Late as Usual

Saturday afternoons were always a bad time for me. My clinic tended to finish late and there were always patients which needed seeing after lunch, before I leave the hospital for the day. By the time I was done, it was usually after 3 pm. I tended to either have lunch at the hospital or take Anita out for a late lunch.

Saturday afternoon were also popular times for weddings. It usually ran until 4 pm, and it was almost customary that we showed up the last half an hour. With that, sometimes we had no food left. That created a dilemma for me. I usually had to content with what I had for breakfast until we leave the kenduri if that was the case.

The happy coupleAs a rule, I seldom confirm that I would be coming when the wedding was on Saturday afternoon. It was just not worth the hassle. I would only go if the hosts were aware that I would be arriving late.

Last Saturday was one of those occasion. It was a wedding of one of my Mum's friend's daughter and Anita was keen to go. I had no choice. I finally made it home at around 2.30 and rushed over to the wedding venue across town. It was the new Menara Felda this time. Luckily the traffic was light and the parking system was straight forward. I was already staring at the food by 3.30pm. Made it just in time.

Wedding at the Marina

Last weekend, Syahril invited us to attend his sister’s wedding. It was a two-day event, the Saturday being the akad nikah as well as aqiqah for his daughter, followed by a reception on the Sunday. I was stuck at work on the Saturday and was not able to go. However, we were able to join them for the reception.

The reception was held at a new restaurant at Marina Putrajaya called Bora Ombak. We were quite familiar with the Bora Ombak branch in Ampang, but this was the first time we were at the new outlet. It was a decent-sized hall, catered for wedding right at the marina offering a great vista of the beautiful surrounding.

Some advert for the place ...The pelamin"Forever starts today"Gamelan is readyBeing Putrajaya, access from KL was straight-forward and the venue offered ample parking. I had been there a few times - before the outlet was open - to fly my drone before.

The food was great and we got ourselves a great spot at one corner of the hall. Since we left the boys at home, we were able to enjoy the food and the occasion without worrying about them.

It was full houseSyahril making sure everything was in orderAnita also wanted to get her photos done at the boothThe happy couple cutting cakeSpeech from the father of the bride ....A great day out actually and the unique venue offered a new perspective. It was a hall best used for daytime event as the natural light coming through the large glass windows really spurred up the place.

The marina was located right next to Pullman Putrajaya, and Syahril and his family actually spent the evening there. Not a bad place to hold a reception actually .....

Precision Wedding

I have been to plenty of wedding and when it comes to Malay weddings, they could either at home - which usually takes place during the afternoon - or at a hall, which often held at night. The ones at the halls, were either buffet or a sit down affair. And the problem I faced had always been about the waiting involved, and it got worse when we had kids on tow.

So, it was refreshing to attend a wedding where one were sat down in a hall, food were served at the table and it started and ended on time.

One such affair was last evening, when I attended the wedding of one of my senior colleague's son. It was held at Sime Darby Convention Centre and the whole event were done by 10 sharp! It was not to say that the event was boring, but everything just ran like clockwork. Even the VIP arrived on time and the speeches were succinct - especially from the erudite Oxford-educated best man - plus they had a house band performing which could actually sing!

Food was also great! And even the people I shared the table with were great company. I really couldn't complaint. Unfortunately Anita couldn't make due to some home and baby-sitting issues. Toasting for more wedding such as this one!

Kenduri Afternoon

One of Anita's cousin hosted the wedding of their son this afternoon and the whole family including my in-laws went with us. It was held at a hall in Bangi.

As my in-laws were the guests of honour, we had to be there early which did not go down well with the boys. They were playing up all lunchtime, refusing to eat. I had to stay with them out side the hall while Anita entertained her cousins and relatives.

The happy couple arriving at the hallMy Dad-in-law at the high tableAlready starvingThe ceremony itself went very well. Both the bride and groom were Doctors now finishing their housemanship. Food was excellent and the best thing was, the event started on time!

The theme was blue and it was clear everybody had a great time while I had to soldier on with the boys outside the hall. We should have left them at the apartment with our maid. The original idea was to take them to see some of their relatives who they have not seen for a while.

On the way ....On the way back, they were complaining because they were hungry. We stopped by at Express Sushi while our driver drove our in-laws home.

Muar and Back

It went according to plan. My parents joined me at the apartment before we drive down to Muar in glorious sunshine to attend my cousin's wedding. But unfortunately I couldn't make it any earlier and by the time we reached Kesang Laut, one of the famous ritual was done. It was called the toll.

Basically, when the party from the groom arrived at the bride's house, they had to pass trough a series of toll, members of the bride's family would actually stop then from passing through unless some amount of money - or gift - were passed. They may also have to sing or reply verses of pantun, and only then they were allowed to proceed.

And usually there was never a single toll. Yesterday, there four of them. Done in good spirit, it was a sight to behold. A real tongue twister at times, perfected into an art.

We missed all that though.

The other thing I noticed about weddings in Johor, was this lot loved their singing. There was always live bands. And oh boy, they really could carry a tune.

We could stay for too long due to the combination of having to return to KL before its dark and my nieces were getting restless. My boys and Anita didn't come along as they were attending a wedding and a birthday party in KL. Not to mention that they had their swimming lessons as well that afternoon.

We left Muar just before 4, a quick stop for Solat and reached KL by 6.30. The traffic was light as clearly the balik kampung crowd were still chilling back home. The road was empty and the weather was great. I then joined Anita and the boys at the Club, taking them to dinner before home. A nice productive day indeed.