The first day of CNY was spent visiting Chris's parents and relatives. Sorry that I didn't manage to capture any pictures on the spread of vegetarian foods (chai chois) prepared by Chris's mom. Was eating in front of his aunties and uncles ;P Restrained myself from taking out the camera...
Moreover, we chipped in while they were already having their meal.. :)
Some of the authentic dishes prepared include; vegetarian curry mutton, braised mushroom with black moss puff, sweet & sour vegetables and sweetened yam.
During these few days, all of us woke up early with great anticipation to celebrate the new year. We spent the second day of the new year at home, expecting aunts and uncles to return home again for another meal. The 'Hoi Nin' meal. Once again, mom did all preparations early in the morning. Managed the prayers, offerings and the brunch with my dad.
Roasted pork arranged tidily.
The fish: Nin Nin Yao Yu represents abundance and prosperity - plentifulness.
Steamed whole Chicken represents utter completeness.
Marmite Prawns: Ha Ha Dai Siu symbolize a feeling of contentment or happiness represented with lotsa loud laughters.
The Abalone :)
Oyster with Black Moss: Ho See Fatt Choy marks good things accompanied by prosperity, good fortune. My favourite dish among all ;)
Dad made this specially for us, the Fishball with oyster & blackmoss fillings. Guess this was the combination of Nin Nin Yao Yu & Ho See Fatt Choy!!
Braised Pork trotters and Sea Cucumber: Tak Sam Ying Sao represents, getting whatever you wished for. Know how is the canto name derived? (Sea Cucumber = Hoi Sam, Pork Trotters = Ju Sao). The elderlies sure know how to come out with names ;)
The sea cucumber was chewy and not too soft at all while the pork trotters was another marvelously braised dish.
After the wonderful meal, there came the lion dance troupe. Hoping that the lions will help usher all the good happenings in, all of us watched their performances without blinking! ;P They were good, and especially my cousin bro. He is one of the member of the troupe and his stunts on top of the high pole was really worth all the praise he should get. Not even a little blemish of the leaps and jumps... Clean routine :)
CNY: 1st and 2nd day
The Reunion
I have always looked forward to this special occasion.
The Reunion.
Family members will gather around the round table in favour of a nice meal, hoping and looking towards another prosperous and joyful year ahead.
Woke up early in the morning, gave parents a hand while they were busying doing the prayers and prepared offerings.
Steamed chicken and roasted pork will not be missed out as offerings when doing prayers.
I could see mom hurrying in and out of the kitchen in order to make sure that the dinner will be put to order. She is really a role model and I have always look upon her devotion in setting up a dinner to accommodate 3 tables of relatives! Though the foods looked normal, but we always loved her customary preparations!
Some of the folks nowadays opted to dine in a restaurant during the reunion, but we are still keen in having it at home, savouring the home-cooked gourmet!
The Steamed pomfret was fresh and its meat was smooth and gentle.
Braised Ginger Duck's recipe was descended from my grandma and the taste still preserved well... still has the kick!
Steamed Chicken with its matching coriander + onion sauce is always flawlessly coupled. And proud that I managed to prepare the sauce, a.k.a the 'it' factor well enough! *grin*
This has always been my favourite, and I can finish it with just a bowl of rice; the Braised Mushroom. A distinctive flavour generated from the aromatic gravy that I just can't seem to find elsewhere.
Besides frying 'ngaku' chips during this festivity, mom also prepared the Arrowhead with pork belly that got our appetite uplifted further more!
Pickled cucumber with sliced pork is another must have during any special occasion. The sourish cucumber was another appetite booster and was cooked with sliced pork, added with minced taucu sauce :)
Sweet and Sour Prawns was cooked to perfection. The giant prawns were unquestionably fresh! and of course... finger licking good sauce ;P
Roasted Duck was bought by uncle on his way to our place.
The Roasted Pork with leeks resulted satisfaction for our tummy as well. Salty roast pork fried rapidly with leeks over a high heat while stirring them briskly was another wonder :)
A tradition after the dinner, grandpa will distribute the ang paos! *the first red packet that we'll all get during CNY*!
Looking back at these depictions made me miss that night's get together.
Family reunion is one of the best thing I wish for every year.
Hope all of you had a unforgettable one.
and... today's the 'V' Day!!
To all couples, enjoy your sweetest moment & wishing you guys eternal happiness!
To the others *the still available ones* spending time with your family and friends is also as affectionate! :)
Wishing all of you Happy Valentine's Day!
What's your plan tonight? :)
Let's Lou Sang @ New Formosa, SS2
A busy week it had been. Time occupied visiting relatives and friends, ‘stock piling’ red packets was pleasurable! Pretty convinced that all of you had a great time during the holidays and some of you might not even start off work just yet :) Well, this celebratory is still on and I still can’t get my hands off the cookie jars and goodies as well as the lavish meals!!
Class commences today and my mind still stay put on a holiday mood. Switching back to a sedentary mode is not easy at all. Just have to force myself to do it.
Just a few days before the CNY, with great pleasure to join an early reunion dinner with some floggers, we feasted at New Formosa nestled at SS2 once again. Special thanks to Citygal for organizing and never to forget the kindness and hospitality of Jeanie, our dinner was filled with nothing but tasty fulfillment. Chris and I just can’t be abstained from their well-known desserts that left us an unforgettable contemplation :)
Let’s Lou Sang for a better year ahead!!
