Back home for the CNY! Hopped on a notoriously-charged flight to home 2 days before CNY and stuffed myself silly as one would expect.
Disclaimer: I shall not be held liable for pangs of homesickness and extreme hunger! Tons of photos!
Behold, the glorious lunch that awaits -
Assam or tamarind prawns. Crispy and nomness. So sedap with plain steamed rice. Tua Ee outdid herself again.
It was Ah Ma's pai pai day and special meals were prepared. Tu tor th'ng, lor bak, lor chicken, jiu hu char, tamarind prawns and stir fried veggies.
One of my top favourite items are the little Jiu Hu Char wraps. Butterhead lettuce, one generous spoonful of Jiu Hu Char and sambal with a squeeze of calamansi lime. Wrap and consume. It is orgasmic. So homesick now!
My chubiiii Pickles!! She's in her 100s now, sloth-moving and mostly found snuggled underneath the couch. Sayanggg pikuuu
Slaving away at Tua Ee's place in anticipation for the reunion dinner. Ok, fine, most of the work has already been done by mom and the aunts; I was there just to finish up. Still, I've always enjoyed my time in the kitchen - even just for chopping and slicing, really therapeutic.
The usual suspects!
Reunion dinner fare- steamboat!
The night was pleasantly cool (almost an oxymoron to the Chinese New Year!), we had a heavy downpour on the night itself - Sar Ee with her 2 dogs arrived later and there was a bit of a circus getting the dogs out dry! But rain and steamboat are the perfect combination. I am sighing just reminiscing about it :)
All the necessecities in place and ready to be ravaged upon. Prawns, fish fillets, mushroom and pork balls, fish maw, mushrooms, tofu, crab meatballs, noodles, leafy greens, noodles and best of all - a heart pork-based broth and plenty of garlic oil to flavour it.
Pikuuuuu
Ta-dah!!
Sisters with yee-sang
***
First day of CNY Mum was already shouting at the top of her lungs from downstairs for us to wake up (it was only 8am, in my defense!!) because the lion dance troupe is on their way.
Got a bit of a flyaway firecracker projectiled towards my leg during the lion dance :/
Dong-dong-chiang! You really don't need an alarm clock on the first few days of Chinese New Year. Rest assured that you will be awakened by the thundering beat of the drums and clashing of cymbals.
Vietnamese filter coffee, brewed with love ;)
Can pakai onot?
After a breakfast of Indonesian layer cake, chocolate cakes and CNY cookies, we are off to Kulim, an hour away from SP.
Our Kulim Ah Kow is THE BEST cook ever! I just can't get enough of the Lor Bak and her Jiu Hu Char. I am almost salivating at the thought of it.
Freshly plucked bok choy from Ah Kow's garden, deep fried "bak kean" (OMGsogood), stir-fried mixed veg super kaw tu tor th'ng... ahh... nothing beats the traditional CNY meal! Chopped chillis with soy sauce is a must to complete the meal! Preferably washed down with ice-cold Shandy ;)
And finally a new addition to our reunion dinners. It is starting to be a bore with the same old faces, a little baby girl does indeed sets the tone!
Aiyoh excited sampai blur
This is pretty much Dad the whole night. Inseparable from little Meagan!.
MCC and gang
PCC BKK and Ji Ee
Family and "ke ko"
Cousins with a subtle gender disparity.
And finally, everyone in!
Releasing our wish lanterns into the early Spring nights.
MY wishes were at least 100-word long, and THAT lantern seemed to have a hard time floating towards the sky, hehe.
One of the items I must consume everytime I go home - Taman Intan mee goreng. Generous portions of cuttlefish and sticky and yummy.
Short trip to Penang to meet the bff. Happy birthday, Evan!
And finally, my favourite nasi kandar combo. Ayam masak kicap, acar, okra in fish curry gravy, heapings of fish curry gravy and sotong nomnomnom.
There's no place like home, sigh!
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