It has been a good 4 days of Chinese New Year, especially for Anthea and Anders since they need not go to school... : )
除夕夜 - Reunion dinner :
As usual, we had steamboat at my Parents in law home. This year we had a special dish – Braised Abalone and it was delicious, I truly enjoyed this dish.
After dinner, my MIL’s siblings came over and joined us for dessert. We had a good time chatting till almost 11 pm. Both Anthea and Anders had a good time, playing with their uncle MK.
除夕夜 - Reunion dinner :
As usual, we had steamboat at my Parents in law home. This year we had a special dish – Braised Abalone and it was delicious, I truly enjoyed this dish.
After dinner, my MIL’s siblings came over and joined us for dessert. We had a good time chatting till almost 11 pm. Both Anthea and Anders had a good time, playing with their uncle MK.
We stayed awoke and watched the Chinese variety program and joined them for the countdown. Both Anthea and Anders were excited and started singing the Chinese New Year songs. I always enjoy counting down, especially with all the Love ones. Also as the traditional practice, when the children stay awake as late as possible; their parents will enjoy Longevity (守岁). We slept around 1 am.
大年初一 ：Day 1, 07 Feb 2008:
Early in the morning, Adrian went to the temple and pray because this year he 犯太岁。 At the same time, he also prayed for Anthea, as her zodiac is also on the list. May this year be peaceful for them.
Our 1st stop for visiting was my Parents In law house. We had lunch at their place. After that we headed to my parent’s place. My eldest uncle (大舅) happened to come by my parent’s place. We chatted up a little and then went home for the children to have their power nap.
In the evening, we went to my MJ kakis gathering at Mag’s house. She bought a resale property near to her parents place and her new home is very nicely done. Both Anthea and Anders had so much fun at her place because she had a room full of children stuff. Both of them liked the whiteboard so much that they kept asking us to buy for them.
It was really good to be able to catch up with all of them and knowing how each and everyone is progressing. We are looking forward to our next gathering when our “老大” celebrates his 2nd baby full month, his wife is currently expecting and EDD is August 2008.
大年初二 ：Day 2, 08 Feb 2008 :
In the morning, we brought Anthea and Anders to the swimming pool for a morning swim as the weather was very nice and sunny.
We met my MIL at the pool and while she helped to looked after the children, Adrian and I did our laps.
After a good round of workout, we met up with our extended families at Man Fu Yuan @ Intercontinental hotel for Dim Sum lunch. We had 2 tables in their privates’ rooms – Jasmine & Begonia. My MIL’s siblings and families also joined us for the lunch. We had “鱼生” and with our uncle HT around, our table were full of “發! 發 ! 發 !” . May all of us have a prosperous year ahead. We had an enjoyable meal with the relatives and especially Anthea; she requested to be seated with her uncle Kiat... : )
After a hearty Dim Sum lunch, we went home to rest. In the evening, we went to my 大舅 open house. It’s a tradition that we meet at his home at every Chinese New Year and it makes giving 紅包easier when all the cousins are together.
For dinner, my 舅母ordered a 盆菜 (pen cai) from Old Hong Kong restaurant. This is my 1st time sampling this dish and I find it quite nice. However, my aunties, who are experts with food, all commented that the dish was so – so and next year, my aunty said she will cook her own food...hee. Dinner spread was very sumptuous – steam garoupa, oyster with “fai choi”, special double boiled soup, fried vegetables and a special fried pig heart dish.
At the dinner table, there were so many primary school registration information/tips shared by one of my cousin as she had twins who just started Primary 1 this year.
It was a very meaningful gathering, especially for the children to know of these relatives whom they will meet once a year. Of course, they had a good collection of “ang pows” from the 舅公and 姨婆.
The children had a chance to play with “firework” (烟花) and they had fun playing with the twins, Samuel & Daniel and their younger sister, Sarah.
We left for home after a fun filled day of 拜年。
大年初一 ：Day 1, 07 Feb 2008:
Early in the morning, Adrian went to the temple and pray because this year he 犯太岁。 At the same time, he also prayed for Anthea, as her zodiac is also on the list. May this year be peaceful for them.
Our 1st stop for visiting was my Parents In law house. We had lunch at their place. After that we headed to my parent’s place. My eldest uncle (大舅) happened to come by my parent’s place. We chatted up a little and then went home for the children to have their power nap.
In the evening, we went to my MJ kakis gathering at Mag’s house. She bought a resale property near to her parents place and her new home is very nicely done. Both Anthea and Anders had so much fun at her place because she had a room full of children stuff. Both of them liked the whiteboard so much that they kept asking us to buy for them.
It was really good to be able to catch up with all of them and knowing how each and everyone is progressing. We are looking forward to our next gathering when our “老大” celebrates his 2nd baby full month, his wife is currently expecting and EDD is August 2008.
大年初二 ：Day 2, 08 Feb 2008 :
In the morning, we brought Anthea and Anders to the swimming pool for a morning swim as the weather was very nice and sunny.
We met my MIL at the pool and while she helped to looked after the children, Adrian and I did our laps.
