Red packets and redheads

This week's big news is Tricia's wedding. Tricia is a member of my team at SCB, and today was her wedding. Well, I say today, but actually it's today (Saturday) and Monday of next week - the church wedding today, and the wedding dinner - well, I say dinner, but actually it's more of a banquet apparently - on Monday.

This was our first Chinese wedding, and so of course, we followed the instructions on the invitation to the letter. Guests were asked to be seated by 11.45 for a 12 noon ceremony, but when we arrived at 11.45 on the dot, people were milling about outside and inside the church, and continued to do so for another 40 minutes. The whole thing was really informal, with most of the guests in normal day clothes, talking continuously, and clapping at the best bits. Here in Singapore, the wedding photos are taken before the wedding, and they showed them as a slideshow as the guests were arriving. Great idea. I had thought it was some ancient Chinese tradition (like the couple going to the groom's parent's house on the morning of the wedding to serve tea to them), but not a bit of it. It's all down to practicality apparently. Rather than crowd the wedding day (and exhaust the happy couple) with all sorts of activities, the photos are taken beforehand. It's an ancient Singaporean tradition which has been going on for all of 20 years!

The wedding itself does not seem to be the most important bit - that's the dinner, so watch this space for more news. Wedding presents are not done here; no wedding list at Harvey Nicks or Peter Jones for the practical Singaporean. It's red packets. Red packets (or "ang pows" in Chinese) are given out as part of various Chinese celebrations, like Chinese New Year, and weddings. Wedding guests put money in the red packet (a decorated red envelope) and give it to the couple at the dinner. There is big box - like a cardboard ballot box - ar a reception table manned by friends of the couple, and you pop your red packets in there.



As to the "redheads" of the title, this is a reference to being an "Ang Mo" - the Chinese epithet for Caucasian - in Singapore. Ang Mo literally means "red haired", and is used to describe us, because we are apparently the only race capable of being born with natural red hair. I believe that Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, was a redhead, so that may be part of where the name came from. There is debate as to whether it's a derogatory term or not. I happily use it in all sorts of ways - to describe my feet, for example, when asking if they have shoes in Ang Mo sizes (since Singaporean feet are tiny) or making sure that I get Ang Mo, not "local" coffee. Local coffee is pure caffeine in a cup, infused into a drink with the viscosity of tar. Not for anyone concerned to avoid heart palpitations! It is served with either evaporated or condensed milk, according to preference. My preference is to have nothing to do with it, but it is a beverage much loved by many Singaporeans.

As it happens, I went off on my travels again before finishing this post, so I can fill you in on the dinner - all 8 courses of it. The dinner started no more promptly than the wedding ceremony, but we were more sussed this time, so we got there on time (i.e. 30 minutes after the stated starting time) and managed a glass of wine and a fair bit of chat before sitting down to dinner. The dinner was at one of Singapore's most prestigious hotels, and the dinner menu was equally prestigious. Given how fussy I am about what I eat, and how challenging some Chinese tastes can be, I was very happy. Apart from the shark's fin soup and the sea cucumber, that is. Shark's fin soup is a must on the menu, if you want to delight and impress your guests, but it's OK to not partake, and nowadays quite a few people don't eat it on ecological grounds. Sea cucumber falls into the category of "slippy food" as far as I'm concerned, along with cold custard, chicken and sweetcorn soup, jelly in all its forms etc etc. I could go on, but you probably think I've gone on for long enough already, so I'll stop there.

The garlic roast chicken and the spicy prawns were big hits with everyone, as was the steamed sea bass with minced garlic and the lotus leaf rice. Dessert was "Double boiled snow fungus with gingko nuts and sea coconut", a new one on me. It came in a tureen, and tasted like a sweet consomme with bits in. As soon as dessert was served and eaten, the place emptied - literally. No cup of tea or coffee, no hanging around to chat, just whoosh, out the door. It's how it always happens apparently. There had been a cake cutting ceremony at the beginning of the dinner - a huge, 5 tier cake. When I wondered out loud what was going to happen to all that cake, one of the Chinese guests told me that only a bit of it was real, the part that you cut into, and the rest was fake. The hotel recycles it again and again, and gives the couple a small fruit cake to take home!

When we left the hotel, which is on Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping street, we were struck by the strangeness of Christmas in the tropics. The Christmas lights, statues of Santa and the snow scenes just don't seem to belong in 30 degree temperatures. I find myself longing to be cold. Anyway, folks, the next post will be all about my trip to India, so keep reading!