Chinese New Year: Feasting with Family & Friends... 25th - 27th January

It's Chinese New Year!! We haven't been celebrating this feast at home for more than 10 years and we have really been looking forward to this!!! While getting ready to go for the celebrations, we had a moment to think about all our friends whom we have been celebrating with in those years of being far from home. Fond memories of the culture and tradition that we have created together to make this feast a special one. While we rejoice having this oppotunity to celebrate the feast in the old fashion way, we're also sad to be far from friends who have celebrated this feast with us over the years... Remembering them, we say a prayer for them. spending some time at the piano in our new home.

The theme is red in this season of celebration, and so is my face... With all the nice food around, my skin has started to react on all those "heaty food"...

Family reunion dinner on the eve of the new year at my aunts' house. It's always a joy to see all of us sitting around the table, having a special meal together...

All these yummy food we missed all these years being away from home. Such luxury not to be cooking this year!!! My aunts' cooking is always special on a feast like this.

Making some glutinous rice balls with my sister, a traditional dessert on a Chinese feast. My brother, Fred, bringing the rice balls to be boiled...

Another common scene around this time... gambling!! In these 15 days of Chinese new year, gambling is not a sin but a part of the celebration... (haha). This is the scene at Derek's parents' place. His parents playing mahjong with Terence, Derek's brother and our good friend, Pete.