Sunday, 29 January 2012

• Chinese New Year Part 1

  Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Birthday! Yeap, it's the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, also known as 'yun yutt' or People's Day. There's a belief that humans were born today, so it's basically everyone's birthday. I've been to a tonne of places this week: visiting relatives, going to temples, hanging out with friends; and I think I probably gained like 5 kilos from all the constant eating. 

  On reunion dinner night, we traveled back to Ipoh, which is mom and dad's hometown. Once a bustling tin mining settlement, Ipoh town is now much quieter as the younger generation move on to bigger cities to work. One thing this place is still famous for though: food. And the first order of the day once we got back was to begin our gastronomic spree. 

  

  Fresh out of the steamer dimsum by the roadside. 

  

  Freshly baked egg tarts are soft eggy goodness enclosed in flaky pastry. 

  

  Char Kuey Teow : flat rice noodles stir fried with crunchy taugeh (beansprouts; and Ipoh has the best beansprouts ever. Must be the mountain water :D), chilli, prawns and cockles. 

  

  Yong liu, aka assorted fried goodies, another famous Ipoh specialty. The price is much much cheaper than in KL too.  Our favourites are the fried foochok (beancurd) stuffed with fish paste, and sar kot (deep fried fish paste and minced turnip). 

  

  One cannot claim to be an Ipoh-lang and not know their famous Gai See Hor Fun (Chicken noodles). The proof is in the broth. The clear soupy broth of chicken and prawns is simmered for hours for a flavourful taste. The version at Nam Heong Coffeeshop along Jalan Bandar Timah is the best that we've had so far, and it's always packed with customers. 

  

  After food, we had more food. Reunion dinner night is a time for family gatherings and ofc, food. We Chinese people love food. :D Although it was much quieter this year since my eldest aunt and fourth uncle passed away + most cousins were not back for CNY, but there was still laughter and we all had a good time catching up with each other. This year my Sar Kor (third aunt! That's Hokkien, by the way :D) single-handedly cooked up a meal for more than 20 people. No mean feat. There were the customary good luck dishes to symbolize prosperity, wealth and good health, such as prawns, fatt choi (a type of fungus), fish and dried oysters. And then there was steamed white chicken, sea cucumber and roast pork (my fave!) 

  

  Fried fish nuggets and fried fish. 

  

  Family. 

  

  Yee Sang. Apparently this is a dish that is traditionally of Malaysian/Singaporean Chinese origin, as it is not as popular in Hong Kong/Taiwan/China. It's basically a mix of salad-like veges, shredded and topped with chopped peanuts, crunchy condiments and raw fish slices, drizzled with a sweet and sour sauce. Everyone is supposed to gather round and mix the yee sang, lifting the food as high as possible with chopsticks to signify advancement in life. 

  Day 2: Ipoh Town and visiting relatives.  

  

  Chor yutt (first day of the New Year) is for visiting relatives and collecting red packets, so we went out to town for breakfast. I love Ipoh towns short, colonial, pre-war buildings: it's very different from my own suburban neighborhood with it's modern houses and lawns. 

  

  

  

  

  It might have looked like this 50 years ago. Ipoh hasn't changed much or seen much development: which is probably why most young people prefer to move to KL. It's a very laidback, slow-paced place. 

  

  Breakfast! 

  

  Half-boiled eggs on toast is another Ipoh staple. While KL versions usually separate the eggs and the toast, Ipoh people like their eggs already on the toast. 

  

  Mee Jawa: a noodle dish with savory broth, boiled eggs and potatoes, squeezed with a dash of lime. 

  Day 3 - Temple visits and Back to KL. 

  While we had a whole week off, we went back to KL earlier to avoid the traffic jams and to just bum around at home for a bit. Visited a Siamese temple before leaving town: it's been around for a long time. Back in the day, grandpa's family was poor, so they had to stay on the temple grounds. Dad basically grew up in a Siamese temple. They only left after the temple grounds were condoned off for expansion. 

  

  

  Kei Loon, heavenly dogs. They guard most temple entrances.  

  

  Top: Shrine. Bottom: Four-faced Buddha. 

  

  

   

  Top: Mini-shrines, Left: Temple-door paintings. 

  

  Top: Buddha statue, Bottom: Buddha statue with Bodhi tree background.  

  And then its back to KL. German sausages for lunch!

  

  Stadt German Bistro at Bandar Putri. 

  

  Mixed sausage platter, which consisted of five varieties of sausages, with mashed potato, salad and sauces. I love German sausages coz they're meaty and full of flavour, but bro didn't seem too keen on them. He still prefered the pre-packaged type wtf. 

  

  Dad's roasted chicken wasn't bad either. 

  

  

  Top: English tea in a cute porcelain pot! Bottom: Interior. 

  I have a few hundred other pictures left. Til next post. :D 

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