CNY: The Snake Year 2013

It’s Chap Goh Meh today, which means it’s the last day of the Chinese New Year already. Happy Chap Goh Meh, to all celebrating and good luck with the tossing of mandarin oranges? Haha. I personally don’t celebrate this day. So, it’s a pretty quiet usual day for me and so I managed to sit myself down to come up with a short post of what went down during my Chinese New Year.

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As with the Chinese New Year, the reunion dinner is one of the most important meal for the family. :) It’s sort of the grandest meal we would have, or one that would be prepared. This year, we opted to eat in, with the parents cooking up a storm and my aunt made a huge ass delicious Yee Sang. This year, no fancy designs for the Yee Sang but we had abalone slices, instead of salmon.

The hugest Yee Sang who can possibly get.

Our 6 course meal with close up pictures below. :D

‘Pak Cham Kai’

Braised Mushrooms with Brocolli

Fried ‘Nam Yee’ Pork

Fried ‘wantans’

Curry Butter Prawns

Leeks with ‘Siew Yuk’, in ‘Nam Yee’ sauce.

That was all the awesome good food I had for reunion dinner, homecooked by the parents. Then, we headed to the temple to pray after dinner, it’s an annual thing. Came home and there were fireworks played in the neighbourhood. So much, that it almost sounded like a warzone. The brother wanted to have a closer look at them, so we walked around until we saw this neighbour with huge boxes of fireworks (x5). Yes, five whole boxes. Since I had my camera with me, I tried to shoot them. Which was pretty easy to shoot with an S90 because there was a scene mode for Fireworks. Basically point and shoot, and gorgeous pictures! Ta-da. Haha.

On the first day of the new year, I did my nails with a CNY theme in mind (here is the post; CNY nails!) and I shot #6 for | project 52, taking inspiration from my favourite peach wired headband and my curly hair. Here are some fun shots from that mini shoot.

Met my cutest, favourite nephew, the handsome Darren on the second day. So adorable he deserves a blown up picture.

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This post pretty much sums up how the Chinese New Year was for me, being able to celebrate on the first three days only because I started working on the fourth day. I wish I have been able to see my college friends, it’s been some time since I last saw the girls. :/ I’m still trying to get used to this whole work life balance. Wish me luck on that, and till next time! Will try to keep updating the blog whenever I can.

I’m 20, two decades old.

The week before my birthday, has been one of the worst week I could have ever lived through. It was terrible, truly horrifying because whatever I was going through was very much different from anything I’ve ever been through. It was worse than failing my exams because if I failed my papers, I could do-over. But not for this, I cannot reset. I cannot start over. It felt pretty much like I’m stuck at the bottom of the well, with no way to escape. It really wouldn’t been so bad, if only I could figure it out. But I can’t, I don’t have a choice. A friend once said, “You always have a choice.” I do realise I have, but I don’t have the courage to go to such lengths to do it. Sighs. I’ll be stuck till then. But I am better now, much better. We all learn to cope, live with it eventually. I’ll be stronger, that much I know. :)

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I was supposed to blog about my birthday a week after it, but I have been so busy that I kept delaying it. Plus, I was blogging on a LIFO basis; last-in-first-out. Haha. That is actually an accounting term, if you didn’t know. :) So anyway, my birthday this year was made perfect by the very awesome people in my life. :) My family; the parents especially, my beloved college mates, the close friends and of course, everyone who wished me on Facebook as well.

30.07.12, AM

Dad brought me to have my favourite prawns porridge to start my special day. :)

Nothing beats a claypot full of delicious prawns porridge with deep fried twisted dough-stick (yao char kuey) for an awesome breakfast.

30.07.12, Early PM

After the awesome breakfast, I was off with mom and dad to run a little errand. Nothing much, pretty insignificant. Came back home and thought I’ll pamper myself a bit before heading out for dinner with my friends. So, I decided to do a Japanese hair spa for myself, it’ll take up some time and by the time I’m done with it, I could have lunch and start getting ready for my dinner date. And so, I went to get my hair spa items ready. But while I was at it, my mom saw and she told me not to do the spa treatment because she needed my help in something, so I had to opt for the normal hair treatment. Which I luckily did, because about 10 mins after I was done with my shower + hair treatment, I had a surprise waiting for me at my door.

