I was invited over to Cheow Kheng’s house for dinner this evening. This dinner had left a lasting impression on me. It was an unforgettable evening.
I didn’t expect to know Cheow Kheng more than just a collaborator from NParks in our quest to promote gardening. He is now more of a personal friend to me. Today is the first day of Chinese New Year. Frankly, I feel honoured for the invitation because today is often regarded as a day reserved for gatherings with immediate family members and relatives.
I totally enjoyed the spread of food prepared by Mrs Ng – the Bak Kut Teh (Pork Ribs Soup), traditional Heng Hua rice vermicelli and the black glutinous rice dessert… I especially like the vermicelli because it was so smooth and I was told by Cheow Kheng that they were handmade ones brought in from Kuala Lumpur… Besides the food, I had a great time talking to Cheow Kheng, his wife, Swee Imm and his relatives.
Earlier in the evening, I also got to meet Dr Easaw Thomas who won the top award for the last Community in Bloom competition for the Private Homes category, which was co-awarded to AsiaOne.com’s Editor, Irene Ngoo.
Dr Thomas is an inspirational man and his love for forest trees, which he shared, really made me think differently as to the use of trees in home landscaping. In addition, his ‘natural’ approach towards gardening, namely, the need to improve the quality of our local soil the natural way as well as to introduce beneficial wildlife and predators to the garden is something that I agree with. I have also managed to also take a picture with this great man.
