Batu Pahat
We were at a Chinese wedding on Sunday in a town called Batu Pahat in the Johor Province in western Malaysia. The town is little known by tourists, hence a group of four caucasians strolling down the road in our wedding smartest elicited several honks of car horns.
Cake cutting
As the bride and groom entered (Elaine looked gorgeous in traditional Chinese wedding attire) they first stood for photos whilst pretending to cut a fake cake - apparently the Chinese aren't too keen on cake, but it's still a tradition. The couple then poured a blue beverage into a tower of champagne glasses, very impressive.
The feast
For the wedding meal itself we were surprised to find ourselves guests of honour, placed on the top table either side of the bride and groom. We were in for a real treat. It was truly a wedding feast, there were about seven courses, all of which were Chinese except for the chocolate ice cream for dessert. Some of the food I recognised, the rest I did not. I did, however try everything, even the oddest-looking things - they just tasted like chicken!
Somehow we ended up on stage for the toasts (with bright blue berry flavoured liquid); there was much raucous toasting - all in Chinese of course - then the karaoke continued.
It was a really sumptuous meal, and interestingly the tradition is that once you've finished eating you leave. So we had barely been served our ice cream when the mass exodus started, no mean feat for 120 people. It was amazing. The place was empty 20 minutes after the first ice cream had been served.
Great Aunt Lam
Paul sat next to Elaine's great aunt Lam. Mrs Lam is a very spritely lady in her eighties with a penchant for VSOP brandy in her Chinese tea (after which she became even more spritely). This, of course, offered me a fantastic opportunity to practice my Chinese. I introduced myself and Paul and asked her name. I asked where she was from and told her where we were from (all in Chinese so far!), unfortunately the extent of my Chinese did not stretch to the comprehension of her reply. Conversation dried up, I had decided that a conversation along the lines of "What's that?" "It's a chair" 'Is it a table?" "No, it's a water glass" would run it's course pretty quickly, so we just resorted to grinning at Mrs Lam. This worked well, she always grinned back and raised her glass.
The Tea ceremony
After all the guests had left, Elaine and Frank invited us back to the extended family's home where we were priviledged to observe the tea ceremony. Elaine and Frank served their close relatives tea in age order, from an ornate pot. As the relatives drank the tea, they offered some words of advice for the happy couple's future together, the relatives then passed small red envelopes filled with gifts of money. It was really wonderful to be inside a family home and see this ceremony taking place, we felt very honoured.
It really is great to have these kinds of opportunities while we are over here. In three weeks time we are off to Bangkok for a traditional Thai wedding, we can't wait.
We were at a Chinese wedding on Sunday in a town called Batu Pahat in the Johor Province in western Malaysia. The town is little known by tourists, hence a group of four caucasians strolling down the road in our wedding smartest elicited several honks of car horns.
Cake cutting
As the bride and groom entered (Elaine looked gorgeous in traditional Chinese wedding attire) they first stood for photos whilst pretending to cut a fake cake - apparently the Chinese aren't too keen on cake, but it's still a tradition. The couple then poured a blue beverage into a tower of champagne glasses, very impressive.
The feast
For the wedding meal itself we were surprised to find ourselves guests of honour, placed on the top table either side of the bride and groom. We were in for a real treat. It was truly a wedding feast, there were about seven courses, all of which were Chinese except for the chocolate ice cream for dessert. Some of the food I recognised, the rest I did not. I did, however try everything, even the oddest-looking things - they just tasted like chicken!
Somehow we ended up on stage for the toasts (with bright blue berry flavoured liquid); there was much raucous toasting - all in Chinese of course - then the karaoke continued.
It was a really sumptuous meal, and interestingly the tradition is that once you've finished eating you leave. So we had barely been served our ice cream when the mass exodus started, no mean feat for 120 people. It was amazing. The place was empty 20 minutes after the first ice cream had been served.
Great Aunt Lam
Paul sat next to Elaine's great aunt Lam. Mrs Lam is a very spritely lady in her eighties with a penchant for VSOP brandy in her Chinese tea (after which she became even more spritely). This, of course, offered me a fantastic opportunity to practice my Chinese. I introduced myself and Paul and asked her name. I asked where she was from and told her where we were from (all in Chinese so far!), unfortunately the extent of my Chinese did not stretch to the comprehension of her reply. Conversation dried up, I had decided that a conversation along the lines of "What's that?" "It's a chair" 'Is it a table?" "No, it's a water glass" would run it's course pretty quickly, so we just resorted to grinning at Mrs Lam. This worked well, she always grinned back and raised her glass.The Tea ceremony
After all the guests had left, Elaine and Frank invited us back to the extended family's home where we were priviledged to observe the tea ceremony. Elaine and Frank served their close relatives tea in age order, from an ornate pot. As the relatives drank the tea, they offered some words of advice for the happy couple's future together, the relatives then passed small red envelopes filled with gifts of money. It was really wonderful to be inside a family home and see this ceremony taking place, we felt very honoured.
It really is great to have these kinds of opportunities while we are over here. In three weeks time we are off to Bangkok for a traditional Thai wedding, we can't wait.
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