My so-fake-shocked look! :)

My college mates had came all together with a cake to surprise me! I had no idea they were coming, I was dressed so shabbily that when my mom said my friends were here, I just went running to my room to change into something decent. Plus, my hair was so huge! Haha.

This is almost everyone that was there. :D Almost, because Crys was late as she got lost again. Heh.

Thank you (L-R) Amanda, Desmund, Jia Ping, Carmen, Celia, Danny, Eugene, Reuben, Timothy (Reuben’s guitar) and Crys for making my 20th birthday so memorable. I love each and everyone of you and am so thankful to have you all in my life. Also, Reuben and Danny played and sang “Be Your Everything” by Boys Like Girls for me! <3 Of course, it wasn’t as a proclamation of love, but rather because it was my favourite song.

They stayed on for a while after we cut the cake. Oh, the cake was from RT Pastry and I have always always wanted to try their cakes. Glad to finally be able to on my birthday some more. :) How blessed was I. Haha. After that, we had a mini karaoke session where we got Reuben to play the guitar and the rest of us singing along.

30.07.12, Mid PM

After everyone left, Celia and Crys stayed behind and we chatted for a while before they were to head off to avoid the jam. Then, we had this brilliant idea to help me decide what I was to wear for dinner that night! So, we went through my wardrobe, picked a few outfits (6 actually) out and I was to try them on and they would style accordingly. Haha, that session was really fun. Finally decided on one outfit and they, then left. But before they left, they told me that my gift wasn’t ready. And that they’ll pass it to me when it is. :)

30.07.12, Late Mid PM

Immediately after they left, I went to have my lunch and a shower to get ready for dinner. I only had an hour to get ready before my friend picked me up. Which actually isn’t enough for me, it was a bit rushing but I managed, albeit being 10 mins late and my friend had to wait. But I was late because a weird unknown number called me while I was going out, I had actually hesitated in picking the phone call up because I was in obvious rush. Luckily I did because it was my aunt, calling all the way from UK to wish me. How lovely and sweet of her. <3 We chatted for a bit, and it was great to hear her voice again. I miss her.

30.07.12, Late PM

I actually had a choice between Japanese or Western for dinner, but since the initial plan was Western.. I stuck on with it. Had dinner at a lovely place called Porta Romano, I blogged about it here. Do click to read my review. Food was great, dinner was awesome. :) It ended in the most perfect way I could have ever imagined. <3

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Once again, I just want to say how grateful I am for the awesome people in my life who made my birthday such a memorable one. <3 But, guess what, 30th July wasn’t the end to my birthday. I received my gift from the girls; Celia and Crys a few days later.

It was a book filled with photos and it tells a story on every page. It’s really funny and I was so touched when I got it. I love the girls so much, for the time and effort they have put into the doing this. Nothing ever beats something handmade with love. <3

Besides that, I previously told Daddy that I was craving for some crabs and would love to have them for my birthday. But because I didn’t manage to have dinner with the family, so Dad made them especially for me one day!

The uncooked crab, to be steamed. Can you see the yellow bit there? That’s eggs!

And ta-da! It’s done and ready to eat! :) So yummy, my stomach is growling as I type this :P

And now, Daddy just owes me my durian birthday cake and my grilled lamb. :P I ate my celebratory chicken wings at Ah Wah in Jalan Peel. Heh.

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So that is all for my 20th birthday, I could never quite remember my last few ones, hence I decided to put this one into words. I hope my 21st will be even better than this. :)

CNY: The Dragon Year 2012!

Like all the previous Chinese New Year(s), this year was celebrated in a pretty much similar fashion compared to previous years. Yes, there were the abundance of good food for the reunion dinner, followed by the annual visit to the temples. But, compared to other years, it was also different. Nothing is ever similar, no matter how much we would like things to remained the same; they usually don’t. Unfortunately.

