the first day of Chinese New Year fell on a Friday this year. this year, Jim's aunties from Malaysia and New Zealand and his cousin from Melbourne decided to come join us in Sydney for the annual reunion dinner. instead of keeping to tradition of having our reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve, we had it on the first day of Chinese New Year.
we kept to the family tradition of bringing a dish each and ended up with a total of eight dishes. there was yee sang, roast whole suckling pig, braised pork knuckles, steamed fish, butter prawns, eight treasures duck, braised veggies with dried oysters and ang koo. all these dishes have fancy names that signifies prosperity, good health and wealth. and we only get to eat them once a year. i wish i had taken photos of all the dishes but i was too busy digging in....oops!
here we are trying to take a family photo with everyone. in the first take, Jim and two of his uncles were missing as they were busy setting their cameras' timer. in the second take, everyone made it into the photo except not everyone is ready.
boo wore his traditional outfit from last year because it still fits and it looks more festive than any of the new clothes he has in his wardrobe. we'll have to buy a new set next year.
Chinese New Year used to be my favourite holiday season when i was living at home. i get to wear new clothes for at least three days in a row and we would spend at least three days as a family visiting relatives and friends together, collecting red packets from the uncles and aunties and the days are spent eating, eating and more eating.
on the first day of Chinese New Year, dad's side of the family would gather at our house for lunch and on the second day, it's mum's side of the family's turn. our house is always buzzing and filled with laughter and food.
the last photo is a bowl of red wine chicken with mee suah. it's a traditional dish in the family and a must eat dish during Chinese New Year. i made it for dinner on the third day of Chinese New Year for us using the rice wine i made at the end of last year. whilst Chinese New Year celebrations in Sydney is nothing compared to Malaysia, i think we did pretty well with keeping to tradition with a reunion dinner with the family and i hope we can continue this tradition in Sydney so that boo will remember his heritage and culture.
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