15 Days of the Lunar New Year Comes to a Close (Part II).

Reunion Dinner: 初五.

L♥ and myself were invited over to Best's place for Reunion and to join the family in celebration of Aunt G's birthday as well. We got her a flora scarf and glad she loved it. Meeting the whole family for the first time was nice and warm. Really friendly and had great hospitality!

Reunion Dinner: 初六.
Families and friends we all knew since the old days gathered together to usher the 6th Day of the Lunar New Year. Great food, great company, and a bunch of good laughs too.

Nian Gao fried with egg and flour.

Reunion Dinner: 初七/人日.
The seventh day, traditionally known as 人日 (Ren Ri), common man's birthday, is the day when everyone grows one year older. In some Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when Yu Sheng is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity. And Yu Sheng we had!

For good health, prosperity, luck, etc.

Mom also cooked leek with tofu & prawns and 盆菜 (Poon Choi) also known as Pun Choi/Big Bowl Feast. It is a traditional Hakka dish originating from Hong Kong village, and is served in wooden, porcelain or metal basins. This dish is special as it is composed of many layers of different ingredients., and is also eaten layer by layer instead of "stirring everything up".

Ingredients added in this dish includes, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, ginseng, shark fin, fish maw, prawn, crab, drief mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried eel, dried shrimp, pigskin, beancurd and Chinese radishh.  For ours, Mom added chicken, abalone, fish maw, prawn, mushroom (dried shiitake and bai ling), scallop, sea cucumber, carrot, broccoli and Chinese cabbage.

All the rich goodness!


Day 13 (初十三).

Just Googled and found out that on the 13th day, people usually eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their stomach due to consuming too much food over the last two weeks. However, that didn't stop me from preparing a Korean Feast specially for dear Yina who has yet to try my cooking.

Earlier that day, L♥ and I made our way over to one of my ex-colleagues house for lunch and finally savored her mother's Mee Siam and curry chicken which I have longed for. It was also great that  everyone from the old gang were fully present. We played Black Jack (luckily I made $9) till it was time for me to head back home to cook.

Day 14 (初十四): 'Lantern Decoration Day'.

L's♥ clique aka 'The Saints' had their Reunion dinner at Wei Chen's place and it was my last round of steamboat and Yu Sheng till the next Lunar New Year.

The birthday boys, and many more years to come.

Have heard so much about the Lychee Martini cake from Pine Garden and it is officially my favorite cake now. Definitely going to order this for my birthday this year!

We were introduced to a new board game called 'Dixit Odyssey'. Besides Saboteurs, Dixit Odyssey is another great party game I had to get my hands on. I bought another good board game which I'll post about it soon.


Day 15 (初十五): Lantern Festival.

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as 元宵节 (Yuanxiao Festival), aka 上元节 (Shangyuan Festival), otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei (十五暝).

汤圆 (Tang Yuan), a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten on this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.

In Malaysia and Singapore, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking for a love partner, a Chinese version of Valentine's Day. And, did you know? Normally, single women would write their contact number on mandarin oranges and throw it in a river or a lake while single men would collect them and eat the oranges. The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate.

L♥ and I stopped by our favorite Ramen restaurant, Noodle House Ken for dinner after getting the board games. Tucked in a quiet corner away from the main street, this small Ramen stall was one of the first few food places we went when the both of us were still dating. Sure brings back memories!

Tucked in a quiet corner away from the main street, Noodle House Ken is not quite an easy spot to locate. And also, we had to wait around for a while because they only open at 6pm. They own two shopfronts but the kitchen bar had very little seats and unless it's a really cold day, I doubt I want to sit in there. The lady served us ice water immediately after we were seated and there are not a lot of choices on the menu so I guess they focus on quality > quantity.

I had the Miso Butter Ramen which had a big chunk of good quality creamy butter. YUM. The noodles were springy and the broth was tasty! As much as I am a fan of salty food, nothing beats well cooked broth with no MSG added! Makan's Boy Char Siew Ramen had big and thick slicings of tasty Char Siew and hearty portions always make us happy! Stewed egg in ramen is also very important and I am pleased to say theirs are of silky soft egg white and lava smooth egg yolk! =D

Overall this place has got good service and great tasting ramen but waiting time can be improved. Definitely one of the few ramen places that is of quality without burning a hole in your pocket.

