Who's who?

Thanks to Pam and Woan Min, things are starting to "heat up".

Before I share the wonderful stories that Woan Min has just imparted, I thought I might start off with this photo. Can you guess who's who (click on photo to enlarge)

Food faddishist me!

Another memory related to food… instalment 2 of 4...

I am a food faddishist. Hahaha yes I made that word up. What I mean to say is, I would be and am still able, to eat one type of food everyday for a period of time, if I like it. I would have food fads. It doesn’t have to be new foods.

My sister would tell you, how I would always order the same thing at the hawker centre all the time. It would be chicken rice for months on end, then I would switch to hokkien mee, and then one time in uni, it was laksa everyday for me. At home, it was IndoMee MiGoreng instant noodles for lunch every day when I was in primary school. And Myojo chicken instant noodles for supper.

Thinking about this post, I realised that I am still like that. As recent as when I was pregnant with the twins, my food fad was the MacDonalds’ Double Cheeseburger. Right now, my food fad is my breakfast of eggs omelette with cheese between two slices of bread – I have been eating this almost every day for the past 6 weeks.

I recall the food fads I had when I was staying with Po Po and Gong Gong. I had a char siew pau fad. And a lo mai kai (chicken glutinous rice) fad. I would refuse to eat my lunch, and Po Po had no choice but to give me 70 cents to go downstairs to the coffee shop to buy the lo mai kai.

I don’t recall any fad for dinner though. I remember how Po Po used to feed me. We would be sitting on the floor, along the wall of the living room, watching tv. Po Po would have a plate of rice with food, sitting beside me. She would use her hands to squeeze the rice into little balls, and insert bits of meat or vege into them. Then she would pop these into my mouth. I loved how she used to feed me like that, I thought it was very fun! :)

Day by day...

Speaking of food… it brings many things to mind, which I shall write over 4 posts… here’s the first instalment…

My mum is not one who would regale us with tales of the past. So my memories of Gong Gong and Po Po would be those which I personally encountered from my stay with them.
I remember how, early in the morning, I would follow Gong Gong or Po Po or both, to the market & hawker centre. We would always stop by the newspaper store in the market first, for Gong Gong to buy newspapers.

But the newspaper store also sold many goodies such as sweets, chocolates and toys. Every day, I would be allowed to choose one item. In the beginning, I would choose sweets or chocolates. I soon realised that once you ate them, they were gone. Very soon, I started to choose different items of toys.

One day it was a plastic sword, another day it was a retractable dagger, and yet another day it could be a bow and arrow set. Yes, you can tell I had violent inclinations. Blame it on me playing with Vincent too much hahaha!

Then I discovered toy cars. You know, Matchbox cars. So I started to acquire one car, every other day. And soon I amassed a large collection. All thanks to Gong Gong and Po Po. I still have my cars they bought me, to this very day.

After the newspaper store, we would proceed to the hawker centre for breakfast. I can’t recall what I ate for breakfast, but I would always remember how Gong Gong would pour my milo into the large saucer for the milo to cool. Then I would drink it straight from the saucer, just like how Gong Gong showed me to.

Thinking back, it saddens me that I can’t recall more of my earlier years. I can only remember in bits and pieces like the above. But I suppose that is normal. After all, I was only a few years old. So, it’s good that James has started this going… now, it’s all our jobs to keep it alive!

Red background

Wah I read this blog then next moment everywhere I look is green leh...can change?

hehehee...tks for the initiative James and Pam. Trying to recall the stories to post soon!

Valerie

Another Sister?

Many of you may not know this, but Po Po and Gong Gong had another daughter before Dua Yi (eldest aunt).

It was not a popular topic of discussion, and I don't remember if it was slightly embarrassing but Mum did not want to elaborate too much on it. Maybe it was that she just didn't have more information to give, the conversation died quickly.

Po Po herself brought up the conversation once, about how her mother-in-law was such a nice and understanding woman who never once minded that she had bore so many daughters before a male descendant arrived. She said that they had to give the first girl away to the church . She didn't really elaborate why, but I could tell that the loss was on her mind, and still was, to that day, and probably till the end.

