Family ties...

and keeping in touch with relatives.

Again, I was in KL to attend a wedding dinner at the Noble Banquet last Thursday. Being alone, I asked my brother living in OUG to fetch me from Section 14, PJ. What a mistake - they left the house at 6.10pm and together we were caught in this massive jam at the Federal Highway going towards KL. I suggested the Jalan Pantai - Jalan Bangsar route which was only slightly better and it was only after the junction to Brickfields along Jalan Traver that it was smooth until Jalan Raja Chulan. It took us about 2 hours to reach the restaurant! Reasons? It could have been because it was a working day, Friday was a holiday for Selangor, many people going off to hometown, Christmas shopping, or a live performance at Jalan Bukit Bintang.

The groom's grandmother, a widow for many years, is my late first cousin's wife. She came to our table and was quick to reminisced about the real hard times she had been through, with hands showing the motion of washing clothes for others, to make ends meet. Today she is fortunate to be enjoying the successes of his children and grandchildren. On our way out of the restaurant, my sister-in-law pointed out to me the bridal car (a new Mercedes C200) and said it was a gift from the son to his father!

Earlier, sitting at our table was a couple, the husband is my first cousin's sister's son. When asked about his children, he said, 'one in IT, two accountants and an architect! He himself has a factory producing electrical switches and conduits. Sitting next to me were a brother and sister who are the groom's first cousins doing accountancy. Then, at the main table was the groom's grand uncle, a retired Chinese school headmaster, who has a son who is an orthodontist having his own practice in KL, and another son, a specialist doctor living in Taiwan. All these success stories have proven that poverty could be a great motivator to drive those in disadvantageous positions to successes in business and at the same time, those who invested in their children's education have further improved their status in life. We do not need special privileges to succeed, just the drive and ambition.

Anyway, we were being served by a chatty waitress. I asked her, 'Who owns this restaurant?' She mentioned 'Yong Seng' which is actually a Chinese business name, not necessary a person's name. Then she mentioned they have another restaurant in PJ. I asked her, 'Tai Thong?' and she replied, 'No, Tai Thong is next door, Flower Drum'. Then I corrected my question, 'I mean the original Tai Thong'. She said, 'Oh yes, the son-in-law.' 'Philip Siew?' I asked, and she replied, 'Yes, do you know him?'. 'Well, years ago he used to see my second brother about re-developing the original Tai Thong site.' But my wife's brother-in-law used to regularly patronize their old PJ restaurant, Oriental, in Section 14, that even the chef came out to greet him and said this dish is specially for you! They are now in Jaya 33, known as Pavilion.
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