Read the original post here.

Noodle House Ken
150 Orchard Road,
#01-17/18 Orchard Plaza
Singapore 238841

Tel: 6235-5540

Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 6pm to 2am (close on Sun)

With this, it marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

15 Days of the Lunar New Year Comes to a Close (Part I).

This CNY's schedule has been packed with visitations, entertainments, feasting and non-stop snacking on goodies. But yet another great holiday I very much enjoy, not because of the 'Ang Paos' (Red Packets) I'll receive but the gatherings with friends and loved ones.

Reunion Dinner: Eve of the Eve.

Just 2 weeks ago almost everyone in S'pore was talking about the enormous double rainbow they saw after a heavy downpour and I was lucky to catch the beautiful sight as well. Definitely something you don't get to see everyday. And, what a great way to start the Lunar New Year!  This was the best shot I could get while I was on the highway on the way to my Godsisters' place.

"YUMMMMM SENGGGG!"

Reunion Dinner: 除夕.

I missed last year's Reunion Dinner with L's♥ family and Paternal family due to a clash of another  family reunion dinner but this year, I managed to join them and I must say, "Glad I didn't miss it!".  The Yu Sheng was definitely the best I've eaten so far. Prepared by L's♥ auntie and uncle,  the ingredients were all so fresh. It was quite different from the usual ones I've eaten and if am not mistaken, lobster meat and abalone were even added to it. Everyone went for several rounds. That's how good it is!

It was also my first time having steamboat with porridge base which made everyone full really quickly because it was too starchy. Though it tasted not bad, we still preferred the soup base steamboat.

We played Black Jack after dinner and it was really funny how creative we got just to get the good luck "feng shui" to ourselves. From placing oranges to pineapple tarts to red packets. The night was certainly enjoyed!

Day 1 (初一): Welcoming the Water Dragon.
初一 started by attending mass followed by a vegetarian breakfast cooked by Mom this year is usually eaten on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The Ng Family has been following this traditional since my dad was a little boy.

As usual, we headed over to my maternal uncle's place for lunch cooked by my aunt. Dessert (red bean soup) was also made by her.

Later in the day, my youngest aunt & uncle together with my cousins and their little ones came over to my place to bai nian.

Dining area all set up with little surprises for third day of steamboat.

Remember my previous post on CNY DIYs? Here's a shot of my fortune cookies!

We bought our Yu Sheng from Sake Sushi but I personally felt that it wasn't as fresh tasting as it used to be or it could be that after having the one made by L's♥ auntie, I think no Yu Sheng beats hers? Maybe I should try doing my own Yu Sheng next year?

A nice full family photo before the crazy fun began whereby we all had to say, 'Gong Xi Fa Cai, Wan Shi Ru Yi.'

Blooper shots along the way..what a family I have! (laughs)

MJ session to end the first day of CNY.

Day 2 (初二): Reunion Lunch/Tea/Dinner.

Since Dad was not feeling too well so visitations to the rest of the relatives had to be postponed and just nice that L♥ was done with his visits, we made our way down to my Godsisters' place to bai nian, also because L♥ had missed the reunion dinner on the 21st. And, oh boy! We sure did not see it coming; Non-stop eating from the time we entered the house.

This Cheng Teng cooked by my Nanny was the best I say, had 10 bowls or more. She's definitely another brilliant cook.

It has been more than three years since I or rather the rest of the cousins last saw Sally Jie (left) and we were all excited that it totally slipped my mind to take a photo together. Hope to see her soon in a few months time because I hear wedding bells (G Jie and J Gor is finally tying the knot ♥)

Definitely L's♥ lucky day - banker takes it all; double As, ban lak 7 times (with 3 in a row to win it all).

Day 3 (初三): The Bestfriend Came Over.

After much feasting and snacking for the past few days, the stomach called for a day's break before working hard again for more to come. Best came over to bai nian; drank, tried his best to finish the goodies and snapped polaroids for our mini-DIY project.

Reunion Dinner: 初四.

The girls and boyfriends came over to my place for our steamboat cum BBQ Reunion Dinner instead of dining out since everywhere was packed and restaurants have jacked up their prices cause of the Lunar season.

10 continuous snaps - normal to totally insane.

One of the insane yet enjoyable nights to be remembered!