Chinese New Year (Day 7)

Date: 20 February 2010, Saturday
Venue: Aunty Mary's house
Occasion: Family & friends gathering for "everyone's birthday" (Day 7 is known in Chinese as "everyone's birthday"/"yan yat") celebration.

This shall be the last of my CNY posts...hahaha...yes, I know it's LONG overdue, but hey, I was caught up with tonnes of other more important agendas. Furthermore, I've no idea why I lack motivation & "mood" to blog these days, resulting to the delay in blog posts *sigh* It's either the terrible humid/hot weather or it's just erm... hormones? *lol*

Anyone has any suggestions on how to boost up my motivation to blog? :D

The 7th day of CNY marks the day to celebrate "everyone's birthday" as it is believed that everyone is considered one year older as of that date. You could read more about such traditions & beliefs in the following websites: Wikipedia, Chinese Culture Centre San Francisco.

On this day, my dad's side of the family gathered for a simple home-cooked dinner, along with some of my cousin's friends & relatives. My aunty Mary pretty much single-handedly prepared all the food that you're about to view in this post! Of course, my cousin, Lynn, & the rest of the household assisted the chef of the day ;)

Fresh Fruit Salad in a Peacock
Pretty, right? Lynn did this herself & is extremely proud of her creation :D If you want to know how to DIY, check out her blog.

Fried Noodles
It's common to find fried noodles during birthday dinners as the long noodles symbolizes longevity. I love fried noodles, especially when there's curry to go with :P

Chicken Curry
To my greatest delight, curry there was! :D *such joy* This curry was really delicious. It's different from my mum's style of cooking curry, but it's lovely nonetheless

Vegetable Achar
One of the best you will ever come across! This achar is my grandaunt's specialty. She has been making this for years & it gets better each year ;)

Vegetable Curry
Aunty Mary cooked this too (I assume). Vegetable curry is one of the family's favourite. It's easy to cook & vegetables are good for you too!

Stir-Fried Turnip with Carrots, Mushrooms, & Dried Shrimps
Looks plain & too simple for your appetite? Check out the next photo & you'll know what's this dish for...

Pie Tee!
Aunty Mary is the only aunt who does this & does it well. The crispy 'cup' that holds the turnip mix is a very refreshing & appetizing starter. However, as a Chinese, I can eat this anytime & in whichever part of the meal, be it starters, main course, or dessert! Hahaha...

Assortment of the Salty, Sweet, & Sour
Interesting mix, huh? There were diced salted eggs, small cubes of salted fish, fried small ikan bilis, & cucumbers + pineapples in vinegar & sugar. Oolala...this is life! It's lovely when eaten with rice, especially if the rice is cooked with coconut milk, pandan leaves, & ginger a.k.a. nasi lemak!! *drools*

*drumrolls* Dessert was up next!
Home-made 'tau foo fa'!! The 2 sisters were having much fun scooping the 'tau foo fa' & the ginger-syrup

Aunty Mary's Home-Made 'Tau Foo Fa'
Smooth tofu with fragrant ginger syrup. Syiok! Anyone wants some? :D Perhaps my aunt may consider doing this as a part-time business...though I doubt she'll be bothered to put so much effort unless she really wants to (for family functions like this!) Rock on, Aunty Mary!

It's half a month since CNY ended & blogging this makes it feel as if CNY ended just yesterday! Despite the fact that I didn't really soak into the CNY mood (since PJ/KL was terribly quiet during the festive season), I'm thankful for family & friends whom I got to meet & spend time with during the 'free-time' that I had.

PerutBesi is looking forward to a Year 2010 to spend with family & friends! Oh ya, I'm also learning to spend time with 'myself' - something that I rarely get to do & have trouble doing so as I am too used to spending most of my time with others (except for my bath & sleep time).

The next post shall be a great one, I promise you. It shall be a post on my recent holiday weekend with some friends! Stay tuned & keep the comments pouring in!!


*burppp*
Ruth