others are using the main stove in the kitchen to cook other dishes. It was really tired because nobody expected that incident. But my cousins and I are enjoying it because we can swam (we do it secretly at the front yard but caught red handed later). Because everybody was so busy to protect things on that day, we ended up having ketupat and Rendang only for that year.

      Every year, this is the great event that we are waiting so much! It is absolutely good because you can keep strengthen that family bond although everyone is living far away and seldom meet to chit chat together. It is not a great celebration if it not as much family member as possible. The more the merrier!       

     I shall stop the entry now because foods is calling for me (LOL I’m joking). See you later in the next entry.