It's not every year that Mama and Dad open our house during Eid. That is, holding an Open House Malaysian style. This year happens to be one of those years where Dad will be frantically cleaning the house while Mama tears her hair out in the kitchen.
Last weekend, we opened our home and our hearts to friends from near and far. Last count, there were 40 (adults and children) people who came to our humble abode. Luckily they didn't all come at one the same time or else it would be hard to fit all into our teenie weenie living room.
In the invitation, Mama told everyone to come anytime after 1pm and by noon, everything was in place. Oh, there were some last minute things like Mama forgetting where she kept the tablecloth that we use only once a year.... or Dad made a mistake in buying the wrong size of instant ketupat.... But all went well...phew! We even get rewarded with oodles of Magnum afterwards...
When we look back at the list of those who came, we are amazed that our home was like a mini United Nations as we had guests who originated from Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Fiji and local Aussies as well. 1Australia?
Mama made us proud by preparing the following menu:
Nasi impit (instant pressed rice) with two types of rendang: beef and cockles (kerang)
Nasi minyak (ghee rice) with ayam masak merah (chicken in red gravy), kurma kambing (lamb in white curry), sambal sotong & tempe (squid & fermented soybean in chili), acar nenas & timun (pineapple & cucumber salsa) and garden salad with feta cheese.
Dessert? Mama didn't prepare any but we had heaps that the guests brought. There were mini cupcakes, cheesecake, jelly, layered and rolled cakes...Oh, we put some bananas and mandarins out. Easy peasy as we don't have to cut or carve to serve...clever, eh?
Oh yes...Mama also made us proud by putting her coffee making skills (using a proper espresso machine) to good use. So, we had many who tasted her cappuchino, latte, flat white, hot chocolate etc on that day.
Unfortunately, we were too busy with the meet and greet that we utterly forgot to take any pix of the food, either during cooking or when they've all been laid on the table. But we managed to snap pix of the leftovers that Mama stored in the fridge.
Hehehe...we attacked these girls while they were having their meal...
Hmmm...concentrate on the food...yummm...
Look closely...rare shots of the food as guests tucked in.
Pro-tem committee of Association of Kelantanese in Sydney?
Hmmm...what's tickling Aunty R? But a penny for Aunty H2's thoughts...
Uncle M, Uncle RB and Uncle R seemed glad to have bumped into each other at our home...small world, they said.
My nemesis for the day...these three, plus four more, were totally besotted with Brad and I that we ended up so exhausted and traumatic at the end of the day....
Aunty Z's kids were busy concentrating on the food....
Uncle Is and Uncle M were not having a fight that they sat very far from each other...? Or, were they?
Attentive audience that Uncle Y seemed to attract...
Aunty If and Uncle Is practicing grandchild minding while the actual parents and GrandMa looked on...
Very good baby! He was fast asleep despite all the noise the older kids were making.
After the party, the washing up was back breaking...heavy pots and pans and lids and oil and grease and chili....we're wishing for a dishwasher!
Leftovers in the fridge...nope...no more cooking for the next fortnight!
Ah...Dad choosing the best Magnum as our reward for being such a sport....purrr...meow!
