GEORGE TOWN: While most people will be celebrating Fathers Day at restaurants, Nishantel Kaur will be cooking her father’s favourite Indian dishes at home.
The 37-year-old lawyer said she would cook chicken biryani with accompaniments like raita for her father Balvinder Singh, 71, who suffered four strokes between 2016 and 2020.
“My father is an excellent cook and loves making all types of Indian dishes.
“Although his movements are slower now after the strokes, he has not given up his favourite hobby, which is cooking,” said Nishantel.
She added that being a simple man, her father never expects anything from her and her siblings during Fathers Day.
“I am looking forward to spending some quiet and quality time with him.
“My mother will be spending the day with my brother in Kuala Lumpur, while my sister is in Perth, Australia.
“My siblings and I are also looking for a housemaid to assist with the daily chores at home, which would be a great help to my parents.
“I think this is the best gift for my dad after all he has done for us,” said Nishantel, adding that she made it a point to be with her father every Fathers Day.
For Fiona Lee, Fathers Day is not an occasion to be missed.
The 34-year-old hotel executive makes it a point to go back to her hometown in Gunung Rapat, Perak, for the celebration each year.
“I am working in Penang, and other than during the movement control order periods of the Covid-19 pandemic, I have gone home every year for Fathers Day,” she said.
Lee said her father Lee Wei Tong, 62, a retired Tenaga Nasional Berhad chargeman, recently joined a multinational company in Penang.
“Every year, we will get a special gift for him. Last year, it was a hamper of beer cans. This year, we are planning to get him a quality mattress as he will be moving to a new place in Penang.
“My brother is travelling from Kuala Lumpur for the celebration. We will either go to a restaurant or enjoy a good meal at home,” she said.
Legal assistant Angie Su Yin, 27, believes in treating both her parents equally.
“Some people do not take Fathers Day seriously but tend to have a grand celebration for their mothers, which is not right.
“My siblings and I have booked a place for the celebration and are looking forward to spending time with our father.
“I bought a mobile phone for him last year. We haven’t planned yet what to get for him this year, but it will definitely be something he will like,” she added.