Another Yee Sang session

Happy CNY everyone!! How's urs? We went back to Terengganu as we have engagement ceremony. Thus, this will be my first time not celebrating CNY after married. We spent CNY at salak south every year previously...and we have lion dance show coming to the house every year, and guess what, kebetulan tahun ni takde lion dance okkk! In a way I was relieved...because I don't have to miss the fun haha.

Ok, anyway, we had another yeesang party, luncheon this time just before we went back to Terengganu, at One World Hotel, same place we had in 2012. It's kind a revisited but with different menus. And much older participants haha. Oh ya, last time only us and my PIL kalau tak salah, but this year my MIL invited Auntie Tim and Auntie Lala together..so there were 10 of us (including the kiddos).

The table setting. With bottomless Pu Er tea.

Zahra got her present from Auntie Lala! Her much awaiting baby doll. Well, she's been asking for a baby doll from me since months ago and I keep on holding it because she already has 2 baby dolls but according to her it's not the same because one has rambut pacak (a brunette that he hair stick up) and one has rambut gulung-gulung (a blonde with curls). She wants a real baby with pacifier and milk bottle. I didn't plan to buy it because I feel that will spoil her but then she break the wish to auntie Lala and her wish is granted :-/

And she's lovin it each minute. She's been playing with the doll throughout the lunch.

Emir is not left out..he got a Belle from Thomas and Friends range. Also his most awaited toy! He loves train (especially Thomas & Friends) so much but MrComot bought the cheapo RM7 train which won't move and my sister bought him a good train set completed with tracks, lights, smoke coming out and whatnot, but too bad the train is a bit flimsy and he broke some parts. We glued them back but it's not the same. This one is from Fischer Price and betul lah org cakap original stuff tahan lasak, this train is banged from various places but stay true to itself. The motor pun kuat. We plan to buy sikit-sikit the set for him..adding to the collection :D

Ok let's go to the food. We had the salmon yeesang and other Chinese food is ordered by my MIL.

Yeesang with salmon and the yummilicious plum sauce. The waiter is from Nepal (well..hotel pun dah pakai non-local) and he is trained to speak Chinese even though I doubt he understands it. So for each ingredient that he mixes, he will say something and the funny thing is, I ask my MIL what that means and MIL said she also don't understand..because he just belasah cakap LOL. I think the pronunciation is not accurate..certain phrase my MIL got it.

Tossing to the all good stuff in life

Compulsory vege - HK choy sum, stir fry with garlic style.

I-have-no-idea what is this..combination of foo chuk, fishball, mushroom and another choy sum.

Their special fishball, also forgot its name.

Chinese style beef steak. It bit tough.

Duck and chicken with jellyfish at the middle. The jellyfish is spicy! Anyway I love last time when we had the duck..but this time the duck is a bit tough and dry. So disappointing :(

Random salad I had from the plate and when Zahra saw this she laughs and said "Mommy ni macam Sepi la". Apparently Sepi is a cow character in Upin Ipin, who loves to eat vege, or grass I guess :-/

Emir is so excited with his new train. This is the first time he sits throughout the lunch which lasted for almost two-hours! A history breaker!

Random deco in the room. A glass/crystal chandelier.

Zahra and her doll. The baby doll comes together with a bag-pack which she can wear the baby back-carry style. The set also has 3 extra clothes for the baby to change. Suka la budak tu.

Random pose of her in fluffiest tutu! And softest too! Also a present from Auntie Lala. Haishh budak2 sekarang bertuah betul. 

The food as in overall is quite plain to me..but it was a very lovely luncheon as we get to gather and I enjoyed the company very much. Ahh..this reminds me to do the Thank You card for all the gifts.

Again, Happy Chinese New Year everyone. This year is horsey year! Well, I'm not a fan of horse, just for a record of this blog hehe.

