Because it's a New Year tradition to not eat meat before noon (so you're starting the new year cleansed), we eagerly counted down the minutes to noon at Grandma's this morning before we could invade the tray of bak kwa.
As usual, we arrived at 10am and immediately, everyone mobbed everyone else with hugs and New Year greetings. Grandma was avalanched by mandarin oranges -- given to a person of seniority as a sign of respect, signifying wealth. After taking the annual family portrait, we broke out into two groups for a vegetarian brunch -- the grandkids on the patio, everyone else at the main table in the kitchen. We ate:
- The hodgepodge dish (I forget the name, but we eat it every year as a Hakka -- our Chinese ethnicity -- tradition), a braised stew of cabbage, various types of mushrooms, fatt choy (a fungus delicacy that looks like a clump of hair)
- Fake siew yoke (roast pork), char siew (barbequed pork), kidney (why would you fake that?)
- Spring rolls
- My mom's vegetarian curry
All served with rice, chased with water.
Then, the best part of New Year -- the snacks. The kok zhai (peanut cookies), love letters (rolled-up wafers), almond cookies, pistachios, cashews and all are great, but oh, the bak kwa!
It's time to re-focus on the Australian Open -- Roger Federer has a seventh Grand Slam title to win.
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