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TheJessicat - Extractions of a Disoriented Mind
  • Entertainment
    • Film & Movies
    • International Artists
    • Live Concerts & Gigs
    • Local Artists
    • Music Festivals/Rave Parties
    • Nightlife/Parties
  • Food
    • American
    • Asian
    • Coffee joints/Cafe hopping
    • French
    • Fusion
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • My Cookbook
    • Others/Fusion
  • Fashion
    • Body Art
    • Cosplay
    • Fashion Shows
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Makeup/Skincare
  • Travels
    • Thailand
    • The Australian Diaries
  • Health & Fitness
    • EatFitSlam: Clean Eating
    • GymJamSlam: Gym/Workouts
    • Sports
  • Current Affairs

My Chinese New Year 2014 [Part One] : Family, Food & Festivity!

February 18, 2014 by thejessicat

 

Hiya dear readers!

I know Chinese New Year isn’t exactly over yet because there are 15 days of it in total (much like the Twelve Days of Christmas!) but hey, it’s already the 11th Day of CNY so I might as well get started on this post.

You know how I am when I procrastinate LOL.

Also, you are now reading this post on the 16th February even though I began writing it on the 10th. So obviously, Chinese New Year is now over as we speak hence deeming the paragraph above irrelevant. See what I told you about procrastinating? Bleh.

So let’s get on with today’s post before I digress, shall we?

 

 

I took a day off from work, so Chinese New Year 2014 began with me jet-setting back home to Penang on the morning of CNY eve.

The 45 minute flight was tiresome. Can’t someone invent a teleporter already? 45 minutes always leave me hanging – too short a time to sleep, too long a time to do anything else when you’re not allowed to use the phone onboard.

Read, you say? I don’t like the edges of my book getting all ratty and folded up whenever I take it travelling. Ugh!

 

My CNY-themed nails I did the night before I departed KL. Cool

With prosperity and auspiciousness in the air, you can’t go wrong with red and gold for Chinese New Year!

 

 High in the sky at 9am.

Couldn’t get any sleep so I was snapping away on my camera instead.

 

Arrived home and I was initially thinking of heading out to spend some time with my friends back home since I wouldn’t be able to spend much time in Penang this CNY but somehow, my forty winks ended up in a long, deep sleep for four whole hours.

Drats. Doubt it!

 

 But when I woke up to this, I cheered up instantly. Laughing Pretty sure you would too.

This was how my family reunion dinner looked like – steamboat!

 

 Mom, Dad and I enjoying our steamboat dinner at the comfort of

our own home – all lit up flamboyantly with CNY decor no less!

That’s us playing with firecrackers and sparklers too.

 

 

Chinese New Year 2014 – Day One (大年初一) I Surrender!

 

Woke up bright and early to loud CNY music resonating in my room all the way from the living room downstairs!

Daddy has a knack for blasting loud music during any festive season. Dolled up and made my way down to join the rest.

 

 Day One selfies!

 

Went into the living room to find mom and dad dressed similarly in traditional Chinese wear too.

Speaking of coincidence! This year is the first year I’ve actually donned a traditional outfit for Chinese New Year. Usually, I’d just throw on a red top or a red dress. So to see my parents dressed likewise was really a pleasant surprise! Cool

 

Daddy-O and I.

Mummykins and I.

 Definitely a member of the family too, after 12 years with us. Kakak and I!

Took another selfie with the red-hot ladies of the house.

 

Daddy then called us all over for angbao time. Wink

So as tradition goes, we are to greet each other and give a spiel of wishes and blessings unto the other. I’m bad at this, so I usually just go Gong Xi Fa Chai and some of the other sayings (which are so cool it rhymes!) that granny used to teach me.

 

Angbao moments. There’s one for everyone!

 

Time for family portraits!

I didn’t want to bombard this page with the innumerable family portraits we took, so here’s my favorite one.

 

 Love it so much I’m even considering developing this and putting it up in a frame!

 

 Not-so-formal family portrait – SELFIE STYLE!

 

Before the sun set, we made our way onto the North-South Highway for a road trip down south to spend the rest of our CNY Day One with my extended family. It was lucky that we were driving against the ridiculous traffic of the festive season! Surprised

It was an insane gridlock on the highway north-bound. We could see it from our side of the road. Phew!

 

 Setting up the dinner table.

 

 Firing up the grill for our barbeque!

 Uncle Mike was the mastermind behind the whole barbeque party and with his minions in the kitchen, we were fed with a scrumptious home-made feast straight from the grill!

 

Food placements on the table with red wine for everyone!

 No, this doesn’t include Penny our Silky Terrier in the background.

  A shot of some of the other food we made

Giant salad bowl, some kind of pork (I didn’t eat a single one), flower crabs,

Thai noodles, rice and sausages wrapped with bacon with potato wedges.

 

 Snapped from my seat.

 Group photo of all of us! Family + long-time family friends. Smile

We had a wonderful time! Long conversations, so much fun and catching up.

 

 When darkness descended, we started to play with paper lanterns, also known as Kuomintang to the Chinese folk.

 I wrote my well-wishes on it before I lit it up and set it to fly to above and beyond.

 

 Prepare for take-off!

 Firing the blazing ember!

 

 Looks like we’re ready.

 One for the road!

 Up, up and awaaayy!!

We watched it with glee as it drifted slowly away from our line of vision before fading into the darkness.

 

And that was pretty much how CNY Day One was like for me. Moving on… Ha Ha

 

Chinese New Year 2014 – Day Two (大年初二)

 

I woke up pretty late due to the late night before. But not too late to doll up for our family luncheon at Casuarina Hotel in Meru. Wanna take a look at what they have to offer? Read on. Cool

Today,  I wore something oriental again. It was the traditional Chinese Cheongsam!

 

 Selfies!

Proper full-length outfit of the day shot!

 

 Group selfie! The boys at the back were still busy with the food LOL

 Part of the Yee Sang dish on the buffet spread

 

 Wit the chef at the carving station.

 

Take a look at the well-plated and colourful spread of roast beef, chicken and lamb!

Only downside though, most of the cuts were cold as the roast station didn’t

come with the spotlight heat lamp.

 

 At the cold cut table. There was quite a number of food on the hot food area and it was very widely spread apart so I didn’t bother taking a photo (this isn’t one of my food review ads anyway)

 

 Chinese New Year cookies and cake were part of the selection too.

 

Sweet treats like pies, cakes, tarts and ice-cream were abundant.

 

 Fancy a healthier alternative? Here, have some fruits for dessert instead. Laughing

 

We thought the buffet spread was decently palatable and it was satisfying lunch buffet. Could do with lots of room for improvement but seeing as it is a hotel newly constructed in the area, it was a fairly good attempt! Embarassed

Check out some family photos we snapped after lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

When we were just about done, I began exploring all around the hotel and its vicinity. Ha Ha

Found a pretty place full of Chinese New Year decor for more photo ops! 

 

 Test shot.  Okay, I’m loving this podium area already!

 

Was busy taking selfies when Uncle Mike appeared like a wild fox out of the blue

and stuffed this Mandarin Orange into my mouth. Hey, can’t you see I’m busy? 😛 😛

 

Got mom to take a couple of shots for me while waiting for the whole motley crew to arrive.

How pretty is the decor, right?

 

Spent every day of my childhood years with these two women in my life.

Mommy & kakak.

 

 Flanked by my homeboys, couzzies Shaun & Meng!

 

Shaun had a random idea to flex our biceps for the camera LOL.

We’ve got the powaaaahh! Say what?

 

CNY 2014 family photo! It’s a shame daddy didn’t join us for the dinner though;

it would be complete otherwise!

 

My beloved Popoh and I. Or MeeMaw. Or Gran. Or Gramma. Or Granny.

Or however you wanna call it.

 She’s the only grandparent I have left now so I’m holding on to her real tight! Laughing

 

Every Chinese New Year, we celebrate her birthday.

I can’t recall a single CNY not celebrating Popoh’s birthday!

 

The rest of Chinese New Year Day Two was just spent lounging around at home, gambling with relatives and catching up. All I did at night was read a few magazines and curled up to watch The Big Bang Theory.

Okay, time for the next day! Big Smile

 

Chinese New Year 2014 – Day Three(大年初三)

 

 Selfies in the car!

Wearing another oriental top – this time in lime green with motifs of Chinese flowers.

 

I don’t exactly like the presence of children in general but I think I’m beginning to get the hang of it.

Meet my 9 year old cousin.

 

It was Yee Sang day for us today! LOUUUUU AHHHHH!

*insert Chinese quotes/wishes that rhyme here*

I should really memorize it and recite it with pride next year. It’ll be fun Ahh!

 

We headed out to the mall for some shopping and coffee. Coincidentally, there was a stage performance going on.

It was the Chinese New Year acrobatics troupe from China! Check them out. Their skills are pretty badass. Click the image to watch the short videoclip.

 

Watching the #Chinese #acrobatics troupe perform. OMG their balance, stability and flexibility are top notch!! #CNY

 

 

Wow so proud of our local #Chinese #acrobatics troupe! Why didn’t my parents send me to such classes when I was a nimble kid? So epic; I’m so impressed. I wanna do that too!!

 

When all was over and done with, I decided to adjourn back to KL on Monday.

Didn’t want to waste the extra leave I initially applied for as I may have plans to jet-set somewhere far away this year. Wink 

Nothing concrete yet; just sketchy plans for a one-week vacay.

Maybe I should throw a dart on the world map and see where it lands hehe.

 

Goodbye shot. At the Ipoh Railway Station! 

 

My Chinese New Year 2014’s accessories are sponsored by Swarovski and The Wild Things.

Will be blogging about their amazing Pandora-inspired charm bracelet soon!

In the meantime, check them out and pick your favorites. Cool

 

That marks an end to my Chinese New Year this year.

Actually no it doesn’t. Since there’s 15 days in total after all, I spent the rest of my CNY celebrating it with good friends and colleagues back in KL.

But since this post is relatively long enough and my mug of coffee is already empty, I should leave Part Two for another day. Laughing

  

 Oh here’s a snap of some of my bounty.

No I don’t have any of it left as I used it all to settle all my bills.

I am debt-free now! LaughingLaughing

 

I shall end my Chinese New Year 2014 blog post with a picture of my favorite ang pow.

It may not be the biggest, but it is hands-down, the best angpow I’ve received this year.

 

 

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When in Melbie down under, here are some of the top things I miss back in Malaysia

February 16, 2011 by thejessicat

 

 

Okie since today is the 14th day of Chinese New Year (we have altogether 15 days!), I reckon it's still somewhat relevant to share some more piccies of my CNY celebrations with thefockers and some homies whom I caught up with before my departure to Melbourne.

 

Happy Year of the Rabbit 2011 again to the fellow celebrators of CNY!
 

 

I hope you fellow Chinese folks enjoy tomorrow, which is 'Chap Goh Meh'  (15th and final day of the Lunar New Year). Legend has it that if young, unmarried ladies throw tangerines into the sea, their future spouse will be the one who pick it up. LOL

Perfect excuse to throw 'em oranges at people ey 😛 Whooops!
 

Taken with a plushie of 'Choy Sun Ye' (God of Prosperity)

 

Unbelievable as it may sound, one of the many  things I miss about Malaysia is our constant (but absurdly hot) sunny weather. We can head out from home wearing anything we want without a care in the world.
 

But ever since I've been here for the past 5 days, it's been freezing cold for half a day, freakishly hot for the next few hours with torrid sunlight and cool for the rest of the day.

Now I've no choice but to bring at least a jacket or cardigan – if not my coat – out with me

 

Yup, the weather here IS indeed as unpredictable as they say and as weird as it may sound, the question, "How's the weather today?" is actually something substantial to talk about.

Unlike back home in Malaysia, it is practically a joke if someone actually asks you that -__-"

I miss putting on my sunnies throughout the whole day and wearing a sundress out in Malaysia

 

Thankfully, I bought a long coat here to keep me warm already. It's made of cashmere & wool and I actually look very different in it! I like it very much as I somehow imagine myself as a Gossip Girl character trudging down the streets of Manhattan in the cold when I put it on 😛 😛

Okay, time to burst my bubble of fiction. Will show you piccies of it soon, ye?

 

P/S : shopping is lovely here!!!!

 

So yes, apart from missing the insanely tropical weather in Malaysia, I miss the food too.
 

No way in hell imma spend AUD $18.90 (RM57.60) on a plate of Wan Tan Mee, Nasi Lemak or Char Koay Teow! The prices of food is so hefty that I had to bleed from my nose paying for it ;(

aaahhh. Malaysian Chinese food. Never thought I'd miss them all
 

Some of the Chinese New Year food I ate early this month!
 


 


 

Louuuuuuu Saaaaang!!

Steamed white pomphret fish and demonic-looking roasted piglet below
 

"U will have no sweet dreams if you eat me"
 

Which is why I usually cook my own simple meals now, microwave certain food, drink soup or eat a sandwich instead, healthier and more affordable! (here's to hoping it helps in my diet har har har 😛 :P)
 

So when in Ozzieland, I totally subscribe to my new-found principle:

"Eat like a pauper, shop like a Queen & party lika rockstaaar!"

 

But I love the fact that I'm brisk-walking more than usual now.

The nearest tram stop is about 8 minutes away from my doorstep and the closest railway which is the Hartwell train station, is 15 minutes away. Gone are the days where I can just hop into my car and speed off to where ever I intended to go, back in Malaysia.
 

Everything is different now.

But that's what adapting is all about.

 

Here are some more of the things I miss back in Malaysia, it is impossible to name all!
 

I miss…. my family
 

 whooops I think I just slayed my mom with fire

 

cousin Maddy 😀

 

camwhoring at the table with mom in the background
 

Mom joins! 🙂

 

Some of thefockers 🙂
 

More of thefockers
 

Even more of thefockers!
 

Happy birthday granny!!
 

 70 years old tomorrow 🙂 and she's having fun in Genting Highlands as we speak! $$$$
 

I miss…. home
 

In one of the busy but small town of Penang island… is where I call home!
 

 

I miss… my friends
 

Some of the homies!
 


 

On the way to Belissa Row to meet the rest of them

 

I miss… my dogs
 

Penny the silky terrier and Rocky the labrador-retriever

 

*tickles Penny*

 

Although I'm living with Ruffey, a Japanese Chin and occasionally Kiko, the pug mix (pics of them soon!) now, nothing compares to Penny and Rocky whom I've come home to for many years.
 

Everything's still abuzz… likened to a bright colourful whirlwind of excitement.

What can I say? It has only been 5 days.
 

 

I guess the dust hasn't settled yet when I'm out and about; bounding the city and the suburbs all the time.

And when it does, it's time to go home. 5 months will go by in a blink… I'm certain
 

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CNY “reunion dinner” with the foodies at Toh Yuen chinese restaurant @ Hilton Hotel PJ

February 5, 2011 by thejessicat

 

Woots! Today is the 3rd day of Chinese New Year.

Have you guys had your umpteenth CNY reunion dinner yet?

 

 

If your family is anything like mine, I can bet you've probably have sat to a few (if not many) dinner get-togethers thus far.

There are altogether 15 days of Chinese New Year according to the Lunar calendar so get your chopsticks and ricebowls ready, for it's dinner lou-sang sessions with the family, friends, workmates, ex-schoolmates, blogmates, campusmates and so many different groups of people!

 

 

i was at Tong Yuen in Hilton Hotel last week to taste their auspicious set menus and CNY delicacies

  

Right after work, I thought it would be wise to head straight to Hilton to skip the impending traffic gridlock. Typical evenings in PJ *rolls eyes*

But strangely I was wrong. The roads were traffic-free and I arrived Hilton almost 2 hours before dinner time! 🙁

 


I know I was too early. But hellooo hellooo anybody home!?

*sniff*

 

Thankfully, someone was inside and the gates were opened for me! 😀

 

First thing I saw as I stepped in:

Mandarin ducks, money frogs and china teapots

 

The hostess was kind enough to offer me some warm Chinese tea to accompany my wait.

 

It's gonna be a long wait, that's for sure

But I hope it's worth it 😀

 

 

I soon got bored and I had about 1 hour left to kill.

So I got up and started taking pictures of this very impressive, spacious and lavish Chinese restaurant.

 

 


 


 

I know right. It had so many sections and areas to dine!

 

Oh and I also learned that Toh Yuen is adjoined to the al-fresco and swimming pool area

Pretty good idea for weddings to be held! Nice place to entertain guests and throw the after-party too!

 

Separated only by a huge glass door 🙂

 

I then took my time to walk back to my table. But still, not a single soul to be seen yet.

So I made use of the glass mirrors they had all over the walls for some self-absorbed entertainment

 

ohai. Gong Xi Fa Chai!

 

Alright, time to go back to that private section 🙂

It was almost 7.30pm by then. Perfect! Looks like time flies when you're actually occupied.
 

See those 2 circular entrances?

That's where our tables are

 

This is how it looks at our table… before everybody fills it in 🙂

 

Yay! Finally I have some company. Elaine from Marketing & Communications took the seat beside mine and gradually, the other guests began to arrive one by one 🙂 Ivy from FOOD and her colleague came pretty soon too.

 

Eelaine and I

 

 

Kelly (my plus one for the evening) and I sipping on some Chinese Tea

 

After catching up and chit chatting, it was time to bring out the food

Toh Yuen's Yee Sang specials was the highlight of their Fatt Choy (fortune and prosperity) menu selections

 

Crackers represents happiness, peanut and sesame symbolizes harvest, oil represents wealth,

pomelo means good luck, raw seafood symbolizes life and longevity.

 

Yee Sang comprises of assorted condiments, which differ in their auspicious meanings as illustrated above

 

After the warzone of tossing and mixing the ingredients and

dressing with chopsticks, it was time for the feast to begin.

 

 

I especially loved their Sliced Abalone yee sang. It was fresh, tasty and had that tinge of sweet-sourness in it. The abalone came in abundance and it was very delicious and chewy too (I initially thought it looked like chicken slices before I had a bite of it! LOL)


The 2nd course that arrived was Braised Shark Fin Soup with Crab Meat and Roe.

 

Trust me, I've eaten this since my childhood days and there isn't really a complete Chinese dinner without it.

Served hot right outta the pot, it was just as good as what my tastebuds imagined it to be. You can never go wrong!

 

3rd Course : Deep Fried Chicken in 2 Flavours

Now this one was rather outta the ordinary 🙂

 

This poultry dish came with chicken – cooked in 2 different styles – encircled around each other. Yup, it was plated in a very pleasant way! The chicken with the darker sauce stayed in the middle while the whiter chicken surrounded it.

I loved the darker chicken while some of the others preferred the whiter one. Ohwell, looks like both of it were popular among us anyway; seeing that this dish was finished in such a jiffy!

 

After chicken, came the fish

4th course : Steamed Fish Pomfret with Soy Sauce

 

 

This fish fanatic is at it again. White pomfrets are one of my favorite types of fish, apart from Salmon and Snowfish. It was so fresh that I reckon it was just caught right off the sea yesterday! 😛 None of that stinky stale stench that some fishes tend to have.

The flesh was tender and was made right for our palate.

 

5th course : Stir Fried King Prawns in Pineapple Sauce

 

Now if the fish dish didn't exist, this one would most definitely fall in line being my favorite of the lot!

The prawns were really soft and succulent to the last bite! Kinda the type that melts in your mouth 😀 The tangy natural flavour of the pineapple complemented this dish very well too.

 

More tea anyone? 😀

 

The next course was something less meaty. Think veggies!

Just for the record, my favorite green vegetable of all is broccoli. And wa-hey! Look what's on our plates:

 

It IS broccoli! 😀 😀 😀 Do you spot lotsa mushrooms too?

A very happy me + Kelly


I like how most Chinese chefs cut up lotsa random things that their instincts tell them *might* just make the perfect dish and voila! It DID end up perfect after all.

The broccoli came cooked with so many other ingredients and condiments that it was bursting with flavour 🙂

 

6th Course: Stewed Sea Cucumber, Mushroom and Broccoli

7th Course: Sauteed Seafood Fried Rice with X.O Sauce

 

 

When I had a spoonful of the fried rice, I reckon it tasted kinda different though.

How come it didn't taste as usual or bland as the common Chinese Fried Rice?

 

Struggling to eat rice with chopsticks from a bowl

(I eventually requested for a spoon instead)

 

Since my younger days, I was never good at 'em two sticks. I don't know how you people do it. Hat's off to you!

Anyway, so why did my fried rice taste so unique? When I looked up the menu, I found my answer "... with X.O Sauce"! 😀 😀 Woots! Now, how's that for a twist? No wonder it was delish

 

While waiting for dessert!

  

Was told that the dessert was gonna be unexpected.

But then again, I thought how UNEXPECTED could a course of dessert be?

 

So I excused myself to the ladies' for a short while and when I returned, I saw a huge bowl of thick, white substance – of which I assumed to be some creamy delicacy 🙂 Looks yummy to me!

 

Since I was away when the discussion was made, I had no clue what this dish was

 

Tasted it and loved it! The honeydew was responsible for the sweet, fruity flavour. It also had this very mild, ice-cream taste and the texture was very gentle to the tastebuds... except for a very, very slight bitter aftertaste once you've swallowed it.

I honestly wondered what it was!

Must be some form of ice-cream or some form of creamy extracts, I pondered to myself.

 

The Head Chef came out of the kitchen to have a chat with us

That's Shian seated, also from Marcomm

 

And it was then I found out that the dessert, our final course for the evening, was none other than Hasma!! *gasp* Alright I bet you don't know what Hasma is. Neither did I, initially… before I had it down my throat, of course.

 


 

Hasma is a Chinese dessert ingredient  made from the dried fallopian tubes of frogs,
typically the Asiatic Grass Frog. The Western pharmaceutical term is Oviductus Ranae.

 

 

How's that for an exotic meal?

Hey don't freak out just because it's made of an odd anatomy of an amphibian. Admittedly, I did too at first but it tasted exquisite. Really! It was once served as royal food to the Chinese Emperors okay! 😀
 

This Chinese New Year, I am proud to say that I have ate animal organs! (something that I've avoided like the plague all these years for no explicable reason)

 

So, thank you Hilton for giving us this new and rather surprising experience at the end of our meal!

  

But if you want out on eating this exotic dish, you can always opt for the 'Happiness Set' where Chilled Sea Coconut with Ginseng and the 'Fortune Set' that satisfies your sweet tooth with Braised Red Bean and Glutinous Dumpling.

Our set for the day was 'Longevity Set' FYI 😀

 

So go have your next CNY meal here or even your company's 'sau kung' dinners or lunches! Their CNY set menus and festive a la carte Chinese delights promo will run until 28th Febuary 2011. 🙂

 

GONG XI FA CHAI!

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Hi! Welcome to TheJessicat.com - an urban lifestyle blog established since 2005, written from the perspective of a Malaysian blogger. Discover the latest and all that the city has to offer! Do bear with her occasional rants & musings though. Happy reading! ❤

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