First Yeesang in 2014

Salmon Yeesang. Tossing to all good stuff to fill your 2014 :)

My MIL invited us for yeesang session last weekend at SouthSea Seafood Restaurant. This is our first yeesang session this year (we normally have multiple sessions) and SouthSea was always be my favourite. Well, WAS. The food wasn't like is used to be and not really satisfying. There are a few hits, but mostly miss.

But it doesn't matter really, the companion that counts right?

This year is Horse year

Zahra being cheeky. I asked her to pose and she did this.

 

Emir with Mommy. Kesian bawah mata dia luka..he got it at school. Biasala kids..thank God it missed the eye.

Clams in garlic and chili padi. Use to be my favourite but it was bland that night. Tak pedas langsung and rasa ginger je banyak :(

Typical chinese style vegetable, cook it plain with garlic hehehe. I find it rather funny because Malay style punya sayur so fancy and penuh cili right..lololol..but yeah, it's healthier to eat this way. Love your stomach pls!

Butter prawn. Different style than last year too. No egg floss :(

Kung Pao chicken. So-so only. 

Yam basket! One of my fav! 

Lotus paste pancake for dessert. It's not that sweet and the pastry is crunchy and flaky. Highly recommended! 

Overall, it's an okay dinner. I forgot to check the bills, but I wonder if it's worth it because when I see the price tag at seafood display at the aquarium, the price has hiked up so much!

Anyway, we won't be able to celebrate CNY this year because I'm going back to Terengganu for a bigger event. Am going to miss the lion dance but can't wait for my baby sister getting engaged! :D

CNY 2012

The festive season is over, but I still haven't finish writing about our CNY celebration.

We visited my MIL's side (in Salak Selatan) on the second day of CNY because everybody gathers and the lion dance will be that day.

Since I didn't host any birthday party for Zahra, I decided to make some goodie bags for the kids (for the Salak South gang and officemates). There is a long story about Zahra's goodie bag but I'll write about it later.

Chocs + honey star/coco crunch/milo + heart balloon + whistle

The lion dance scheduled at 3PM so we were rushing like mad, suap Zahra lunch, pakai baju raya, solat etc etc and drive laju-laju, sampai sharp2 at 3, only to find that the lion dance will come at 4PM. Sabar je la...

Since this is my 3rd time in Salak South, I don't feel that awkward anymore. But I feel very bad because I still can't remember their names. Chinese name is hard, at least to me. Can I just call everybody Ah Chong? Haha kidding. Btw, I feel bad because they always remember about us, sometimes siap belikan Zahra hadiah and pass it to my MIL and I macam confident when my MIL told me, "This one is from A, this one is from B" but when I jumpa, rupa2nya salah orang. Sigh.

We had 1 hour to kill before the lion comes, so as usual I put my smiling face, because I can't talk Mandarin (or to be exact don't even understand it) and they don't talk much English. So yeah, can you imagine? Haha. Well, I'm getting better in mixing without conversing.

My sister joined us and it was her first time celebrating CNY in real Chinese home. I wonder how she feels but mustn't as awkward as my first time. At least dia ada geng kan.

Few pictures for you! :D

Zahra giving her birthday goodie bag to the cousins (alamak not sure the pangkat..but they are sons n daughter of anak saudara my MIL. Wow..it sounds complicated). And I can't remember all their names!

The only day Zahra gets to drink whatever she wants hehe. I rarely give her air kotak because it's sweet that day she gets to drink the whole pack! And guess what, balik rumah pun mintak the box drink lagi. "Mummyyyyy..zahya nak air tak!"

Star of the day - Emir Qalef! Everybody was so excited playing with Emir as he's the smallest and it is their first time meeting Emir.


My smiley baby in red samfoo!

The lion dance preparing to perform

Bertafakur in front of the house I think.

The kids were playing with the lions. Last year, Zahra was excited with the lions and this year, she cried watching them! Ish ish ish anak mummy. According to MrComot, she was OK when she saw the lion but the moment they hit the drum, she cried while saying 'tatottt layen tatottt layen' and pointing to the lions. I think must be the loud noise. However, I didn't manage to witness the drama because I was in the room with Emir, protecting Emir's ears ;) The lion dance's pics are taken by my sister.

