Friday, June 12, 2009

Tell-A-Tale (Part 41): And Forever More, That's How You'll Stay...

Lianne was one of the earliest people I met at my first gathering of bloggers back in December 2007. Together with a few other foodies, the excited we just kept on talking about food until the organizers had kindly requested us to take our seats. I remember her speaking of her boyfriend, whom was still accustoming to the Asian palate and their plan to drop by Singapore the year after. And what was I to do when I hear the word Singapore? I gave her a list of my favourite restaurants in town, of course. We didn’t meet up though, as I was back in Kuala Lumpur for the Lunar New Year celebration.

In between potlucks and gatherings, I’ve read about her travels to Germany to meet her boyfriend and their wonderful trips across Europe. One can only be happy and envious at the same time. Haha! News of an engagement and subsequently, a marriage, came not long after.

On the way to their wedding dinner at Hilton KL Sentral, I jokingly told Lyrical Lemongrass of my expectation of weddings these days. The presentations, songs, themes and food. How interesting it will be to have an Indian lunch reception and Malay cuisine for dinner, I suggested. Well, if there is ever one such, please invite me.

At the Munich table (yes, they named the tables after some of the most famous cities in Germany), there were jokes, pokes and everything fun. Well, one can or should expect nothing less than that at a table full of food-loving bloggers. It was definitely a good reunion of friends, some whom I’ve not seen in a long time.

And there was music. No, nothing boyband nor Celine Dion. Katie Melua’s cool Nine Million Bicycles kicked off the wedding while Nat King Cole’s serenading L.O.V.E. and David Tao’s soulful 月亮代表谁的心 accompanied the video presentations.

The dishes that night were exquisite. I can still remember the deep-fried chicken with lemon sauce/sesame seeds and the fragrant fried rice with chicken wrapped in lotus leaf. The sticky rice tasted even more interesting when Nigel told us to coat it with chopped scallion. In between, there were beers (which Fatboybakes and I totally dug), proseccos and reds. As the dinner came to an end, Lianne supplied us with some delicious stroopwafels. To have the sweet Dutch snack with prosecco was awesome.

Ah, it’s everywhere, this thing called love. It brought about a deep sense of appreciation towards food and through it all, gathered those who share the same affection for deliciousness, before flourishing into a something special called friendship. And transcending oceans via fibre-optic cables, has united this wonderful couple whom used to live thousands of miles apart.

Congratulations, Lianne and Jürgen. Here’s wishing you both a blessed marriage and a wonderful life ahead.

Let there be you, let there be me
Let there be oysters under the sea
Let there be wind, an occasional rain
Chile con care, sparkling champagne.

Let there be birds to sing in the trees
Someone to bless me whenever I sneeze
Let there be cuckoos, a lark and a dove
But first of all, please let there be love.

- Let There Be Love, Nat King Cole -

18 comments:

wmw said...

...and let there be Laughter! Great pics!

Precious Pea said...

Great post Nic! Definitely a night to remember!

Rebecca Saw said...

beautifully written, gorgeous pics. As usual.

choi yen said...

幸福的味道~~

sc said...

how apt to kick off the wedding with nine million bicycles..heavily infused with asian melody but with a wee bit of western..just like the wedding :)

HairyBerry said...

wmw, yes! let there laughter, lotsa! and music! ohhh, karaoke too..hehe! thanks for the compliment! :D

precious pea, thank you very much! :D yeah, what a fun night hor? all the jokes! and flashing of cameras..haha!

thenomadgourmand, aiyoh, u so sweet la, you! glad u liked it! :D and see ya soon! it's gonna be fun! :D

mimi, 幸福的味道...真的是好甜蜜! :)

sc, yeah, u r right! it was such a refreshing change from kitaro and some really irrelevant songs! haha! good choice of music, definitely!

ladyironchef said...

And forever more, that's how you'll stay. I love the title

Petite Lass said...

Gee, how sweet. Love the pictures.

Sugar Bean said...

Aww, I want to be there too. But really happy for Lianne. Always feel happy to know that people are getting married, their smiles and laughter.

Nice photos, love the second one the most.

Ciki said...

so sweet! gorrrrgeous...we also used nat king cole at our wedding! lovely!

backStreetGluttons said...

Its always great to share a 3rd party's ( & friend's ) down to earth feelings about the Bride & Bridegroom , and good food,exceptional company... tho your dear wish of enjoying all cuisines in one night with multiple exquisite lovers may not yet come true, but then who knows when...

fatboybakes said...

wah, such gorgeous pics... i might as well throw away my dslr...

jason said...

FBB, don't throw, gimme! :P

I think your pics are the best among us... hehe. Whose turn next to get married eh?

LianneK said...

Nic, you did a wonderful job thre taking those lovely pics. went to extend length somemore and i remembered you being modest about your photo skill .. and i was like, err .. where did that come from? hehehe ... you go boyyyyy :-) thinking of turning pro?

Kenny Mah said...

@HairyBerry: The perfect package, and I don't just mean the happy couple. This is post is simply brilliant, how the words and the pictures come together as a united whole... It's an experience and an honour reading this. :)

@FBB: You can always throw the DSLR my way... :D

HairyBerry said...

ladyironchef, cool! it was part of a song called unforgettable by Nat King Cole. ;D

petite lass, glad u like 'em pics! ;D

sugar bean, yeah, it's heartwarming to see the unification of two. :D thanks for you compliment on the pics! ;D

cumi & ciki, woah, that's really cool stuff! King Cole can definitely light up any occasion!

backstreetgluttons, hahaha! i think it would be a multiple orgasm that is only achievable when one has gained the knowledge of handling more hands than one. who knows when, yes, u are right! i cant wait!!! hehe

fatboybakes, thanks for the compliment, dude! aiyah, u take good shots as well la. i cant for my life take candid shots as good as u la. and that's a fact. :D

jason, woah, thanks so much for the compliment dude! no lar, i think we all have our good shots la! ;D whose turn to get married? hmmmm, not me la, i guess...hehehe

lianne, thanks again for the invitation! i hope u liked the pics! :D and thanks so much for the compliment!!! aiyoh, me still learning the ropes la. it'll take yearrrrsss before i can really capture consistently good pics. haha!

kenny, it's an honour to have you reading this, dude! woah, yr words are so inspirational lah! it's 4 am and i am already feeling refreshed already! thanks for the compliment, dude! u da bomb!

ling239 said...

wish them all the best and happiness always ~ ^_^

HairyBerry said...

ling239, yesssss, happiness always! u are right! :D