CNY '10

i knoww.. Chinese New Year ended like, a month ago? but an update's still an update. lol. though this year's CNY seemed a lil quieter than the previous year, i'm thankful cos it was well spent with both family and friends =)

first off, the reunion dinner. the only time of the year where there is roast duck, chicken and pork ('char siew' AND 'siew yuk'.. *drools*) all served in a meal. yumms. and silly me forgot to take a picture of it. =( but last i remembered, there were exactly 10 dishes served that night! yes, i'm serious! including steamed fish, my favourite fried 'meng kuang' with fresh lettuce, fish belly soup, fried vegetable, braised sea cucumber with mix vegetables and not forgetting the traditional cantonese dishes of waxed meat ('lap mei': waxed sausages and duck meat) and braised mushrooms with muscles and 'fatt choy'.. another favourite chinese new year dish of mine ever since i was a kid.. me just *hearts* mushrooms to bits! then after was plain chill out session with a lil chit chat here and there.

DAY 1: started the day all dressed up in red, ready to usher in the new year! first with collecting BIG 'ang pows' from daddy, mummy and grannie greeting the elders and wishing them good health, longevity, wealth and happiness in those bombastic cantonese phrases which i have yet to master them all. haha then comes the 2nd most important meal of the festive, the first meal of the day which definitely must have a vegetarian dish. rice for breakfast, or somewhat brunch. there's just something about china men and rice. haha.. i dont know. i must admit that i'm a bit of a westernised Chinese. sad to say, dont really know much about my own roots. =( well, i shall find out about it one day =) for now, feast your eyes on the glorious food my mum and grannie prepared.

as always, daddy's liquor is a must. lol daddy the alcoholic, mummy the caffeine-holic/coffee addict, korkor the computer-holic/geek and me, the shopaholic of the family. we make a great team. lols

the complete set of dishes with the vegetarian dish in the middle. yuuumms.

after food, camwhore time! our annual family photo session. forgot to get those photos from dad's camera... =( but only the ones from my phone.. better than none =)

korkor, mummy dearest and yours truly.

somehow me likey this picture very much. probably cos bro finally smiled properly in this one. lol still, the colour and all makes it purrfectt! (considering that it's taken with a 3.2 megapixle phone only lehhh.. =))

bro and i

yes people, for the 15,749,398th time, he is my elder brother.. haha.. we are not twins therefore we dont look alike though we do share some common features.. notice our very superly long oval shaped face, fairly wide smile with our straight row of larger-than-usual set of teeth and, our fair skin. so, please dont sound so amazed that we're blood related. lols

aunt suzanne (the one and only closest aunt from daddy's side) and i

sadly, she recently left for Abu Dhabi to be with her hubby.. she makes the best companion to gossip, shop and hangout with! plus, my personal beautician and hairdresser =) now who's going to have a hard time handling my unruly wavy hair and my volcanic face. meh. hopefully i'll be able to pay her a visit by end of this year. woots! Abu Dhabi here i comeee~! screw Melbourne. (sorry ann, no offence LOL =P)

well, during this cny, i spent most of my free afternoons in the kitchen.. trying very hard to be the next famous amy. lols and guess what? batch 2 cookies tasted NEARLY somewhat like my favourite famous amos chocolate chip cookies! but the recipe wasnt really the same la.. still, i was in 7th heaven the moment i popped one freshly baked one into my mouth~! yumms. n again, the silly me forgot to take a picture of it. jeffery said it looks like cow shit (idiot), bro complained that there wasnt enough chocolate chips (as always) but daddy, mummy, granduncle philip, chou and wen said they loved it!! ♥

batch 3 : chocolate chip and raisin oatmeal cookies for daddy and also zheng which they both loved =)
i found myself a new guinea pig who appreciates my bakes. yay!

now, as a penangnite, one must, MUST go and pay a visit to the kek lok si temple during the festive season. it's the only time of the year when it's all light up prettily with decorative lights and lanterns. and again, i'm ashamed that i've never been there after all these years till now. lol it's simply beautiful, somewhat like a scene in Avatar at the ancestral trees or something..

i highly recommend this place to all the shutterbugs..

the place is filled with like, probably thousand over red and yellow lanterns.. occupying ever square inch of the ceilings and the edges of the roof tiles.. pweety.. me.likes. =)

apart from that would be the usual house hoping from the lim's to the fong's to the lee's and to the chew's, the meetups, gambling sessions, the endless partying and chilling sessions ♥ and the farewells =(

managed to party with yi xin again before she head back to kiwi land! =)

all in all, i was blessed with a fun filled week =)

♥