Golden Tiger Reunion Dinner

Was in Sitiawan for CNY and boy, was the weather hot hot hot.
I could sweat even while sitting under the fan in Grandma's house.
We were the first to arrive in Sitiawan and soon the whole family started to trickle in one by one till the house was full.


Somehow, the spirit of CNY only comes alive when everyone is squeezed into the house together while cookies and conversations flying in all directions!
It's the havoc of having little cousins running here and there...adults catching up on gossips... that somehow makes me appreciate having such a large family.
Various personalities all thrown together for a few days means many funny moments and drama =P
Okay lar...the havoc and craziness is great for a few days only.
I like my home to be peaceful and quiet.


The 1st visitor caused lots of excitement in Grandma's house....

Uncle John brought home a large roast piggy!!!

It's super yummilicious as the tasty meat is still warm and juicy with crunchy golden brown skin *drool*

Poor piggy got chopped up...

As usual, the hype of CNY is the reunion dinner and everyone dressed up even in little Sitiawan.

Yeah...it boggles the mind but I dressed up too =P

Reunion dinner was at Bei King Restaurant's new building. Bei King is famous as they serve the best Foochow food in Sitiawan. We've been to many restaurants in the past but I still like Bei King the best =)

From the deco...most likely this place would be hosting lots of wedding banquets in the future.

The hall was very spacious and everything is new with good ventilation. I reckon it could accommodate more than 100 tables.

Sat at table No. 25. In the past, they would put our family name on the table cards and now that got replaced by a number =(

Before anything else, Melaine wanted to camwhore =P

I'm wearing my RM30+ dress...I know it's black okay...that's why I had my red spaghetti top on as well =)

There's this very peculiar habits of Sitiawanites...whenever there's a dinner banquet be it wedding, birthday etc...you'll find plastic bags on the table. That's for you to tapau(take away) the leftovers. It's a common practice, so no need to feel shy =P

Clockwise : Me, Melaine, Sarah, Ann & Hannah

1st dish of the night...lou sang

Royal Salute 21 years old =)

Four season dish which looks kinda bland and unappetizing.

Surprisingly...it tasted pretty good thanks to the amount of yummy seafood used to prepare the dish. There's scallops, sea cucumber, sea asparagus, clams, fish and fatt choy (the black stringy moss)

Shark's fin soup topped with dried scallops.

I like the light texture of the soup as it's not starchy. Just wished that they didn't put sliced ham into the soup...it just doesn't go well together with the shark's fin.

With 2 brothers as my bodyguard...

Edwin - he's only 14 and so much taller than me!!!(btw...I'm wearing 4 inches heels), Me, Nic and Cheng Yan who is only 11 years old. Wonder what my aunts are feeding these boys =P

Edwin was kinda shy to take pic with all his pretty cousins ;P

I'm the oldest among all the cousins in the pic...

Braised pork and chicken with man tau

Cod fish steamed and fried. Gone in 5 mins. It was that yummy.

A signature Foochow dish. Fish maw in sweet and sour soup. It was a little spicy but I loved it. The soup was thick enough and the fish maw has a nice bite to it.

Braised mushrooms...

Fried prawns and soft shell crabs with salad on the side.

Desserts were longan with mango pudding and some pink kuih

These signs got people to stop in their tracks and looking baffled. When I first noticed the "pipe" and "shoes", I actually thought they had a smoking room and a shoe closet (no idea why I thought that people needed a place to store their shoes when they go for dinner in this place). In case you're still wondering...it's Male(pipe) and Female(shoes) signs for the washroom. Guess Sitiawanites are kinda creative when it comes to things like this.

Our family needed 4 table for the reunion dinner and that's without everyone in the family present.

Eric's in Macau, cousin Melissa is in Russia, aunt Belinda's family is in the USA and aunt Helena's family couldn't join in our non-Halal dinner.

We miss all of them...how I wish everyone could be there together.

Anyways, in our family, angpows are given out right after dinner when everybody gathers in Grandma's house.

Grandma will start the ball rolling and soon it gets a little chaotic as we go around hunting for my little(who were playing fire crackers) and not-so-little(you know who you are =P) cousins to give them their angpows.

I received a few angpows myself...Eric too =)

How fast the year goes by and how fast my cousins grow up.

If only time could slow down a little...I feel like I'm getting old really fast too!

Here's wishing everyone had a joyous and memorable reunion dinner with family and friends.

Gong Xi...Gong Xi!!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Happy New Year to everyone who is welcoming the year of the Tiger.
May you roar through the year with abundance of wealth and happiness.


"Meow meowwww...meow meowwww" (translation : "Gong Xi...Gong Xi")
-The "Pussycat" Rooster -

Looking for Red

I know CNY is just days away.
Unfortunately, the only new garment I have bought is a red panty,
Yup, only one.
I tried getting a nice red top or dress.
Seems like the colour of choice this year is orange instead of red.
Orange is so not my colour...doesn't match my skin tone lar.
Relatives would also be wondering why an orange is hanging out in Grandma's house.
I want to eat oranges, not look like one -_-

Have been eating lots as well recently thanks to aunt Serene who gave us so many containers of cny goodies that she made herself.
I can't seem to stop munching while reading Nelson Mandela's memoirs.
I'm only about 1/3 through the book and some parts are boring.
But it definitely opened my eyes about South Africa.
The courage it took to fight for freedom and sacrifices that not many would make.
I bought the book for mum last year I think.
But I don't know why I chose to read it this past week.
Maybe there's a message for me from above...maybe it's a sign.
I really think it is.

