bbq heroes

In the absence of a domestic helper, gearing up for a BBQ party is no joke (for us).

See, whenever there is a need for a party, the easy way out was to always just go back to mum’s, who will just tell Gina there is a party, and Gina will take care of everything. We literally just have to turn up.

Gina has gone back to the Philippines for a long-cherished three-week reunion with her daughter.

And I just have to organize the one and only regular party I have hosted since 2009: With the JC Orientation Group.

It wouldn’t have been possible without my BBQ heroes. Roll of honour:

My mummy, the kid’s Por por, who buys chicken wings, fishballs, satay, otah, sausages, sweet potatoes, beehoon ingredients. Then marinates the wings, fries the beehoon, fries the fishballs, prepares the rose syrup, then clears and washes up after everything is over.

My papa, the kid’s Gong gong, who buys the prawns and beansprouts for the beehoon, helps move the furniture outdoors, starts the BBQ fire, entertains my guests and puts some fizz in their veins as he plies them with Carlsberg and what he calls Rose Water (red wine).

KK the perspiring towkay, who stands at the BBQ the entire night, towel around his neck, cooking the entire night’s food. “I enjoy it, seriously, I enjoy it,” he repeats as we all take turns to cast slightly guilty looks his way.

The kids, who help out with plucking tails off 1 kilogram of beansprouts (I think all three contributed a combined total of 100 grams).

The girls for wrapping sweet potatoes.

And er, Jody, who decides to host a “My Little Pony” TV marathon in a cool air-conditioned room upstairs, sparing the adults from their offspring.

I think we all had a swell time.

* Kirsten and dad Jason, Eva and dad Jianxing, Zoe and Benz with dad Zhirong

* Huixia, Lulu Jo and me, Janet with Zoe and Benz

And not pictured above, Day and Kieran, who were busy in front of the computer the entire night.

* We dragged them down for five minutes worth of nutrition