Hostessing

This is one long reminiscing entry.

One of the skills I picked up from living overseas is hostessing; whether you're hosting a tea party, an open house or a get together for friends. I never realised it required a lot of forethought and planning. Not to mention having the right equipment.

Friends make up for family over here so having them over is something really special indeed. We try to find all sorts of reasons to hold a "makan-makan" whether it be iftar, Eid, housewarming, farewell, bridal shower, baby shower, birthdays and reunions and lots of other made-up reasons too hehehe.

In first year (2004) we used to take turns preparing iftar for everyone. So on three nights that month you will host the iftar for the other girls (about 10 of us I think). The first time I hosted the iftar, I made nasi kerabu and then mee kari. Both my grandmothers were so proud that I used their recipes. hehe.
Eh eh tengok gambar2 kita muda lagi tuuu kahkah.

Then along the years we'd jointly organise makan-makan events among each other. I picked up some tips and skills from my friends too; and learnt to make all sorts of kuih and desserts. Wahyuna and Aya were avid dessert makers. Wahyuna would make all these delicious cakes and Aya was the Malay kuih specialist.

Intan & Farah were the serving specialists. They know how to decorate a table and serve things in the right sort of plates/bowls. Intan was the one who first bought us a huge, deep periuk that could cook curry enough to feed 30 people. Along the years we accumulated a lot of serving plates and kenduri-type crockery.

Mun outdid everyone in this area. Whenever she hosted something it would be over the top super cool. She'd have more than one main meal and tons of desserts! Hahaha. Rajin giler!

Then when I got married (first ever housewarming post marriage, pictured left 2006) I had to start from scratch again with regards to the utensils/cookware. Adoi, that took a while. I have a few menus that are constant with me. Of course; you would only cook stuff that you are confident would turn out right. Hehehe. I always made either nasi minyak + curry + popadum, nasi ayam, nasi lemak, mee kari or laksa. And I make a pretty mean chicken pie. I've never tried anything besides that.

But cooking for 2 is different to cooking for 10 or 20 people. To upscale the recipe is a different matter. I paling seram bila masak nasi banyak-banyak in the rice cooker/periuk. Takut hangit, mentah, tawar. Plus you have to estimate the quantity so that you don't run out of food before all the guests come. I find this the hardest. But usually you have to make du'a so that Allah bless the meal so it can last for everyone in the majlis, InshaAllah.

How to invite guests is also a skill to learn. It's one thing to invite people you know; but the guests you invite have to also get along/able to converse with each other. After all, it is not possible for you to be entertaining them all the time so they sometimes have to entertain each other. Fail this and you will get guests who feel left out and ignored. How do you organise a majlis when you have single vs married friends with kids. Orang huu haa and orang alim. Doctors and non doctors. Postgrads and undergrads. Pretty difficult! When I have doctors and non-doctors over, sometimes I tell them to come at different times. Otherwise we'll all speak med-speak and the non-doctors will be bored to death. But this is hard to arrange since Malays subscribe to "rubber time". Tell them to come at 1 and they come at 3. Hehehe. If one of the guest is not in the "dominant" category of guests, sometimes I tell them to bring a friend so they can talk to each other if I'm not able to sit down with them.

Having a 'makan-makan' is also the time when I experiment making desserts. My husband does not have a sweet tooth so if I make anything, only me and Layth would eat it. So far, desserts yang I dah konon-konon "terer" sebab selalu buat are: bubur pulut hitam (erkk senang giler), chocolate cake, orange cake, tiramisu, cupcakes, lengkong, karipap, bread pudding, brownies and bubur jagung.


As the years pass I have accumulated a lot of serving plates too now. Hahahah. And gradually accumulating dishware. Now that I'm working I'd like to move away from plastic bowls or paper plates so I've bought a few dish pieces (from Savers!!) haha. My mom brought me a proper teapot set since I had never owned a tea set prior to that. I would serve tea in an ugly tea-discoloured plastic jug. Well, it served the purpose though not aesthetically pleasing hihi! I still remember my mom telling me off (at the age of 9) for not serving a guest a teacup properly. (I held the cup at the rim instead of the handle).

Still got lots to improve. Like how to manage the food and entertain guests at the same time. Masa Layth kecik lagi susah. Nak tukar nappy la, nak nyusu la. Hostess can sometimes be AWOL in this case hehehe. Ni belum cerita lagi about sleep-over guests!!

My ultimate goal is to obtain a....bain marie!! Hahaha. Seronok gilerr