Saturday, March 26, 2022

Mahjong Community Spotlight: Kitty Wu Coaching



The Mahjong Community blog likes to share stories about the global mahjong community, its people, businesses, and passions. We like to introduce you to people from all over the world that are inspiring. We love it when people tell us what connects them to mahjong and to hear their mahjong related stories. We want to give you insight into the mahjong community, the vast range of people who love the game, and the connections they have to family, friends, and the world.

In this video, we introduce you to Kitty Wu Coaching. Kitty Wu is an inspiration to ladies that want to live a holistic, passionate life. She is a holistic health coach and founder of Kitty Wu Coaching. She has served numerous clients across the US & internationally. Her mission is to help women of color heal any unconscious limiting beliefs, in order to manifest their healthiest selves.

In my conversations with Kitty, she came across as really genuine, caring, and authentic. When we were chatting about mahjong, she explained how mahjong is a family tradition. Every get together with relatives in Taiwan includes eating dinner together and playing mahjong after. We will talk about Kitty Wu again in another blog when we get into the difference between the Hong Kong style of mahjong and the Taiwanese style of play. 


Watch the Kitty Wu video interview here:



Follow her on social media here:

Instagram

Facebook

For ladies interested in her Facebook group it is here:

Holistic Health Queens


Want to be featured in one of our videos, social media channels, or blogs? Have mahjong related courses or businesses that we include on our learning platform? Our website contact page talks about the collaborations we do related to mahjong:

Mahjong Collaborations




Friday, March 18, 2022

A Great Mahjong Table

As a mahjong player that has played on many types of tables, I am always on the lookout for a great mahjong table. It may seem odd that I have owned quite a few tables but I continuously had to replace my tables! The first table I got was similar to the table below except mine was the super cheap version. The one below is a pretty penny as it is designed out of wood. This one sells for $1,349 CAD believe it or not! There is a more expensive version for $1,800 as well. It sounds exuberant but I have played on such a table, and it is really nice. The version I had was made out of metal and plastic but the legs and individual chip drawers were the same. The problem was that when you fold it up it doesn't lay completely flat like a card table will. It sticks out a little bit from the wall due to the legs and the thickness of the table. So you do need some space for it. Due to the lack of space in my apartments through the years, I kept my mahjong tables at my friends' places and we would either play at their place or they would just bring it over when we wanted to play.


 

Back then, I had an elderly friend who was very ill. He struggled to walk or go up or down stairs. That was when I introduced him to mahjong, and he loved it! I knew the socializing aspect would be great for him. He picked up on it quickly. He passed away about a year later, and I let his kids keep the table as a memory of his happy mahjong days with us. 

I was really happy with that style of mahjong table so I bought another one. I kept at my boyfriend's place as I was driving in from out of town to see him all the time. Well, when I left that relationship, 
I was unable to get my mahjong table back. C'est la vie. 

I got another mahjong table and again bought the exact same type. However, this time I made sure I kept it with me. We had a storage unit in our building so it was perfect, or so I thought. The biggest flood in Canada happened shortly after. Our apartment and area around it was flooded for weeks on end. Lo and behold, our mahjong table was in the midst of that flood water for that period of time. So we lost that mahjong table as well.

I decided after my string of bad luck with mahjong tables that I would not own another one that I could not fit into our apartment. I was hoping one day I would get another one but I knew I could not get that same kind. That extra bit of space it takes up is just too much space to give up for apartment living. I thought perhaps a card table would be alright but even then, there is no space for even that.  

As luck would have it, I found one that works just great. It folds in numerous ways to tuck behind the couch! I love this table. It folds like a normal card table - the legs all tuck in. However, it goes beyond that. It then folds again - in half! The folding in half part is what makes this table truly great. So instead of winding up with a giant square shaped tabletop to tuck away, you end up with half of that, a rectangle. Folding it like that lets me tuck it behind the couch and nobody can see it. It has carrying handles that you can use to cart it around.  

It is actually not advertised as a mahjong table but it is the perfect size for mahjong. I have a mahjong mat that can roll up when I am not using it. When rolled out, it covers the table precisely. The table has enough room for mahjong tiles and space on either side. I am aware that there are a few tables out there that are pretty tricky for space, this one is perfect. The fold in the middle of the playing surface does not affect the play of the table, I thought it might but found no problems with it. I would definitely recommend this table for the folks in the mahjong community that need a space saving table. As well, if you are the type of person that carts around their mahjong equipment with them as you don't have a regular group each with their own permanent mahjong set up, this is a great table for that. The handles tuck in if you want them to, or you can keep them out so you can carry the table easily from car to home. The links will take you to the page on Amazon to view the table and see its dimensions and how it folds up. I love it! I am really happy I finally got another mahjong table. I hope to keep this table for a long time. 


