A Sweet Ending

Our bowls of "pengat" which I bought from the market, ready for the altar

All good things must come to an end ... yesterday was "Chap Goh Meh", the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year.  As is customary, we ended the new year with something sweet, namely "pengat" - a concoction of yam, bananas, sweet potatoes and sometimes "ti kueh" cooked in "santan" - coconut milk.  Nowadays there are different versions - some people add small jelly-like balls made from tapioca flour and black-eye peas.  Being typically old fashioned, Mum and I prefer the traditional recipe 

anytime!  Chap Goh Meh for us was quiet though a number of cultural activities were on in town - too much hassle to attend.  Just thinking of the traffic jams kept us away!  We went to bed early to the sound of far-off crackers booming away in the stillness of the night - a strange but quite effective lullaby I must say!