Chinese New Year 2006

i had reunion dinner with my family just now. we used to have it at my granny’s house but stopped ever since she passed away a few years ago. reunion dinner for us now is just a simple affair at home, which is exactly how i like it — dinner with just family. for us, having a meal together comes just once a year.

it was steamboat with a lot of food like chicken, abalone, scallops, prawns, etcetera. as usual, mom overestimated and bought way too many ingredients. after each of us had been stuffed with food, there was still plenty left over. so we’re gonna have a second reunion dinner again next week.

after dinner we went to chinatown to immerse in the chinese new year atmosphere. there was this bolivian couple busking and they played some very enjoyable music! after each piece of music, they were met with loud applause and people were generously giving them money. i had rarely seen musical buskers who were this good or popular.

walking along the rows of makeshift stalls set up for the occasion was a tight squeeze all the way; there were just so many people that the human traffic was stagnant at times and it felt very stuffy. but it wasn’t my first time so i got used to it. stall holders were peddling their wares and chinese new year goods were going at huge discounts. stuff like the taiwanese muah chee, chinese new year decor and potted plants were in abundance. in particular, we noticed this rather curious looking plant.

it was the first time we had seen it. upon closer inspection, it looked like a small tree made completely out of yellow fruit! no leaves!

there was also a stall selling mai ya tang (malt sugar candy) in various flavours such as grape, blueberry and chocolate. very colorful!

each one came at $1.20 which i thought was rather expensive for a sweet. nonetheless i had never tried mai ya tang before so i got myself an orange one. i love the dancing kitten wrapper!

as it drew closer to midnight, people began finding good spots to view the fireworks. look at the human mass!

the fireworks display this time was a rather short one. actually i think they used up most of their fireworks supplies during the new year count down at the esplanade.

it wasn’t exactly spectacular. still, fireworks isn’t something you get to see everyday, so no complaints there. plus, we got a good non-crowded spot to view the fireworks.

alright going to sleep now. would be leaving early in the morning for pengerang in johor to visit my malaysian relatives. we do this every year. it would be a three-hour car ride there and i just hope i don’t get car-sick. and i haven’t even packed!

ramly burgers, satay, and a couple of days without internet, here i come!

Posted by Veron · Uncategorized category · 11,960 views