Folding Mahjong Table

Note: This post contains affiliate links, so I may get a small commission from any purchases made.  


Monday, March 7, 2022

Mahjong Party versus Mahjong Community

I just want to introduce us and chat about what our vision is for mahjong and the mahjong community globally and in Asia. It is estimated that 600,000,000 people play mahjong worldwide. There are 35 countries that have mahjong representatives in worldwide mahjong organizations. The game began in Asia, and then spread globally. There is a vast difference between the styles of play in some countries and the nuances in the game between countries. For this reason, we have 2 separate blogs to discuss mahjong.

This blog, The Mahjong Community, is a subdivision of Mahjong Party. The Mahjong Party can be found at www.themahjongparty.com. Its purpose is to focus on the Asian styles of mahjong, with a beginning focus on the Hong Kong or Classical style of mahjong, and later will expand to the other styles of play found throughout Asia. Mahjong Party features in depth interviews with people and businesses in the the Asian mahjong community, explaining some of the Asian culture and nuances around mahjong, Asian recipes, food, and traditions around mahjong. There are many complexities to the Asian styles of play, so we wanted to have a site fully dedicated to that. We are also building a course that goes into depth about the Hong Kong style of play, and we will also feature other styles of play on our learning platform. The blog on Mahjong Party is therefore about the Asian styles of the game and the Asian community.

Returning back to this blog, The Mahjong Community blog, our focus here is about mahjong on a global scale. Mahjong is played worldwide, in the USA, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and in many more countries. This blog will go into the worldwide interest in mahjong and will interview players from around the globe. It will feature articles about mahjong jewellery and designs that include the NMJL version of play. The other blog, on Mahjong Party, focuses solely on Asian styles of play and its articles about merchandise and jewellery solely reflect that of Asian styles of play. 

We welcome you to both our blogs, or whichever one suits you most. Mahjong is such a complex, fascinating game, we hope to share our insights with you wherever you find us. 

Mahjong Cakes

Here on the Mahjong Community blog we chat about mahjong, the people and businesses in the global mahjong community, and how this fascinating game shows up in their lives.

Today, we are going to take a look at the intricate detail and elegance of mahjong cakes. We will bounce all over the globe to take a look at what bakers are doing with their mahjong inspired cakes. If you get inspired by the cakes, just click on the bakery name above their picture to get to their Instagram! 

We begin our journey at Vancouver, BC in Canada with @stephanieskitchenvancouver. You can find them on Instagram and on their website at https://www.stephanieskitchen.ca/.



Next, we go over to Singapore where we have an agar agar cake. Agar agar is a vegetarian type of gelatin and is used to make jelly. So we have ourselves a jelly cake!  
This one is from @foodmapping on Instagram, and you can find them on their website at
https://foodmapping.oddle.me/en_SG. 


Let us take a look at a bicoastal bakery, with locations in New York and Taiwan. You can find them at bakinglife_ny_tw on Instagram and on their website https://www.mybakinglifenytw.com/ 



Over to the USA, we have a cake from Scottsdale, Arizona. This one is from @bakedjustwright on Instagram.

 

Here is a cake from Brisbane, Australia. This one is from @sweet_licious_brisbane on Instagram. You can them on Meta at https://m.facebook.com/Sweet.licious.brisbane


Back to Singapore for our final cake today. This is one of my favourite designs. It comes from  @angellabakes on Instagram. You can also find them at https://www.facebook.com/angellabakes 


@angellabakes sat with us for an in depth interview about mahjong cakes and her bakery.

Come back to read her interview which will be revealed shortly on our blog! 

Friday, March 4, 2022

The Mahjong Community

Welcome to the Mahjong Community. The place to chat about mahjong in all of its variations, the players, the merchandise, and my favourite: mahjong baked goods!

We will be going into the stories behind the players, why they play, what brings them together. A lot of players have incredible history together. Those stories are at the heart of the heart of the game.

The merchandise is also fascinating. Earrings, necklaces, pants, skirts, bags, and more. Custom mahjong sets. Fascinating mahjong tables.

The mahjong themed baked goods are my favourite. Colorful, unique and meaningful. Cakes, muffins, cookies. Beyond that are the recipes and dishes that are always at mahjong parties. One household might have dim sum and congee, another one has sushi, another one serves tea and biscuits. 

The mahjong community is global and extensive. Join me in this blog while we go exploring and meet the people behind the tiles.

Napkins for your Mahjong Party!

 Napkins for your Mahjong Party! Last month we featured paper plates for your mahjong party. This month we are showing off our napkins with ...