After a good round of workout, we met up with our extended families at Man Fu Yuan @ Intercontinental hotel for Dim Sum lunch. We had 2 tables in their privates’ rooms – Jasmine & Begonia. My MIL’s siblings and families also joined us for the lunch. We had “鱼生” and with our uncle HT around, our table were full of “發! 發 ! 發 !” . May all of us have a prosperous year ahead. We had an enjoyable meal with the relatives and especially Anthea; she requested to be seated with her uncle Kiat... : )
After a hearty Dim Sum lunch, we went home to rest. In the evening, we went to my 大舅 open house. It’s a tradition that we meet at his home at every Chinese New Year and it makes giving 紅包easier when all the cousins are together.
For dinner, my 舅母ordered a 盆菜 (pen cai) from Old Hong Kong restaurant. This is my 1st time sampling this dish and I find it quite nice. However, my aunties, who are experts with food, all commented that the dish was so – so and next year, my aunty said she will cook her own food...hee. Dinner spread was very sumptuous – steam garoupa, oyster with “fai choi”, special double boiled soup, fried vegetables and a special fried pig heart dish.
At the dinner table, there were so many primary school registration information/tips shared by one of my cousin as she had twins who just started Primary 1 this year.
It was a very meaningful gathering, especially for the children to know of these relatives whom they will meet once a year. Of course, they had a good collection of “ang pows” from the 舅公and 姨婆.
The children had a chance to play with “firework” (烟花) and they had fun playing with the twins, Samuel & Daniel and their younger sister, Sarah.
We left for home after a fun filled day of 拜年。
大年除三 ：Day 3, 09 Feb 2008
We had an invitation by my SIL’s mother for a steamboat lunch at the Bright Hill Temple (光明上寺庙). This is the Aces family 1st time to the temple for such an occasion and I must say the experienced was very good. My PIL’s also joined us for the lunch.
We had a vegetarian”愉生” and it was good. There were different varieties of vegetables, bean curd and vegetarian wanton for the steamboat. We also ate the 面线 (mee sua) which was very good.
I know from now onwards, we will try to visit this temple more often since it’s quite near to our house. It’s a good chance to encourage the children to pick up the study.
After lunch, we went to one of Adrian’s buddy’s house for visiting. It was a good chance for them to touch base and update each other on the latest. There were so much goodies and food around the house.
We left his friend place in the late afternoon for the children to go home for their nap. In the evening, we had dinner with my PILs at Jack’s place. A nice and relaxing dinner. Then we went Popular Bookstore to buy the highly requested whiteboard. I bought 2 sets of the whiteboard. The children went home and started to do their drawings and writings.
大年初四：Day 4 : 10 Feb 2008
This is the only day we had no visiting. I did my household chores in the morning while Adrian brought the children to the swimming pool.
I prepared a simple lunch with a soup.
Then I asked my BIL to arrange for a game of Mahjong. I told Adrian Chinese New Year is incomplete without a game or two...hee.
Then my youngest BIL smsed me to confirm that we are all set for MJ session in the afternoon. I decided to prepare my “special dish” – 煎年糕.
I like this dish because it is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time because "nian gao" is a homonym for "every year higher and higher." 年糕 - 年高
So for tea break, we had the nian gao with tea.
We had a very game of Mahjong this time and there were so many “thrilling” moments. I knew that my heart misses so many beats...haha. I lost about $15 and my Father in law was the sole winner. He even started the game with a十三幺winning…what a game to start the year. : )
After dinner, my FIL gave us a treat to Mac café for the desserts.
Another fun filled day for us.
This Chinese New Year has been a good start for the Aces family; we managed to spend quality time with all our families, relatives and closed friends. I am glad that Anthea and Anders are growing to appreciate this kind of occasion and enjoyed the festive as much as we do.
恭喜发财，万事如意！！
大年初四：Day 4 : 10 Feb 2008
This is the only day we had no visiting. I did my household chores in the morning while Adrian brought the children to the swimming pool.
I prepared a simple lunch with a soup.
Then I asked my BIL to arrange for a game of Mahjong. I told Adrian Chinese New Year is incomplete without a game or two...hee.
Then my youngest BIL smsed me to confirm that we are all set for MJ session in the afternoon. I decided to prepare my “special dish” – 煎年糕.
I like this dish because it is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time because "nian gao" is a homonym for "every year higher and higher." 年糕 - 年高
So for tea break, we had the nian gao with tea.
We had a very game of Mahjong this time and there were so many “thrilling” moments. I knew that my heart misses so many beats...haha. I lost about $15 and my Father in law was the sole winner. He even started the game with a十三幺winning…what a game to start the year. : )
After dinner, my FIL gave us a treat to Mac café for the desserts.
Another fun filled day for us.
This Chinese New Year has been a good start for the Aces family; we managed to spend quality time with all our families, relatives and closed friends. I am glad that Anthea and Anders are growing to appreciate this kind of occasion and enjoyed the festive as much as we do.
恭喜发财，万事如意！！
5 comments:
What a lovely start for the new year!
Happy New Year to Aces Family :)
Last yr was the 1st time I tried peng cai :) There were so much food in a pot!
Eating your fried Nian Gao every year is a tradition that I look forward to.
Will train Faith to look forward to her Dwa Erm's yearly Nian Gao too ;)
Hi angelcow,
Yeah,was a load of fun.
Hi LZmommy,
True, there are so much food inside one small pot.. : )
Yo Eve,
As long as there is a demand, this dwa erm will surely try to meet the request/supply.
cheers,
astee
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
I like fried nian gao too! So good that you can do it well :)
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