A family celebration in Kuching

‘If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable – each segment distinct.’

My family members live in different towns of Malaysia and Singapore.

My friends, do you know how often we meet? Very rarely.

That is why whenever we meet, it’s time for a celebration. Because my family members love to eat, we usually celebrate our reunions by going for dinners together.

Last Friday, my family members from Bintulu were in Kuching City. They arrived early Friday morning by car and left the next morning. 

I took Friday off  just to be with them. Although my work is important to me, I’ve learnt from experience that at times, my family must take precedence over my career. 

Since my niece from Bintulu yearned for seafood, my family members drove all the way from Kuching City to Muara Tebas, a fishing village fronting the estuary of the Sarawak River, just for the gathering.

No doubt, there are seafood restaurants in Kuching City but my family members love the seafood in Muara Tebas. They think  that the fish, prawns, squids and cockles there are not only fresh but cheaper.

So there we gathered to eat a late lunch, celebrate and be merry together. The restaurant we chose was among the few in Muara Tebas.

I travelled there with my niece, her boyfriend and her mother (my elder sister) while my son went with his wife.

Since she was hosting the lunch, my niece ordered the food which comprised sea cucumber soup, fried squid, buttered prawns and midin (a wild fern) stir-fried with shrimp paste (belacan).

We were the only customers there because it was late afternoon. A bank appointment had prevented my niece and her boyfriend from turning up earlier at the restaurant while my son and his wife had important office matters to attend to before they could join the gathering.

Since fresh coconuts were not available, we ordered either aerated drinks or the usual tea and coffee drinks.

That evening, my niece, her boyfriend and her mother and I were invited to dinner by my niece’s elder brother and his wife. The couple brought along his three daughters.

This time, we did not travel far – just a seafood restaurant in Padungan, a main city area of Kuching.

There, we had a “shell out” dinner. “Shell out” is a dining trend where food is served on the table on a plastic sheet on the table without any plates or utensils and eaten by hands.

My nephew’s eldest daughter enjoyed the experience so much that she jokingly suggested a “shell out dinner” at home to her mother.

“Then, we don’t have to wash the spoons, forks and plates,” she said.

We ate squids, prawns and shell fish with rice served on a plastic sheet and drank hot or cold beverages made by the restaurant.

Wearing plastic gloves on our right hands,  all of us enjoyed the food, the company and conversations at the table. 

That was my second “shell out” dinner after the first one, ages ago, in Telaga Air, a seaside Malay settlement located only 30 minutes away from Kuching.

Like Muara Tebas, Telaga Air is another great place for seafood lovers to visit because of its close vicinity to Kuching City.

My friends, until last Friday, I had not visited Padungan, where New  Sarawak Tribune used to be located,  for a long time.

I must say the little town has changed a lot. There are so many new eating houses/restaurants there now that diners are spoilt for choice.

Padungan is also home to small as well as five-star hotels. I spent  Friday night in a small hotel there with my family members from Bintulu.

It was fun catching up  with my elder sister; I was glad to know that life had been better for her lately and that she was happy. Although she has a handphone, it has been hard to get hold of her  and talk to her on the gadget. She told me she had problems with her old phone previously.

Since I have not seen my niece from Bintulu for many years, I was glad she decided to visit Kuching City for just a day or two.

This niece stayed with me from Primary One until Upper Six. I told her I was glad she had not forgotten me.

All too soon, it was Saturday morning. My Bintulu relatives and I had breakfast with my nephew’s wife before visiting St Peter’s Columbrium, the final resting place for my mother who opted for cremation, in Padungan.

After lighting candles and placing some flowers at my mother’s grave, my niece, her boyfriend and her mother immediately went back to Bintulu by car.

I hope I don’t have to wait too long for another celebration with them or other family members.

The views expressed  here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune