Reunion Dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year

We had our reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year at Zhonghua Seafood Restaurant. It situated on the ground floor of Cititel Hotel, Penang.The dinner started at 8.30p.m. It was a bit late. 6p.m dinner was fully booked few weeks ago. Eleven family members joined the reunion dinner. Gu gu's family arrived in Penang on 24.1.2009.

The yee sang (raw fish and vegetable salad) starts off the feast with vegetable shreds mixed with raw fish strips.
Grandmom favourite dishes were Prosperity Salmon Yee Sang and Braised Pig Tongue with Sea Moss.
Both of you enjoyed Shark's Fin's Soup with Crabmeat very much. We were slightly dissapointed with the Show Fish in Two preparation. It had a strong "fishy" smell.
Half way through the dinner, "god of wealth" came. Chinese god of wealth is traditional Chinese New Year character, gives out lucky red envelopes containing either money or gold chocolate coins.He came forward greeting all the guests.
Each guest received a red packet which contained a chocolate gold coin.
Dad and mom were glad that we could enjoy reunion dinner with gu gu's family and grandparents.

Every family member grabed a pair of chopsticks and helped to mix the salad, tossing it as high as possible while declaring our wishes. We like this Chinese-style raw fish salad.
" Yee" means fish and "sang" means raw. It is also believed that the higher you get to toss the “Yee Sang” you will be more lucky and achieving greater heights and successes.Girls, for us, we really don't believe in luck. Our wholeheartedly trust Him for His plans in our life so we don't need any luck to feel that we have a good fortune. With the grace of God , we are on our way to true happiness.

Happy Chinese New Year but not good luck and fortune Chinese New Year, my girls.

Orchestra performances at Queenbay Mall

Both of you had orchestra performances at Queenbay Mall on 23.1.2009.

Dad and mom often rush through tasks, trying to get them done, trying to finish as much as we can each day. Afternoon session tution ends at 6p.m. We started our ride at 6.40p.m with Yogie and Shi Wah.

Arrived safely at our destination at 7.25p.m. Chinese New Year around the corner.

Everything is getting crowded.Luckily we were not stuck in a terrible traffic jam.

All participants required to wear black pants and red tops.
Both of you kept busy setting up the instruments on the stage. All getting started in performance.

Lydia, you played saxophone while Priscilla played the violin. 

A singing group sang the Chinese New Year songs when the music started. Most of them were women all aged 50 or over at the time. They still had a good voice.

Within one minute the raw candy was transformed into an animal.

The decoration at Queenbay Mall really impressed us.

What a unique Chinese New Year's decoration. Dad snapped lots of photos.

We were glad to watch a candy-blower blew candy animals at the stall.

The candy man boiled sugar and water until it thickens, took a dollop and kneaded it. One end had a long tail with a pinhole into which he blew, turning it around so as to fashion it into the required shape.

We also watched peep show performances. An exhibition of pictures or objects viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass. Each view costs RM 5.

The peep- show musician sang while the show was carrying on.

We did some shopping at Jusco before went home. Four of you talked and joked freely during the car ride.

We were having Bak Kut Teh together. Bak Kut Teh is one of our favorite local dishes.

Girls, by the time we reached home, it was already the middle of the night.Lydia and Priscilla, Happy arrival of Chinese New Year's Day. 

To say good bye to Ai Wen

It was just a small gathering on the 2.1.2009. We invited Ai Wen to join our gathering. She is a hardworking girl who entered mom's life 6 years ago.

Ai Wen is going to secondary school this year. Mom has just noticed that she is taller than me. Really tall for her age. Marked excellence in her study as she scored 7A’s in her UPSR.

During the car ride to Tesco, we shared the gospel with Ai Wen. It was good to be able to share good news with her. Ai Wen and her mom went to church before. They know and experience God's love and plan for their life.

Dad and mom really hope that they can turn back to God one day. After bought some groceries from Tesco, we had dinner at KFC.At KFC, both of you thinking of something funny to amuse Ai Wen. Made a silly face. Told some jokes .

Ai Wen got a huge smile on her face. Everyone enjoys a good laugh, girls.

Once we got our tummy filled up, we went home at 11.30 p.m. It was the hardest day of our life to say good bye to Ai Wen. We are greatly looking forward to another special gathering. We hope that Ai Wen is going to have a happy secondary school journey.Lydia and Priscilla, saying goodbye was never easy, but goodbye does not mean that you are losing your friend. She will still be there for you. Remember - “We part, only to meet again!” So, make sure that you say goodbye to your old friends in the best way, so that the joy of meeting again gets doubled. 

Let's us pray for her salvation. Ai Wen will make a decision to receive Jesus into her heart one day.

Happy preparing dinner

Simple and healthy dinner ideas are easy to prepare and quick to make. Dad and mom decided to prepare a simple dinner with your helping hands on 17.3.2010. Both of you excited to participate in this great job. Cooking can be easy and fun, girls.First, Lydia peeled and cut white radish into pieces. As Lydia is old enough to use a knife, mom decides to teach her to cut gently.
We need to prepare ingredients such as boneless skinless chicken breast and some dried cuttlefish. Cuttle fish can add some sweetness and flavor to the soup.
In warm water blanch the cuttlefish and chicken breast for a few seconds. Remove and wash in cold water. This was the first time Lydia drained the chicken.Our family prefer soup which relatively light and not too oily.
It was Priscilla's turn. She gently peel back outer leaves of the cabbage.
Rinse the cabbage well and pat it dry. Priscilla used a stainless steel knife to cut up cabbage. Watch out, girl. Children need to be taught how to use sharp tools without injuring themselves.
Perhaps Priscilla was a fantastic chef. She cut the carrots into circles. She done a wonderful job.
Soak dried prawns until soft. Lydia chopped dried prawns to tiny pieces.
Rinse off prawns under water and pat dry. Then Lydia cut through the underside of the head and shell of each prawn with kitchen scissors.
Learn how to cook cereal prawns is definitely a plus point to save your money as having cereal prawns at the restaurants. It is one of our favorite menu. A favorite for all ages. As we need to make a simple dinner, so we used a packet of Crispy Cereal Instant Mix. It is convenient and easy to use.

What you need to do is to deep fried the prawns till it turn orangey colour and set aside. Then add 5 tbsp margerin into the wok and fried the curry leaves and chilli padi till fragrant. Add in the whole packet of crispy cereal mix, the prawns and mixed well.Mom started to melt the butter in a wok and poured in a whole packet of cereal and stir. Added in the prawns and continue stirring for 20 seconds. Turned to small fire so as not to overcook them. Done. Did you smell something nice to wake up your taste buds?
Heat oil in a wok. Added in garlic and dried prawn, fried for 15 second.Added in carrots and cabbage and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Cabbage is a great accompaniment to any meal. What a simple vegetable dish you can eat with rice.
Chinese soup is the instant magic to make your eating experience at home more pleasurable.A good tasting healthy soup awaits. Give this soup a try.
Brown rice certainly appears to be more healthy. Our family like to mix white and brown rice together for a great combination of flavor.
Our favorite simple dinner is ready. It may seem like a little too much work for a simple meal. A simple way to enjoy a stress-free dinner with family or friends.
Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Bless it to our strength and to thy glory.
Dinner time is precious time. A home is a fantastic place to have a healthy and wholesome meal for the whole family. A time to sit and hear about each other’s day.