Raya Cheers 2007

Do You Know What You Drank Last Raya?

This may be quite late to wish a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Malaysians celebrating this meaningful celebration. It has been a hectic two weeks and I miss my blog. But nothing is ever too late as the Raya mood is still fresh in the air. I joined the Kuching city folks visiting my bosses, colleagues and friends this Raya. Though I stopped short of going the VVIP's homes this time around. Now that my daughter is a bit curious with those exclusive decorations and very mobile I won't want to go around chasing her as she destroys and dismantles them. The first experience was when I went to my Director's house - and being curious with the Director's pet 12 Siamese cats , she opened the door to the cats' large cage room which enabled the cats to rush in (they are supposed to stay out). After seeing my boss running after the cats, I decided that I should not cause any havoc at other houses this Raya.

Every Raya one can expect to enjoy the traditional menu - comprised of Curry Chicken, Daging Rendang, Chicken and Beef Satay, Lemang, Raya Cakes and Biscuits

Sweet Surprises

Sweet green spots

One of the few surprises I discovered at one of the houses I visited - 'Green Spot' was served. I thought the drink had gone extinct. The last time I saw this was in the early seventies at the Sibu coffee shops. I would bet that if they serve those in the coffee shops, people my age and older would definitely go for them. Its fame is equivalent to Coca Cola and 7-Up brand for those our age (its confirmed I am in the 'old' category now).

Something blue to cure the Raya sweet tooth

In another house I made another discovery - something to my taste was being served. I had mistaken that for Cream Soda at first view but, yeah.....its Blue Ice Beer! It was a welcome sight - at least something different other than the sweet drinks for kids were served. You know sweet things are not good for the health.

A Different dish altogether

Some more surprises came as some of the dishes and drinks served were rather different. This is served at the back of the house (kitchen area) which is an exclusive zone for special guests - I told myself that I must visit these very 'Sarawak' houses again next Raya. The food served included bamboo chicken and fish. That's the beauty of Sarawak - we share all our cultures without going to the extremes in our religous views. I would have loved to go to the extremes in my drinking but I was driving so I confined myself to just ten glasses per house. Hehehe... nah just joking. From my observation, Hari Raya celebration in Sarawak has not only embraced the Chinese 'ang pow' practice (for duit Raya) - but they have now also included some extra menus in the form of Sarawak food and drinks *hic*. The celebrants' idea is that Raya is for everyone and not for them alone. Don't you just love Sarawak and Sarawakians?

Comments

Unknown said…
alcoholic drinks at a raya open hse? thats something you'll definatly not get in Semenanjung.

yum yum ayam pansoh :D
Iced Nyior said…
that comment above was by me...used the wrong id :P
SIB KingFisher said…
beer for raya.. too good. :) rather a suprise to me, double check the pic. hehe..
satuengkilili said…
i wish they have that hic drinks serve in kl huhuhu...
cyrildason said…
hmm... this is something new..
Borneoguy.com said…
Beer + Raya? WOw ... thats a first :P
Yes, that's the beauty of Sarawak. Where else but in Sarawak can you find a Malay/Muslim stall in a Chinese coffee shop?
KLUANGMAN said…
Sarawak is special. Raya, Christmas, Chinese New Year or Gawai is for for all races.Different culture but live harmony. Hidup orang sarawak
Anonymous said…
OMG, alcoholic drink served on a holy day of Islam? As a muslim I am sad to hear. It might me a culture in Sarawak (sorry if I am wrong)but serving alcohol during this time is really humiliating to Islam who had been through a month of cleansing the soul and physical being. What more alcohol is prohibited and preparing, serving and drinking is all a sin to Muslims.
www.xperienceoflife.blogspot.com
Elsa Gabriel said…
as in sabah...we also celebrate all kind of festive and the best part is...everyone was so "open" when alcohol was serve :) because we knew it was culture thing :)
Awang said…
betul lah tu...raya for everyone not for them alone..meaning u must learn more from YB Hj Daud.Kan u kerja sama parentah(Govt)tak kan pasal minum beer for muslim haram u tak tau.....tunjuk kat blog lagi......
Zach & Uncleawang - thank you for your feedback on the posting

Uncleawang - the hosts did not drink the beer but served it only. And they served it to non muslims. I was fascinated by it(maka posting tu bukan bukan tujuan menunjuk nunjuk tetapi satu pemerhatian yang saya anggap lain dari biasa sebab ia memang berlaku).Sila maklum saya ni Orang Perintah masa Waktu Pejabat saja. Di luar pejabat saya tidak bawa pangkat saya ke mana mana. Pada hari itu, saya cuma tetamu yang datang mengunjung dan dilayani sebagai tetamu. Malah kalau nak dikira, lebih dari satu rumah yang saya kunjungi memberi tetamu air yang 'luar biasa' tetapi saya tak meletakkan sesuka hati di blog saya.

Saya bukan pegawai penguatkuasa. Yang penting layanan yang dipamerkan oleh tuan-tuan empunya rumah sentiasa mesra tidak ada beza bagi semua yang berkunjung.