Presenting the new Mrs Neo

I never thought this day would come but it did and I am glad. Jane finally became Mrs Albert Neo proper today with the customary tea ceremony, though the banquet dinner is still a couple of days away.

We had to report to her house in Potong Pasir by 2 am so Nick sent me and Rena to Mustafa where we met Germaine to shop for sweet, sour, spicy and bitter ingredients. We chose gulab jamuns, lemons, chili padi and small bittergourds. Had supper of prata after that, and then went in search of mutton soup and tulang, "favourites" of Albert's.

We were thwarted at a couple of stalls in Serangoon and Kampong Glam which were either sold out or closed, and just when we were about to head to Newton, we stumbled upon a stall in Jalan Sultan proclaiming to be the King of Tulang! How convenient!

When we got to Jane's place, we noticed 4 wakes under the surrounding blocks. That made it 4 funerals and a wedding! But we didn't let it mar the occasion.

While Jane got her hair and make-up done, we prepared the stuff for the 'gatecrashing'. But before that, we got a sneak peek at her studio and outdoor photos which made us double up with laughter...there were some cheesy poses and we couldn't get over the fact that this was the same Jane we knew 13 years ago in SHATEC. Gone are her tomboy days and the Jane of today is a total 'gu-niang'!

Jane at my wedding in 2003 (2nd from right)

When Albert and his 'brothers' arrived at 3.30 am, we were somewhat disappointed. Aside from Albert, the rest weren't very game for our games! We asked Albert questions about Jane and surprise, surprise, his answers were all wrong and so he had to do some forfeits.

The first question was what her favourite song was - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! As his punishment, he had to sing it out loud for her, followed by downing the sweet/sour/bitter/spicy stuff. No one really put up any fuss so that was a bit anti-climatic.

The next answer on how old her oldest undies were was also wrong and his forfeit this time was for him and his buddies to don some disposable undies bearing alphabets and form a 6-letter word from the letters AENTML. Actually, the letters can form 3 different words but we gave chance and he only had to form the word MENTAL.

Finally when asked what Jane's favourite local dish was, he answered carrot cake. Though it was correct, the answer supplied by Jane for the games was prawn noodles so his next forfeit was to slurp up the mutton soup and tulang...which is not such a bad thing to most people!

When it came down to the negotiations on angpow, we didn't haggle so much. I may like to bargain when it comes to shopping but Jane's relatives were getting anxious about the time so he was let off easily.

Once he got to Jane's room, he gifted her with an Omega watch. It was a day for watches as later on, her parents also presented them with his and her Rolex during the tea ceremony.

Some traditions were observed before we departed for Albert's parents' place in Bukit Panjang, such as offerings of joss sticks and cutting up this poor suckling pig!

Over at Albert's, more respect was paid to ancestors and we were fed some mee sua which I wasn't particularly fond of. I like mee sua, but not with liver and kidney!

At around 5.15 am, we left Bukit Panjang for Woodlands, to Jane and Albert's new crib at La Casa Executive Condominium. Their house was done up nicely, lots of white furniture and down lighting. Us 5 'sisters' managed to power nap in the guest room, 3 on the bed and 2 on the window seats. The room was pitch dark and the aircon was on, it was like heaven!

Once it got bright enough, we proceeded downstairs for some group and couple shots before heading back to the house where Jane changed into her 'kua'. She even had a red flower stuck in her hair, so 'ang'!

On the way back to Bukit Panjang, we got caught up in a bad jam. A ten-minute journey turned into an hour's. But eventually we reached, and made a small detour to a Chinese temple for Jane and Albert to pray and get blessed before returning to his parents' place for the tea ceremony.

Albert's grandmother made a naughty comment in Hokkien when it was her turn, which gave everyone the giggles but the rest of it was uneventful. There was some food catered and we nibbled a little before going back to Potong Pasir, where more food awaited us.

There was an emotional moment when Jane served tea to her parents, not sure what her mum said to her but it got Jane all choked up, which made the rest of us teary as well.

This was my first time being involved in the traditional Chinese customs, it was great fun, despite the timing! I didn't really feel sleepy till we got to Woodlands and the quick snooze helped to re-energize us tired Dim Sum Dolly bunnies.

Ha ha, yes, we called ourselves Dim Sum Dollies, though perhaps Dim Sum Divas would have been more apt since our matching cheongsams were ordered from Delirious Divas. Can't wait till the dinner on Wednesday, some of our ex-classmates will be there and they are going to be stunned at Jane's metamorphosis.

All that's left is to figure out how to squeeze into my dinner dress!