Love is in the air and it’s finger lickin’ good
SIBU: Young people are broaching new frontiers in today’s world of eccentricity for fame and fortune — with one chronic foodie no doubt who ordered a bouquet of drumsticks for Valentine’s Day.
Not drumsticks for a musician, not fake drumsticks but real chicken drumsticks, fresh from Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). At the more succulent end, another desired a bouquet of finger lickin’ good chicken breasts.
To rule the roost of florists, Florist Penny Tang has taken up the challenge with gusto for this year’s Valentine Day to cater to creative yet odd demands from customers.
“It seems that the young people have all sorts of ideas, crazy ones and drumsticks is one of them. I did not come out with that idea. The customer suggested it to me.
“The first time I heard it, I was chuckling of course but since they wanted (that?), I do it for them,” she said, adding that the curious gifts called for not just drumsticks but chicken breasts as well.
She said she received orders for five outlandish bouquets so far and normally, it would be the girls who sent such animatic bouquets to their boyfriends.
According to Penny, edible bouquets must be collected fast by customers for simple reasons -- for freshness of Colonel Sander’s drumsticks and hygiene.
She said although she would accept suggestions from the customers on the decoration of a bouquet, normally she would advise the customers to keep it simple.
“We are concerned with hygiene and so when we need to mix food with plants, I normally will advise the customers not to have a complicated decoration,” she pointed out.
She said she wrapped the drumsticks with brown paper bags that can absorb oil before placing them into the bouquet.
“I would get the brown paper, the one they normally wrap nasi lemak and wrap the drumstick first. Only then I put them into the bouquet, so that we do not have an oily bouquet,” she said.
According to her, it was a challenge to come up with creative ideas as there are many flower shops and gift shops in town.
“All of us must come out with something special and our own designs,” she pointed out.
Another of her specialty is to mix different colours on a rose.
Asked about popular demand for Valentine’s this year, she said it was the Korean style -- sweet and simple and they use black wrappers.
She also received orders for cabbage flowers. But heck, their wish is her command.
On a higher plane of romance, another florist Kiu Sii Hei said her newest trend are the Golden Roses -- fresh roses coated with real gold, to represent everlasting love.
“This is a European design. Their creativity not only makes the roses beautiful but lasting and I think that most people, especially young people would love it because it won’t die and can use it as decorative item,” she said, adding that stocks are limited and she ordered it especially for Valentine’s Day. But this affair is a pricey one.
She said another customers’ favourite was the ‘immortal roses’ imported from Japan – fresh roses that will not whither nor die.
“Nowadays, young people are quite picky. They know what they want and they will try to find it, so we try to provide for them especially for a special day like Valentine’s,” she said.
Closer to the ground for real flowers, another florist Kathy Sim said the Korean style is the popular demand among young people – especially the ‘ baby breath’.
Other new trends include Hydrazea, Tulips and Estoma.
“Nevertheless, roses are still the most popular flowers and especially red roses as it represents romance,” she pointed out.
Mostly, her fresh flowers are imported from China, India, Kenya, and Thailand.