Soiree and Lunchie

Last Friday night, one of the Masters committee members and fellow adviser to hubby, Mr. Christian Bos hosted a dinner for the Masters programme participants (and spouses/family) as well as two guest lecturers and one committee member. His house is in Scheveningen, about five tram stops away from our hotel's location.

The house – a quaint cottage – is surrounded by a series of low fences, with an equally tiny swinging wooden (and rustic, I might add, with no lock!) gate from which all of us had entered. The gate itself is fringed overhead by a thick shrubbery that forms a part of iron-wrought latticework.

A variety of flowers on the ground and in pots greeted us after we crossed the threshold. The place evokes an air of quiet contemplation. Hushed silence in this suburban sanctuary beckoned me to meet its proud owners. Mr. Bos came to the door with a huge, welcoming smile and ushered us to the drawing room where tidbits and snacks awaited. Save for these snacks and salads, most of the food were catered with roasted Halal chicken as the piece de resistance.

While waiting for the entrees to be served, Najo – the other Malaysian participant – and I chatted with Isabelle and Vibeke, two out of the three Norwegians in the Masters programme. Sadia was outside playing with her dad, on the sprawling grass that runs alongside a lovely patio complete with a table and chairs. Mr. Moataz, the serious-looking Egyptian who works with BP in London came out of his shell and played enthusiastically with Sadia, much to my husband’s surprise. I wonder if he has any salacious details about the Lord Browne’s abrupt resignation. Hehe.

After scarfing out a side salad, three bread slices and cocktail shrimps, we asked Bos for a room upstairs to nurse Sadia. She was over-stimulated by the new surroundings and needed a quiet place to cool off (and hopefully doze off). However, the room of Bos’ daughter proved to be another interesting domain to explore.

In the end, we took turns to eat the vegetarian quiche downstairs. I sat at the dining table indoor with Isabelle, Najo, Bos and a visiting lecturer while the rest had their repast alfresco.

After hubby finished his turn to eat, we decided to call it a day. The quiche was quite filling and so were the hearty portions of bread. I thanked Bos profusely for the lovely dinner invitation and we left on the next tram to town.

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In the middle of last week, hubby decided to invite the other participants for lunch at our humble abode. We’d already planned to come back anyway during the weekend to do laundry and change for a new set of clothes. Hubby had wanted to invite them over during the last session in Delft in February but scheduling conflicts worked against the plan.

The last time we hosted a group of people was during Sadia’s first birthday party. It’d be a challenge to prepare food for 9 hungry adults, with diverse gastronomic backgrounds.

The lunch menu comprised nasi ayam (chicken rice), mango salsa, mushroom lasagna, apple crumble, and bubur kacang (sweet bean porridge). We made sparkling lemonade for drinks. Najo and PakYai also brought cans of longan, rambutan and lychees. The lasagna was for Jairo, the only vegetarian in the group who hails from Venuzuela. It’s refreshing to find such a person from a region that is famous for its quality sirloins and tenderloins. ;) Jairo is a spitting image of Antonio Banderas, minus the buffed-up physique. He believes in Hindu philosophies and even named his twin daughters, Sathya and Gowri!

Despite the heavy showers midmorning, they arrived promptly at 12:30 in the afternoon. I requested them to open their shoes outside the main door so as to free up the limited space of the hallway. Traditionally, Malays open their shoes before entering a house that I even committed a faux pas by taking mine off at Bos’ on Friday! It’s been ingrained, that’s the only explanation I can give.

Najo was asked to teach them to eat the nasi ayam – what gravy goes with what and so forth – and they loved the chicken rice so much that the Norwegian ladies asked for the recipe! And Moataz was contented to be able to devour home-cooked halal chicken.

Robert, the only Canadian and youngest of the group, brought his wife, Stephanie for this round of classes and would be leaving for their summer holiday right after the session ended. We made the discovery that Robert had undergone an ICL (Implant Contact Lenses) surgery to correct his eyesight. Unlike the LASIK variety, ICL avoids cutting the surface of your eyes and permanently places instead a lense-like substance underneath your cornea. Moreover, it’s supposedly to be more expensive than LASIK.

But I’m digressing.

All of them tried the bubur kacang, the canned fruits and crumble. Robert also asked for his first ever Senseo -brewed coffee and I indulged him and wife with a demonstration on how to make the coffee. Both loved the coffee but I think he secretly still prefers his Canadian Tim Horton brew. :)

Sadia took an instant liking to Aunt Vibeke and played feed-her-current-favourite-soft-toy game at the dining table. Later on, Aunt Marit, the ebullient Norwegian entertained Sadia with a game of stacking up plastic glasses. I’ll teach her to be an Engineer, Marit exclaimed. My husband and I replied in unison, ‘She’ll be the first for both sides of the family!’

After Isabelle and Vibeke used the bathroom upstairs, most of the folks decided to check out the loft bedroom as well and lauded its spacious design. I confess that I’d love to have one in Malaysia. We’ll see how things pan out!

Two hours later, they returned back to Den Haag’s hotel on the tram for they too had to continue working on their thesis and such. Sadia cried incessantly when they were out of her sight of the street down below. She thrives on attention from others. Wait till you meet your cousins again!

We followed suit to Den Haag much later after putting Sadia down for her nap, feeding her dinner food and cleaning up the living area.

Oh yeah, they even brought along Sadia’s belated birthday present, consisting of two cute ensembles. Thanks a lot everyone!