Tea-time Treats

Tea-time was always a midway snack time between lunch and dinner (about 4pm). My mother used to make local kueh like kueh Bingkah, karipap, Dried Prawn Sambal Sandwhich and sometimes just bread and butter pudding. On some public holidays, my parents would busy themselves and make pang susi. Sometimes when people dropped by during tea-time, my mother would cook bubur Cha Cha or Green Beans porridge.

Tea-time for us could be savoury or sweet. I love to bake scones or sausage rolls. Sometimes I would make pulot (Steamed glutinuous rice) with gula melaka syrup.

When my children were growing up and my baking skills improved, I would bake cakes and cream puffs, cinnamon roll buns and cookies for tea- time. It was high tea usually at our house. I made my children's birthday cakes which was a rich genoise sponge cake with butter icing.

When its easy to get fresh blueberries at the supermarket, I would make blueberry muffins. It has a bit of a lemon zest sugary topping and tastes so good. Any leftovers,eat it the next morning for breakfast.

I have six sisters and one brother (the youngest). When we sisters meet for tea, we each bring something and then make a big pot of tea. We reminise over the happy times we shared in the past, joke and laugh and catch up with news that we may have missed. Sometimes we call our tea-time "therapy sessions" when we talk about what is bothering us and try to help each other find solutions. Tea-time is important to us Eurasians. Keeps us calm and sane. Sometimes we joke that if any of us faint and is rushed to hospital, just give us tea through the IV tube and we will recover!