My Favourite Things
Both my parents had a hand in making sure that my siblings and I did not forget our Chinese roots. Schooling wise, my sister was 100% educated in Chinese, while my brother and I, although we were 100% educated in English, were sent for Chinese classes five days a week. These were not the POL (pupil’s other language) classes taught in school, but regular classes held in a building in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. But this post is not about those Chinese classes (I’ve written about them here), but about another love my mother instilled in me as a kid.
My mother had introduced me to the beauty of china porcelain many years ago. Her favourite, which she passed on to me, is the translucent rice grain against a white background design. She told me that one way to determine if the porcelain was genuine was the light shining through the rice grains when looked at up close. Another way to determine the porcelain’s authenticity was that it should remain cool to the touch even when there’s hot liquid inside.
We had a set of genuine china bowls featuring the translucent rice grain design – our version of “good china” – that mother would use only when she made bird’s nest soup for us. I think the bowls are now with my sister.
Years ago, I came across a teapot in this design and bought one for my own collection. Unfortunately, it was not the real thing as I found out after brewing some tea in it and finding the pot hot in my hands. Still, I was happy to own something that reminded me of mother. Recently, I completed the set when I bought two tea cups in the same design, but again, not the real thing. And unlike mother, who brought out the real thing to use only for special occasions, I use mine whenever I brew some Chinese tea. They are two of my favourite things in the world.
 |