Lions eating mandarin

Handing kau foo plate of pamelo and mandarins

It was scorching hot and Emir fell asleep during the lion dance performance. Memang panas giler sebab rumah tu atap zink pastu ada kipas je. Angin pun angin panas. But Emir such a good baby, takde cranky and doesn't mind the uncomfortable-ness.

Zahra playing with other kids. Can you spot her? She's still the smallest, after Emir :)

Lotus root chips

My first time having it and it is yummy! Other than the lotus root, we had the 'ngaku' (arrowhead chips). This one every year ada, lupa nak snap pic. Looks like potato chips but creamier with a hint of bitterness. I love ngaku chips as well!

Angpows for the kids. We also got angpows, despite of being married with kids hehe, thanks aunties/uncles! We divided into two for both kids.

A full pic of Zahra in pink cheongsam. Pose with limau lagi.

And dance!

It was around 5PM and Zahra doesn't have her usual nap. Zahra ni jenis kalau keluar, tak boleh tidur, walaupun dia mengantuk sangat. She will force her eyes open and go hyper. The moment we hit the car, terus pengsan tidur.

The aunties requested us to stay until dinner time and they are going to buy us KFC, but with two kids in hand, and Zahra dah hyper semacam, we decided to go back at home and rest. Maybe next year we'll stay for dinner..depends on the situation.

A very tiring day but we had a blast catching up even though we are talking chicken and duck hehe..

A Blah CNY Eve

Finally, I get a space to breathe, and update about the recent CNY celebration.

This is my fourth year celebrating Chinese New Year. It started when we were dating (MrComot's mom is a Chinese). Below is the recap:

• First year in 2009 where we had 3 yee sang session, at Dong Yi Shun, Sri Ayuthaya and Southsea Subang. Click here. It was also my first time celebrating it in real Chinese house (the grandma's) and I got angpows, despite of married status. Click here.
• Second year in 2010 I was in confinement. Click here.
• Third year in 2011, Zahra was about 1y1m old, and had her first red samfoo! Click here.

And this year, the fourth year, we celebrating with little Emir in the house!

How fast time flies..

We started the celebration with CNY eve dinner. My MIL planned for a yee sang session in Hj Shahrin Low Klang, Harbour Place. She had previous dinner there and it was yummilicious but surprisingly our visit was a disappointment. The food was so blah and so the service. We reached quite late (everybody was already there and we missed all the drama) but according to my MIL, bila mintak pinggan because they give pinggan tak cukup, the servant jawab pinggan tak cukup sbb tak cuci, bolehhh?? Apa masalahnya..cuci je la kannnn?




And yee sang pun tak ada! But it was our mistake I guess because don't call up asking about it first. Last year ada, so assume this year pun ada.

So it was a dinnertime only. We had roast duck, steam fish, yam basket, salted egg prawn, vege and lemon chicken. To rub salt in the wound, the so-called house specialty roast duck also not that nice :(

Kesian roast duck tu, banyak tak abes..membazir :(

Had peanut soup and lotus pancake for dessert and surprisingly I like their peanut soup. So creamy nyum!

Zahra running in the restaurant with her pink samfoo! My MIL bought three CNY garment for her this year. She said kenot tahan, they are sooooo cute!

Emir in the surau. We left home before Maghrib, so had Maghrib there. Ada surau baru, cantik and so spacious, so don't worry if you are here. Anyway budak kecik ni kan, sampai-sampai je terus buat job. So pegi toilet and clean him semua. The toilet not so nice :( Old design with cheapo finishing.

A better view of her samfoo.

With her favourite CNY cracker! Deep fried shredded crabstick. We only found this once a year, so she's holding it tight, 'Zahra punya!'.

So, that was the pre-CNY celebration. Gotta update more about this. Mwah!

Zahra's First CNY!

This is my 3rd year celebrating Chinese New Year and Zahra's first! My first CNY was when I just got married (and still got angpow! hehe). Anyway I didn't really celebrate it on the 2nd year because I was in confinement and coincidentally they didn't have the lion dance show last year and make it up this year. I was super excited because it will be first experience for Zahra!