When pressed, Mum reluctantly revealed that the girl was born without limbs and there was no way that they could look after her. Being superstitious, Mum said that she was probably born that way because Grandpa was a carpenter and was "chopping around" the house when she was pregnant with her.

Nobody knows what happened to that girl. During that same conversation, Po Po revealed that giving birth was an easy "task" for her. "Plop, they would just slipped out", she said candidly with her signature laugh (which I miss so much and can still hear in my mind). She said that Gong Gong was so brave and since they were mostly home births, he cut most of their umbilical cords. He stopped just before Aunt Constance or Uncle David was born saying "he just couldn't do it anymore". "He was such a brave man", she reflected with a smile ...

Food

After reading these stories, this memory of Gong Gong delivering home cooked food to our old house in hougang st 11 came back to me.

I recalled there was curry chicken and some of his favourite specialties. I remembered this one time he came over when my mum and dad were not in and there were only my 2 brothers and I. We had ordered pizza for lunch and we were happily eating when Gong Gong came with all this food.

I offered him a slice of pizza and I remembered he put it in his mouth and spat it out immediately. That was when I found out that he couldn't eat beef as the pizza contained small pieces of beef in it. I asked him why and he said that everytime he took beef, something bad would happen heh. At that time, I felt bad that I made him accidentally eat beef. Maybe that's why I always remember this particular incident :)

Emmeline

Questions ...

Besides sharing encounters and stories, I personally would like to know more about Po Po and Gong Gong family history.

The little that I know circle around both of them coming from a Peranakan background. Po Po was the oldest while Gong Gong was the youngest. Po Po's family lived to a ripe age while Gong Gong was apparently the sole survivor in his family.

I asked my Mum recently about Po Po and Gong Gong's childhood or family, but she said that she never asked, and it is too late now. One nagging question in my mind was why Lao Gong (Po Po's dad) did not help them out financially when they were living in poverty.

Does anyone know more about our great-grandparents and where they came from and Po Po and Gong Gong's family background?

This is the time to ask our parents as my Mum reminded me, "If you don't do it now, you may never have the chance again". Please share it as a blog post instead of as a comment if you know. Thank you.

两个人的路

I thought the best way to describe who our grandparents are, is this encounter I had with Po Po.

Her hair was white. I don't ever remember seeing her ever like that. Then again, it was the first death of the family. The first time I experience the pains associated with death. She was heartbroken, just like everyone, but not in the same way.

She started telling me stories of them, nothing significant, further proving that it is the little things that we will eventually remember, the memories that we will bring with us. She spoke of his love for her.

He may not have said "I love you" but the simple act of them living together and taking care of each other meant the world to her. She told me that Gong Gong would always make instant noodles in the middle of the day, when there would only be the two of them around. He would always share half his bowl with her ...

The other story she shared spanned further into their younger days when they had the nine children to look after. She said that times were tough, and she had to make paper roses to supplement the income. Gong gong would ride his bicycle with the paper roses to the markets and try to sell them. "On rainy days ...." she stopped and my mind raced to complete the sentence for her, "and the roses would be wet". She continued "and he would have to brave the rain. Ka sien (pity) gong gong."

My young mind was then thinking, "What about the roses?". She never mentioned a word. That was her love for him.

Debut

As a child, one of my favourite past-times was listening to my mother share stories of her childhood. They were tales of hardship, the poverty that they had to endure, but underlying it was the camaraderie and the unmistakable ties of kinship that bind them all.

I liken it to watching a TV drama but one whose characters I know well, but yet so unfamiliar in the new setting that she has placed them in. The purpose was to inspire and to let us know that blood will always be thicker than water. Looking back, it was also a reminder that my Mum was once a child, and understood what it was to be one.

I always attribute who I am today to my family, my relatives and ultimately, our grandparents Po Po (Grandma 婆婆) and Gong Gong (Grand-dad 公公) who taught me (and us) how to love unconditionally.

I have my stories and you have yours. It is time for us to share and let their memories live on. The lessons of love to continue motivating us, inspiring the younger generation and keeping us together as a family.