Organic Samm

Hubby’s family CNY traditions aside. Chor 2 is MY day. Each year, both my sisters and i will go back to our parent’s house to “Hoi Nin”, “chum cha” to them, and receive our angpows. Next, we’ll then proceed to our maternal Grandma’s house together. This year, the trip to Grandma’s house has been canceled. To be continued next year.

Dad passed away early last month and it’s not even 100 days yet. So, we cannot celebrate Chinese New Year as usual. Still, we went back to mom’s to chat and spend time with her. No angpows were given out this year though we can receive from friends and relatives. Mom didnt cook much this year. This is what i found inside the kitchen:

Steamed Waxed duck with lots of Chinese cabbage. A salty dish that only the Chinese can appreciate. Me, i’ll peel off all the skin before eating the waxed duck, lol. Geeeee…. all those wax on the duck can really clog up your arteries, man. But how come no “lap cheong” (Chinese sausage) and “yunn cheong” (liver sausage) wan??? Didnt buy gua. Not that i miss those also lah, k.

Next, is this pot of braised pig trotters with soy sauce and lots of chilli. A salty and spicy dish that goes well with plain white rice. Boy, i can go on and on with the rice just eating this. The pig trotters must be cooked for a long time in order for it to become soft. The kind that melts in your mouth lehh. The thick gooey gravy is really really addictive. As usual, i’ll only eat the lean parts, lol. I dare not eat the fatty skin, eeew eeeew eeeeeews.

And here’s a nice pic of the three sisters and mom. L-R: Samm, Adeline (sis 2), Cheow Meng (sis 1). Seated: Mom. So, do we look like we came out of the same factory? Who looks more like mom? Who’s the prettiest one of all. Say, me me me me me me. If not, i go ban your IP to eternity. Dun play-lay, hoh :p

And look at this wonderful pic. It’s my BIL 1. He loves my kids to bits and see how happy the kids were in his arms, lol. Eh, the more i look at my kids, hoh, the more they look like angmohs. Sure they’re mine ah??? We went back around 4 or 5pm, cant remember already. Hubby was pretty drunk as he had some German beer with 12% alcohol content, and also some whisky. That’s Chor 2 as far as CNY 2009 is concerned.

Today is Chor 3, meaning, the third day of Chinese New Year. I took a lot of pics these few days but didnt get the chance to sit here my pc. My BIL is back with his kid and wife, and since the guest room doesnt have an air-cond, everyone’s happily camping in mine, lol. Oh, i wont die if i dont sit here for a couple of days. It’s Chinese New Year after all, haimai.

Let me give you a quick run down of the past few days. We’ll start with Chinese New Year’s Eve. My MIL started cooking in the afternoon. She’s never had reunion dinner with us for as long as i remember as she prefers to eat with her eldest daughter’s family. Whatever it is, it’s fine by me as i’m already tired to trying to get her to eat home with us.

Here’s what we had for our Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner 2009:

This is the whole spread. I know, not much. Small family jek mah. Cook so much for what, lol. The freezer is still filled to the brim and if we feel like eating again, we can always cook more. Well, BIL loves to play masak-masak, wakakaka. he can have the pleasure of being the cook. Certainly not me.

Vegetables consist of cauliflower, snow peas, carrots, mushrooms and sliced pork. We love vegetables so much that one plate sure isnt enough.

Ahhhhh…. BIL’s favorite; Prawns. What this family has in abundance is lots and lots of seafood. We eat prawns almost 365 days a year. I married a seafood wholesaler’s son mah. Mah eat seafood for life lorr. I love it best with Maggi Mee. Well, Prawns signifies Hee Har Tai Siu, meaning lots of joy and laughter. Yeah, we are so gonna need lots of it during the current economic slowdown. If you’ve not had the chance to read what The Year Of The Ox brings, then go watch TVB Fortune Guide 2009 here.

This is Ma Yao. Why no pomfret, haimai. Haiya, every year also eat pomfret, mm sien gerr meh. Anyway, there’s a meaning as to why my FIL wants us to eat Ma Yao this year. Literally, it means, “Instantly Have”. Meaningful mah, haimai.Wuah, if lidis, hoh. Hari hari also i want to eat Ma Yao lerr.

Last on this list is this wrapped oysters. I have no idea how it’s made. But it’s kinda like a sausage with minced pork and oysters as the filling. Delicious when fried. This is overdone, sigh. Peel off the black part mah can stuff into the mouth lorr. Each year, IBS#2 will bring some over. Her MIL makes this each year for her friends and relatives. How nice, huh. Next time, what should i make leh?

And this is my #2, Malcolm, enjoying his meal with his cousin, Yuan-yuan. Three weeks younger than him and yet, looks more like one year older than him, lol. What did his mader feed him.???? *scratches head* What you dont see here is the pot of sea cucumber soup. Looks like Malcolm is more interested in the bottle of Vitagen than the soup. This year, it’s boiled with pork ribs instead of chicken. Hmmmmm…. just as good and nutritious as ever. So, this is what we had for Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner this year. What did you have?

Next up is Chor 1.