: : Chinese New Year Day 1 ~ 9 February 2005 : :

A belated posting but I do hope that you do enjoy it. 9 houses visited on the 9th of February, year 2005.

House #1

Ah Ban : Come in, come in. Happy New Year!

2nd Auntie : Hi Wena! Come come. Try some cookies.

Wena : Thanks Auntie. Always look forward to eating your animal cookies.

2nd Auntie : (Beams). I have this every year.

Wena : (Grin) I know.

House #2

1st Uncle : Hi Wena! Come in.

Wena : Hi Uncle, Auntie.

Aunt Mimi : Here, try some delicious cookies.

Wena : Very pretty plate Auntie.

Aunt Mimi : Thanks.

House #3

Wena : Hello Auntie! (Aunt Mimi’s sister) 1st time I’ve been to your house.

Auntie : Wah! Really ah! Come come come! Have something to eat.

Wena : Ok, just one. Have to rush to my next house else my collegues will grumble at me for being late. Aiya! Already late! Gotta go! Bye bye!

House #4

Wena : Sorry sorry. Busy doing the family rounds.

Patrick : For that, have to eat more.

Wena : Errr…

Patrick : Aiya! Just joking lah! Here, have some nasi lemak (Fatty Rice – direct translation). Curry chicken cooked by my wife.

Wena : Oohh! Very nice and tasty!

From this point onwards, it was a huge group of people heading out. Patrick’s house was the starting point of visiting all colleagues in the same department.

House #5

Wena : Wah Tony! Cute carrot biscuits! Where did you order?

Tony : My sister got it from our relative. Don’t know whom she got it from.

Wena : Well, it’s still tasty.

Everyone else : Yeah yeah (munch munch munch).

House #6

Errr…no picture. Too busy watching Manhunt with everyone else. Surprisingly, the main CNY entourage at the house was only 4 ladies and many men. The men were more fascinated. These were married men or men in serious relationships. Hee hee!

House #7

KKH : Eh! K, got some Chivas lah! Want some?

K : Sure! Better still, mix with Yeo’s Green Tea. Taste very very nice one.

Believe me, it does but needs to be Justea’s Original Green Tea. Do not use the Yeo’s Green Tea as they changed the recipe some time last year so it doesn’t taste quite as nice.

House #8

Again, forgot to take picture. Wena is such a forgetful person.

House #9

K : Try some. BBQ Spare ribs with salt and pepper. Simple flavouring.

Wena : Ooh! Definitely.

Everyone else : Hmmm… nice.

That was the last stop. Also had a nice cup of tea to go with it. The dried apple slice went very well with the tea.

After effects of eating, drinking and visiting 9 houses : MIGRAINE AT NIGHT!

And to think that during my childhood days, I was able to follow Dad and Sis around to 20 houses.

: : Bamboo Shoots : :

Apologies for the delay. Here is the pic of the delicious Bamboo Shoots cooked in Coconut Milk that was on the Menu of Hope posting.

Here is the recipe again:

1/2 kilo of bamboo shoots (no kidding, bamboo shoots are just plain heavy)
1 packet of dry coconut milk powder (no need to dump everything.
should be added based on people’s tastes as too much may seem too
rich)
some belachan @ dried prawn paste (cut a small piece 1 cm x 2 cm)
hot water
1-2 chillis
3-5 peppercorn
salt to taste

Boil the bamboo shoots in water until the color becomes yellow and
bamboo is soft. Throw away the yellow water. If you intend to store
the bamboo shoots in the fridge for cooking the
next day, put it in a
bowl of water and store in fridge.
Pound the belachan, cillis and peppercorn together.
In a bowl, mix coconut milk powder in hot water.
Mix everything into a pot and boil.
Add salt to taste. note : do not add coconut milk all at one go but
enough that you like what u taste.

I do hope that you enjoy it. It goes extremely well with rice but mind you, very rich as well.