So, a friend took me for a sumptuous Sunday Roast buffet. It was really a lovely affair, but I won’t be talking about the food that I had cuz I’m too lazy to upload the pics and drool over it in the process. I want to talk about other things instead; one that doesn’t really involve me tempting you to run to the nearest butcher and roast your own meat in the oven.
All right. Here goes nothing. Believe it or not, my paternal grandparents pretty much practised colonial customs when it comes to daily meals. They make sure their kids and grandkids have breakfast, light lunch, tea and supper, just like the Brits. Apart from that, my late grandmother make a point to make roasts on Sundays too. It’ll be all sort of things, depending on her mood. and depending on what is cheaper during her trip to the wet market. Sometimes we get whole roast chicken with a side of mashed or boiled potatoes, sometimes juicy roasted beef with her special prawn paste chilli dips (it’s known locally as ‘air asam’) with a side of hard-boiled egg salad or plain rice for the big eaters in the family. Dessert is always either creamy custard puddings or my late grandmother’s milky lychee puddings. And if she’s really in the mood, there will be some extra puff pastries or fruit cake on the table to treat ourselves with too.
I never did understood it back then. My grandparents were not rich. They struggled to make ends meet, and they usually have just enough to eat, and definitely cannot afford any luxury. Hell, they did not even have their own car to go about, but they made sure to feed their children and grandchildren with nice food on Sundays.
I used to ask my late grandmother on why she took all the troubles to cook such nice things on Sundays, and her answer will always be “Because it keeps the family together, and because everyone deserves some good food after a long working week,”
Her answer never did make sense to me until she passed away. She was right. Those awesome Sunday lunch or dinner was the thing that keeps the family together. It is the thing that made us all gather and catch up with each other. Since she passed away, by and by, we stopped gathering the way we did when she was still alive and chat over the food.
I must say, my late grandmother was a smart woman despite her lack of education. She kept her family together through food, and saved up her time preparing for meals by using the leftover Sunday roasts in other dishes during the rest of the week.
Married to a typical Chinese man, I never bothered to make Sunday roasts cuz the man in the house doesn’t really take beef and it’s more to eating out affair on Sundays for us. But I think I should start observing that for my sake and my kid’s sake. The kid will probably be happy with some roasted chic, and I’ll be happy with the fact that I can recycle the roast into sandwiches, soup, stew or noodles if we did not manage to finish up whatever I roasted.
Cleffairy: Families who eats together stays together.
Ya, I grew up like that too – homecooked meals every day and something to look forward to on Sundays. Too bad that has died out…mainly because women are working and Sunday, they would want a day of rest – so the family will eat out. Good traditions should be preserved, if you ask me…
Yes… these days… Sundays women will want off… even me… but I tink it’s a good tradition. Got to start observing that soon.
put some sweet potatoes and carrots in it
Yups… great with seasonal veggies. 😀
he he he, I thought you make ‘or lang’ chicken again….lol
LOL… even if I managed to negrofy my chic again… I dare not put here liao… lol…later become famous again! LOL!