I'm again in a stage of imbalance.
Though now I know what to expect for the next few months, it has left me feeling a little overwhelmed.
So many things to think about...decisions...decisions...decisions.
I'm not sure what are my expectations anymore, which is bothering me more than it should actually.
I'm feeling the pressure to achieve which is not something new but it's getting on my nerve.
Just let me be...I am who I am.
I can't be you and I don't want to be.
Deal with it.

Okay...I sound bitter.
Well...I kinda am.
Maybe I should snack on some dessert to sweetened things up a little.
I'm just going through one of my mood swings...part and parcel of being a Gemini =P

Things are changing...very fast.
Just gotta keep up or else I'll fall.

Klang Wedding and Bak Kut Teh

Yesterday was a super early day for us gals.
Got up before 6am O_O...haven't done that since OBC days.
Joverse stayed over at my house so both of us could make our way to Klang together gether la.
Klang is still a very foreign place to me so we made arrangements to meet Regina and trailed her to Shey Imm's house =)
No point trying to be smart aleck and get lost in Klang at an ungodly hour isn't it?
We got there safe and sound and the bride was just about ready....so obviously must camwhore lar before the bridegroom arrive with the angpows =P

Me, Joverse, Regina, Yann Mei and Shey Imm the bride.

After much "hardship" and lots of angpows...Lai managed to get his bride from the clutches of her "chee muis". Congratulations you two!

Ahem...Charlie's Angels in Klang...this is Regina, Yann Mei and me camwhoring again by the road. Me trying to show my artistic side with the camera...not bad right? =P

After Shey Imm left with Lai for Johor...I can't wait to go breakfast.

I was so hungry and also sleepy.

So Regina took us for some Klang bak kut teh.

Since in Klang already...sure must have some bak kut teh lar.

This bak kut teh place was recommended to Regina by her friend.

It's located at the back of the Klang Hokkien Association which was said to be pretty famous.

Since it was a first visit for all 3 of us...we kinda had a little trouble finding the place.

It's quite secluded okay.

Luckily there's an arrow at a signboard at the association's entrance pointing the way.

See....I didn't bluff...secluded right? Who would've guessed there's a restaurant at the back lorong?

Yeoh's Bah Kut Teh...only open for business during breakfast and lunch. Closed on Monday and got website somemore =D

Here, you're given a packet of tea leaves and a teapot with a few little teacups to brew your own Chinese tea. There are kettles with boiling water stationed nearby just for this purpose so it's quite dangerous if you're bringing kids to this place.

Yau char kuai came first and the portion so small leh.

Our pot of bah kut teh...looks yummy doesn't it? Luckily the bak kut teh soup got colour and not those clear type. Whenever I see clear bak kut teh, it makes me feel kinda cheated...it's as if they never put enough herbs and ingredients mar.

We also ordered some organic golden needle mushrooms. Damn little also lor =(

A plate of vege which I didn't even touch =P

What surprised me the most was the fact that they have a branch in Hong Kong.

Check out their website for their menu and more pics. 

So...would I go back to Yeoh's when I have bak kut teh cravings?

Probably yes if I'm in the area.

But I won't be driving there all the way from Subang just for it.

It's not that yummilicious to make the journey.

Somehow, I still think my usual leng chai bak kut teh shop in SS14 Subang is the best =P

Drooping

After days of cleaning and rearranging the library (which is still not completed yet!) and then a busy weekend, I now resemble a drooping flower (I droop very prettily one okay)

Saturday was spent going around Klang with Yann Mei and Regina.
Thankfully we made it to Regina's house without much drama except to miss the turning into her taman coz' the road was missing it's name sign *faints*

We busybodied a little in Regina's home and then she took us to AEON Bukit Tinggi which was pretty impressive as it has many of the popular retail outlets and lots of food options.
Walked around alot and my feet was kinda killing me but we were on a mission.
Gotta get a gift for Shey Imm as we're headed to her house later somewhere in Klang for dinner.
After alot of window shopping...erm...for ourselves...finally decided on a gift and off we went for yumcha.
Remember my feet?
Yeah..it needed rest =P

Shey Imm was having her Chinese bachelorette dinner and there were more than 200+ people that night.
We managed to get a table and the gossiping didn't stop till we had to leave!
Regina then took me and Yann Mei for a drive to i-City to look at some lights display since both of us obviously doesn't venture into that area very often.
It was definitely a fun day out with the gals.
We talked and laughed so much the whole day...I ended up too tired to sleep.
Finally slept at around 4am -_-

And had to wake up at 9am the next morning.
I volunteered to help out with Aunt Serene and Mum's little project of making "kuih kapit" (love letters).
Using charcoals and it was bloody hard work I tell you!
I wouldn't say it was a failure as we managed to make some crunchy kuih kapit...but QC was kinda lax =P
After hours of sweat and aching arms...only managed to produce 2 big biscuit containers!
I was in charged of fanning the charcoal so that productivity increases and now my arms feel like they're dropping of...long time never use my upper arm muscles since stopping bootcamp =(

Brain not really working right now...so that's it for now.