The next day the extended family showed up at Jean's house to eat, drink and gamble.
The menu consisted of curry chicken and popiah. Popiah is like a small burrito. The main ingredient is turnip.
Nani spent an entire day peeling and grating the turnips.
The turnip is mixed with carrots, garlic, chopped peanuts, dried shrimp, rice wine, oyster sauce and soy sauce and wrapped like a burrito inside a thin wheat flour wrapper.
The extended family, just on Jean's mother's side, is large. Her mom has three sisters, two brothers, each with many kids. Everyone was there at once, filling all the rooms. Some watched tv, while others ate or gambled.
I sat down at the Mahjong table for a while and held my own. I was glad to have gotten up before Phyllis sat down. She's the wife of one of Jean's mom's brothers and is the recognized Mahjong master. It's scary - she can guess what tiles you're playing before you even know yourself and if she's on your right, she doesn't throw a single tile you need. You slowly bleed money.
The Dodo held her own. She's good for about an hour and then loses focus and starts yawning.
Giselle spent much of the evening cranking out popiah for me to eat. Each was spicier than the last as she piled on more and more chili.
Netflix was all the rage. The crowd was binge watching Designated Survivor.
Later in the evening, the cards came out. Two dollars minimum to make a bet. We were playing 21, which was similar to the American version. Uncle Peter was the banker, matching everyone's bets. He cleaned up.
Jean's mom brought out her homemade jello cake and everyone oohed and aweeeed.
Yusheng number two - this one shaped like a rooster as it is the year of the rooster.
Yusheng mixing in action!
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