New
and it includes:
- Formosa Salmon Yee Sang
- Braised Shark's Fin with Dried Baby Scallops, Crab Meat & Bamboo Pith Soup
- TV Butter Tiger Prawns OR Steamed Tiger Prawns with Herbs in Hollow Bamboo Taiwanese Hakka Style
- Pomfret / Sea Bass New Style / HomeStyle Cooking or Teochew Style or with Green Scallions
- Braised Pig's Trotter in Black Pepper Sauce OR Braised Duck with Seafood & Vegetables
- Fried Loofah, Mushrooms, Seaweed, Bean Curd Skin OR Fried Vegetables with Scallops
- Fried Spare Ribs with Pineapple & Taiwanese Sesame Chicken
- Steamed Yam Rice OR Braised Mee Sua/Noodles OR Fried Noodles Taiwanese Style
- one set of Puddings of variety (Herbal, Green Tea Aloe Vera, Custard Caramel, Mango & Yam)
- Taiwanese Muachi
- Chinese Tea, Rice
Formosa Salmon Yee Sang
Braised Shark's Fin with Dried Baby Scallops, Crab Meat & Bamboo Pith Soup was refreshing and was able to clear our throats. Very soothing and tasted mild enough. Its taste was recognizably different in nature than those of many restaurants due to their creativity of using different ingredients.
The Sea Bass with some appetizing creamy sauce uplifted our appetite for sure :) Have always love sharp tasting food, this was one stimulant for our palate ;P
Braised Pig's Trotter in Black Pepper Sauce - cooked till al dente, the marinated meat with mild black pepper taste had my vote. Though not a fan of black pepper, it was acceptable.
Braised Duck with Seafood & Vegetables has bountiful fresh oysters and black moss laying around accompanying the flavourful braised duck.
Fried Vegetables with Scallops was a light and healthy serving.
Fried Spare Ribs with Pineapple & Taiwanese Sesame Chicken created a perfect combo. Matched with sweet, sour and a lil' salty taste, the crispy sesame chicken and gravy coated spare ribs generated 2 different types of flavours and confident textures that'll suit your cravings :)
Braised Mee Sua
Fried Noodles Taiwanese Style was a bomb. Spicy and exciting, it woke me up towards the end of our meal! Very tasty and spicy it was.
A variety of Puddings (Herbal, Green Tea Aloe Vera, Custard Caramel, Mango & Yam)
Taiwanese Muachi
The Formosa Special Sweet Yam is not included in this set. However, this is a must try whenever you thought of having desserts at New Formosa :) Do check it out.
Do try out their mouth-watering dishes during this festive season! Scratching your head on where to lou sang next? You can definitely celebrate it with your family and friends here, to share the moments of hunger & joy...... Gatherings like this are fun!
2 weeks to Cap Goh Mei! How time flies!
Dear readers and bloggers,
Enjoy the remaining festive days and we still have time to collect more ang paos rite? ;P *grin*
How was your reunion dinner with your family like? Bet it was great!
Can’t wait to tell mine!
Having thought about another dinner that we’ll be attending tonight… Monday blues?? Cleared off :)
Have a nice day!
New Formosa Restaurant
46, Jalan SS2/24,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor D.E.
Tel: 03-7875 1894 / 019-3353 274
Email: formosa@streamyx.com
Business Hours:
Opens daily: 12pm-2.30pm / 6pm-11pm
Click HERE for the review *in details* of my previous visit.
Oriental Cravings @ 1 Utama
Huge crowd found cramming up the shopping malls as the CNY is just few days away...
Doing last minute shopping and stocking up some munchies for the celebration!
I was one of them too :) Despite the throng, I still enjoy it as.... I liked the atmosphere.
I was getting familiarize with 1 U once again after months of not shopping at this place. Chris and I were starting to get grasp of the CNY decos nearby, taking pictures, hop around the mall when we noticed this outlet.
It's time for dinner.
Oriental Cravings... It made us pine for it for that moment. We're going for 'Chinese' this time.
Interior resembling some long-standing kopitiams, inclusion of some modernized outlook plus characteristics of Far East did paid off. Well, at least we're at ease :)
Claypot Loh Shee Fun was our first order and it turned out mediocre. For RM11.50 with addition of an egg, we can find a better preparation elsewhere. It was really tasty, but ingredient-deficient. Just mere rice noodles, a pinch of chives, some minced pork and that's it. Good credits for its taste but unpleasant ones for its ingredients.
However, the Duck Yee Mee ala braised style was finely done. The duck meat was not too soft, and cooked to the right texture. Noodles weren't soggy either and tummy filling. Priced at RM10.90.
We also had their daily specials of the 2 flavours Glutinous Rice for RM5.90. One with dried shrimp, mushrooms & Chinese sausages while the other was steamed & stuffed with pork floss & dried shrimp sambal. Love this as it has 2 distinctive taste and flavours! Give this a go when you're dropping by.
A combination of moderately sweet zest, a hint of spiciness and some degree of saltiness.
Oriental Cravings
G359, Phase 2,
One Utama.
Tel: 603-7727 2581
Fax: 603-7726 3801
Chris and I would love to wish everyone a very Happy Chinese New Year in advance!
Balik kampung? Drive safely.. and safe journey home!
Makan? Share with me what have you feasted on during this festivity by then!
Ang paos? Get lots lots!! *so that you guys can treat me for a nice meal* ;P
