Tradition a preferred option
Home-cooked meals preferred: Though times have changed, food and delicacies prepared at home is still the preferred choice of the masses in Brunei. Picture: BT File
Monday, September 29, 2008
TRADITION triumphs over convenience when it comes to choosing home-cooked meals over catered ones for most people who receive a constant arrival of guests to their open house during the Hari Raya season.
Interviews with locals conducted by The Brunei Times has revealed a general consensus for home-cooked meals as the preferred choice of served food during Hari Raya open house, despite it being a time-consuming procedure.
Hjh Fatimah, 40, stated that although the preparations take a longer time, she prefers to serve home-cooked meals to her guests during her Raya open house.
She said that preparing her Raya open house menu requires a month of careful planning and that it takes her a week or more to prepare the food, depending on the amount of pastries that have to be baked.
Hjh Fatimah admitted that she likes preparing home-cooked meals because of the compliments she receives for her creativity in her food preparations.
"There is nothing nicer than when someone appreciates the food you worked so hard preparing for," she said.
Nur Abdul, 26, also prefers home-cooked meals to catering during Hari Raya because she said that it has been that way since she was a little girl.
"I can't imagine not waking up to my mother's delicious cooking on Raya morning," she said.
Thirty-year-old Rifah Husin said that she prepares home-cooked meals for her Hari Raya open house because of popular demands from her friends and relatives.
"They expect a different dish every year because I always deliver. Last year I took the coconut from my own tree and concocted a nice dessert that my family loves. I am proud to say it was a success," she said.
Rifah also gives her utmost respect to anyone who prepares home-cooked meals during Hari Raya because it is not easy catering to over a hundred guests a day.
She also said that home-cooked meals differ to catering because there are no fixed menus for home-cooked meals.
"You can create more options for different dishes when its home-cooked because you give a lot of thought into it," she said.
Haslin Saed, 32, said that she understands why some people opt for catering during Hari Raya because of the convenience that comes with it. She added that when you pay for catering, you do not have to worry about anything else except entertaining your guests.
However, Haslin still prefers preparing home-cooked meals to catering because it is the tradition at her house during the festive month. She stated that although it takes a week to prepare the ingredients, home-cooked meals are more affordable and less expensive than catering.
"Let's say standard catering costs $5 and you estimate that there will be over a hundred guests, that's over $500 gone. I can buy one sack of rice and feed over a hundred people at a much cheaper price," she said, adding that with the remainder of the money she can get more ingredients such as beef for her rendang (a beef condiment), vegetables and a variety of other ingredients.
She added that the amount of money used to cater food would be put to better use in buying more ingredients and the quantity of food will be more for the same number of guests.
Civil servant Sheila Zain, 31, said that her family is opting for catering this year because they are unsure about the number of people they are expecting for their open house.
She said that catering services can come in handy during the festive season. "When you are unsure of the number of people coming to your open house, caterers can come in very handy. Last year we miscalculated and we don't want to make the same mistake this year".
A 26-year-old female teacher, who chose to remain anonymous, stated that she usually opts for catering during her Raya open house. She stated that catering is easier and much more convenient for Raya.
She also said that she has heard of complaints on how catering food is not as delicious as home-cooked meals.
"When you're comparing the food to your grandma's rendang, of course it's not going to be as good. However, contrary to what people think, catering food can be quite nice," she said.
The teacher admitted, however, that home-cooked meals can also be delicious if eaten with the family. (SHR1)
The Brunei Times
Interviews with locals conducted by The Brunei Times has revealed a general consensus for home-cooked meals as the preferred choice of served food during Hari Raya open house, despite it being a time-consuming procedure.
Hjh Fatimah, 40, stated that although the preparations take a longer time, she prefers to serve home-cooked meals to her guests during her Raya open house.
She said that preparing her Raya open house menu requires a month of careful planning and that it takes her a week or more to prepare the food, depending on the amount of pastries that have to be baked.
Hjh Fatimah admitted that she likes preparing home-cooked meals because of the compliments she receives for her creativity in her food preparations.
"There is nothing nicer than when someone appreciates the food you worked so hard preparing for," she said.
Nur Abdul, 26, also prefers home-cooked meals to catering during Hari Raya because she said that it has been that way since she was a little girl.
"I can't imagine not waking up to my mother's delicious cooking on Raya morning," she said.
Thirty-year-old Rifah Husin said that she prepares home-cooked meals for her Hari Raya open house because of popular demands from her friends and relatives.
"They expect a different dish every year because I always deliver. Last year I took the coconut from my own tree and concocted a nice dessert that my family loves. I am proud to say it was a success," she said.
Rifah also gives her utmost respect to anyone who prepares home-cooked meals during Hari Raya because it is not easy catering to over a hundred guests a day.
She also said that home-cooked meals differ to catering because there are no fixed menus for home-cooked meals.
"You can create more options for different dishes when its home-cooked because you give a lot of thought into it," she said.
Haslin Saed, 32, said that she understands why some people opt for catering during Hari Raya because of the convenience that comes with it. She added that when you pay for catering, you do not have to worry about anything else except entertaining your guests.
However, Haslin still prefers preparing home-cooked meals to catering because it is the tradition at her house during the festive month. She stated that although it takes a week to prepare the ingredients, home-cooked meals are more affordable and less expensive than catering.
"Let's say standard catering costs $5 and you estimate that there will be over a hundred guests, that's over $500 gone. I can buy one sack of rice and feed over a hundred people at a much cheaper price," she said, adding that with the remainder of the money she can get more ingredients such as beef for her rendang (a beef condiment), vegetables and a variety of other ingredients.
She added that the amount of money used to cater food would be put to better use in buying more ingredients and the quantity of food will be more for the same number of guests.
Civil servant Sheila Zain, 31, said that her family is opting for catering this year because they are unsure about the number of people they are expecting for their open house.
She said that catering services can come in handy during the festive season. "When you are unsure of the number of people coming to your open house, caterers can come in very handy. Last year we miscalculated and we don't want to make the same mistake this year".
A 26-year-old female teacher, who chose to remain anonymous, stated that she usually opts for catering during her Raya open house. She stated that catering is easier and much more convenient for Raya.
She also said that she has heard of complaints on how catering food is not as delicious as home-cooked meals.
"When you're comparing the food to your grandma's rendang, of course it's not going to be as good. However, contrary to what people think, catering food can be quite nice," she said.
The teacher admitted, however, that home-cooked meals can also be delicious if eaten with the family. (SHR1)
The Brunei Times
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