For our family, Open Houses or Rumah Terbuka organised by the political parties is a must for us when we visit Penang during Chinese New Year (and Hari Raya and Deepavali). Since my grandmothers were almost immobile, and my brother is back in the stage where he is 'embarassed to be with his parents', Dad, Mum, Ah Yee and I went to one jointly organised by the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Gerakan (which means 'People's Movement' according to Ah Yee). Both parties are under Barisan Nasional. Gerakan has been a main party ruling Penang for quite awhile now.
The open house was was held at Penang International Sports Arena (PISA)!
Hmm... the mandarin oranges given by MCA and Gerakan
The crowd was smaller than usual, as there was another open house somewhere in another part of the island. The last open house I went, I waited 30 - 45 minutes for a plate of char koay teow! This year's it took us 5 minutes for two FULL plates!
Ah Yee and her friends are open house kakis. Be it Chinese New Year, Hari Raya or Deepavali, opposition or not, they are always there!!
We couldn't find any seats initially, but Ah Yee being the experienced, managed to dig out some! In a table of 10, where 8 were already filled up, she somehow convinced them to let 4 of us join them!
Dad took me wiping my sweat, with the Gerakan Choir as backdrop. But to me it's as though I'm disappointed with their performance. They were lousy! It better be a team where they just formed a few days ago and practised very rarely... Otherwise, if it was a true choir, their training = our tax money = wasted! They sang songs like 'Xin Nian Quai Le' and 'You Are My Sunshine'! EEEEEEEE
The dignititaries. Can you spot whose head is Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon's (Penang's Chief Minister)?
PM Pak Lah was there as well! He was commenting on the Char Koay Teow served there:
'Nampaknya semua chef-chef cina sedang bercuti, sebab Char Koay Teow ini mamak yang masak punya! Aku datang ke sini dengan harapan untuk makan Penang CKT asli! HAhAhA'
LOL He amuses me sometimes...
After two plates of Char Koay Teow, one plate of Nasi Kandar, Mee Rebus, 4 cups of orange juice and one bowl of ice kacang, we called it quits and adjourned home.
Open Houses is actually the time when all races visit each other to pay their respects to whatever occasion is being celebrated. The 'muhibah' spirit is augmented with the array of traditional local delicacies. It is no doubt that such a joyous occasion like this Chinese New Year should not just be celebrated among Chinese, but by all as well!
On another note, Open Houses like this is just for us to grab free food and angpaus...
The open house was was held at Penang International Sports Arena (PISA)!
Hmm... the mandarin oranges given by MCA and Gerakan
The crowd was smaller than usual, as there was another open house somewhere in another part of the island. The last open house I went, I waited 30 - 45 minutes for a plate of char koay teow! This year's it took us 5 minutes for two FULL plates!
Ah Yee and her friends are open house kakis. Be it Chinese New Year, Hari Raya or Deepavali, opposition or not, they are always there!!
We couldn't find any seats initially, but Ah Yee being the experienced, managed to dig out some! In a table of 10, where 8 were already filled up, she somehow convinced them to let 4 of us join them!
Dad took me wiping my sweat, with the Gerakan Choir as backdrop. But to me it's as though I'm disappointed with their performance. They were lousy! It better be a team where they just formed a few days ago and practised very rarely... Otherwise, if it was a true choir, their training = our tax money = wasted! They sang songs like 'Xin Nian Quai Le' and 'You Are My Sunshine'! EEEEEEEE
The dignititaries. Can you spot whose head is Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon's (Penang's Chief Minister)?
PM Pak Lah was there as well! He was commenting on the Char Koay Teow served there:
'Nampaknya semua chef-chef cina sedang bercuti, sebab Char Koay Teow ini mamak yang masak punya! Aku datang ke sini dengan harapan untuk makan Penang CKT asli! HAhAhA'
LOL He amuses me sometimes...
After two plates of Char Koay Teow, one plate of Nasi Kandar, Mee Rebus, 4 cups of orange juice and one bowl of ice kacang, we called it quits and adjourned home.
Open Houses is actually the time when all races visit each other to pay their respects to whatever occasion is being celebrated. The 'muhibah' spirit is augmented with the array of traditional local delicacies. It is no doubt that such a joyous occasion like this Chinese New Year should not just be celebrated among Chinese, but by all as well!
On another note, Open Houses like this is just for us to grab free food and angpaus...
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