I wanted to buy Zahra a cheongsam but my MIL faster than me, got her one in bright red, it's a 2-piece wear actually, I don't know if it's called chengsom too, I think so (edited: It's called samfoo. Thanks Azleena!). Anyway it fits her well and super duper cute!

We reached there around 2.45PM and the lion dance started at 3.30PM, just nice for Zahra to warming up herself. This is her first time in my MIL's family side and as usual, I wasn't in my chatty mode because of communication problem hehehe - they (the older generation) know very little Malay and no English but I've met them quite few times already so the awkwardness is not there anymore.

One of the cousin. This little girl is 1y5m and can walk steadily already. She has matching shoes with her cheongsam, soooo cute!! I didn't know they got such thing! If I know, confirm I belikan for Zahra haha.

Zahra with 4-seasons angpow. Not all for her. Actually, I am getting excited over the nice angpow packets and busy snapping the pic, so one of the aunties went to the room and take out all the design specifically for my camera. Told you they are very nice! Hehe. And look at what she's holding. That's her first boxed drink! Haha.. I am not rigid towards her diet anymore, only that I still cook for her main meals. I practically just give anything in between for snacks including fried crabstick.

Her first time and doesn't want to let it go! Originally I wanted to give her few sips only but the moment she got it, she refused to let me take the drink from her. She grabbed it tightly and shrieked at me everytime I pull it from her ok! Ewaahhhh..dah pandai demand ya! Dah la cold, takut tak elok banyak2.. so I had to let her sips, then pujuk her to let it go, then sips again, until when she's a bit unaware, I quickly grab it and hide it behind the chair. Boleh tahan budak ni minum, almost half of the box.

The crowd started to pouring in. Families only and most of them I don't remember the face anymore. Some I only met in our wedding and some never met LOL. I only know them by places, ok this is PJ gang, this is Rawang gang, this is etc etc. Even so, I don't think I can't recognize them if stumbled on the road. I only knew the newer generation, especially the ones that studying in university/college because that's the only I talked to :D

Lion dance troop getting ready

Zahra touching the lion's head

The dance starts

U purposely bring her as near as we can to the lion. The music was so loud at this time and she shows no sign of fear at all.

The lion praying or paying respect at the alter.

They eat the oranges outside this year because it was packed in the house.

Look how close she is! And never let even one cry. All she does is staring at the lion. I think she is too small to be scared of such thing pun. Or maybe she doesn't even care hehehe.

Lions eating the oranges.

I can't resist not to post this pic. MrComot took this pic and said "Tengok siapa lagi excited ni?" Hahaha! I was actually trying to cheer the lion for tottila! At one time she seems not even interested with it ok. Ish ish ish..

See see.. doesn't scared at all.. Siap macam welcoming the lion lagi

When the lion dance over, it's about 4PM already which means Zahra still doesn't get her nap time. One thing about her, she can't sleep if we are doing outdoor activities, she can't even sleep when I bring her to malls (she refused to sleep in the stroller) and will only sleep in the car. Kuat betul dia tahan mengantuk hmmm...

Playing time. The kids bring out a box of toys and she happily join in, despite of her sleepiness

Playing with her cousins

Takde ciri-ciri mengantuk langsung. She just join the crowd and no merengek-rengek at all even though I didn't give her any lunch! Oh my..now I remember. Kesiannya totti. I just BF her in the car but maybe she's full enough (edited: I did give her lunch! I asked MrComot, he said I bagi lah..but early lunch around 12PM. Ahh lega haha. And OMG I am so forgetful these days..hmm..). Anyway, masuk-masuk kereta je terus pengsan hehe..

Last but not least, her full picture in her attire with the hairclip. I forgot to snap the close up of the hairclip! Just a simple one anyway, grosgrain ribbon with flower-shape button. I will take the pic later ;)


Gong Xi Fa Cai! :D