Some of the best moments of life are snap-shotted or roll ’em videoed to preserve them in memory. Preserving these memories for eternity? I think there are cloud services and social media sites that provide (offer) this service where all your content will be maintained for a period of time like a 100 years. For a fee of course. Not sure if it is renewable and who is to check that all content will still be up or preserved in its original form in say 75 years or so.

It was our (Jeannie’s and mine) 29th wedding anniversary. Looking back, memories of our wedding remain fresh in our minds.

It was a Saturday, which I planned to sleep in the morning, as our wedding ceremony was at 3.00pm in the afternoon. Ample time to get ready and get to church well before 3.00pm. However, that plan was dashed with a phone call at 7.00am in the morning.

“The flowers have not arrived”, exclaimed Jeannie in a worried voice. I had to go round P.J. (Petaling Jaya)(1). I called up Brenda Au Yong (one of the two people who would act as witnesses of our wedding), to help me find these flowers. Together, we went to many of the florists we knew in P.J., hunting for these specific flowers. After 3 hours of flower-searching, no luck.

Our wedding, which took place at St. Francis Xavier Church, was beautiful. Jeannie and I were relaxed and enjoyed it. The late Aunty Alzira Gomes (the late Uncle Joseph’s wife), took over the microphone at the choir section and sang “Panis Angelicus” impromptu. It was a welcome surprise.

Then, we had the customary tea ceremony, a Chinese tradition for marriage, since Jeannie is Chinese. We managed to get a couple of hours rest at Brenda’s & Martin’s house, before our reception at Loyola Hall in St. Francis Xavier Church itself. We had a Chef from the French Embassy in K.L. (2), who catered a wide variety of western and local dishes for the dinner. It was excellent.

Fast forward from then on 25th November, 1995; to now, 29 years later. What better way to celebrate, then with family. This time round, we had our daughter, Laura; and son-in-law (Laura’s husband), Praga; to grace this occasion with us.

We met for dinner at Benjy’s, a little restaurant in SS16, Subang Jaya (3). Located in an apartment building, a couple of blocks from AEON Big Supermarket; it serves western cuisine. The food served is good. There is ample car parking space (a big “+” point for Malaysians).

Jeannie and I got in slightly earlier than our appointed time. Laura and Praga arrived not long after. Being early eaters, generally; we soon got to ordering our food. Another good thing about Benjy’s is that the menu is not complicated and not overly crowded.

We all opted for noodle meals, our belief is that it was a healthier choice instead of the usual. heavy steaks.

Laura ordered “Bolognaise” pasta, Italian style. It came with a generous serving of mince beef in tomato sauce, with grated cheese on top. We knew it was going to be good because we have ordered this meal multiple times before.

Praga chose to have “Smoked Duck Pasta Carbonara”. It was loaded with carbonara. The presentation was a row of sliced roast duck pieces on top of the carbonara prepared noodles.

Jeannie went for an “Aloha”. It came with a bull’s eye on top of a big portion of chicken breast meat, together with garlic bread, some green vegetables, corn, a large slice of garlic bread and a side dish of black pepper sauce with some white cream (not sure what that was) on it. The black pepper sauce is always served with the white cream on it.

I, like Laura; ordered a bolognaise meal. I have been downsizing my meal intake in order to reduce my weight. The meals served at Benjy’s are generous portions in size. When, my meal came; it looked delicious. I had to finish it, since I did not want to waste anything. And finish it, I did. I felt really full and “regretted” that I over ate. My regret did not last long enough. I ordered a double scoop chocolate ice-cream. Sigh!

Praga and Jeannie went for apple crumble for dinner; whereas Laura shared a bit of my chocolate ice-cream. I thought the consolation was that Laura will share at least half the ice-cream with me. She only took one spoon full, which meant that I had to eat the rest. I don’t like the idea of wasting any of it. Though I did not say it out loud, I was not complaining.

It was a very pleasant evening. Having Laura and Praga join us in celebrating our wedding anniversary. made it all the more special. It has been some years since Laura last joined us in our annual celebration.

Jeannie and I look forward to many, many more years of married adventures together.

NOTES:
1. Petaling Jaya is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. K.L. or Kuala Lumpur, is the capital of Malaysia.
3. Subang Jaya is a young, vibrant city of the state of Selangor, Malaysia.