And, I got to meet one of the cutest boys alive this CNY. He is my lecturer’s kid, super cute and mischievous. Heh.

This was worth three ringgit, hours of pure hard work and yes, sweat.

Super thinly sliced arrowroots which are then deep fried, ‘nga ku’ in Cantonese. One of the most favourite homemade CNY delicacies. Whole family loved this, sissy bugged mom until she agree to fry it. Took them 5 hours, yo. Not easy, not easy. And, the hard work is all eaten up in 5 mins!

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2010’s Christmas Week!

Christmas is finally here! I know I’m a bit late in getting into the Christmasy celebration mood. Haha, well I admit, it’s been a rather hectic week for us all too, right? I mean, there are good food, awesome company, gifts and more good food and more …. well, you get the idea. :)

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Gu Yue Tien, Chulan Square

Daddy brought the family to this Chinese restaurant to celebrate the Winter Solstice festival. Basically, he decided to come after reading a food review in The Star newspaper. Apparently, they serve really rare, good Hong Kong delicacies. (And also, because there is a All You Can Eat promotion going on now.)

 Delicacies like what, you ask? Guess what is dish is this.

itisducktongues!

Like OMG right?! There is even a soft bone in the middle!

Grilled squids! This is tasty, must try if you’re there.

Unagi rolls! This reminds me of something rather Vietnamese. Delicious, another must try.

 This is Fried Oyster and it doesn’t taste as good as it looks. The fritter batter was too thick and the oyster didn’t even taste like an oyster.

A word of advice, don’t eat their fried stuff and oh, the Shangai Siew Long Bao too. Overall, the food is just so-so. If I had to pick between a roadside stall to this restaurant, I might consider the stall actually. I feel so mean. LOL.

Well, I don’t look mean here. :)

 

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The Christmas Turkey Lunch!

“Another meaning for the word Jakun in the classic Malay is a derogatory term for a person who doesn't know something common. – Wikipedia”

Call me a ‘jakun’ but I have never seen a whole roasted turkey in my whole entire life before. But I have eaten one before, so actually I’m not that bad actually. So, I was kind of excited when my uncle and aunt told me that this year, they will be making a roasted turkey for their Christmas lunch!

 Grilled tomatoes, garlic and onions! And no, the turkey is not underneath that foil.

The 4 hours long stuffed roasted turkey is here!

Ta-da! Looks like a huge bird to me! The butt is covered with a lemon to prevent the pork belly and chestnut fillings from spilling out. And there is bacon on the skin of the turkey!

  Mumsy with the baked potatoes and Mr. 5.5 kg turkey. Aunt Tracy ready to ‘murder’ the turkey. Muahaha.

Me, the tree and mumsy.

We look so happy here, it feels like a crime to smile. Hahaa.

 

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Boxing Day Date with J.

Uh-huh. I finally managed to meet up with my beloved, Julia on Dec 26. I haven’t seen her for months. Oh, god. I do miss high school when we could see each other every other day. Since I’ve got free passes to watch Gulliver’s Travel, I asked her out and surprise surprise, her schedule was free. You must understand that J is a very busy woman. HAHAHA. Which is quite true actually.

So, let me rate the movie. Out of 10, I give it 6 only. Honestly, the movie didn’t really emphasize much on Jack Black’s natural humour. Basically, the script and the storyline is tad boring although they tried to inject humour into it. But somehow, it doesn’t really work.

See the top right picture? It was taken in the Kitschen changing room where I spend gazillion hours buying dresses and I just left J sitting outside waiting for me to get-it-done-and-over-with-already. Luckily, her knight in shining armour aka Daryl came and rescued her from her shopping-crazy-best-friend which is me. And that is Daryl, in the pink Polo shirt.

 

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Meet my new love!

Sticky Candies = FTW, especially the lemon ones. :D I want more.

A huge thanks to my friend who got it for me.

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