So it might come as a shock, or a surprise (depending on how you see it) that, when comparing the pictures below, we appear to have very distinct celebrations for Chinese New Year this year.
That's right.
We did have two very different celebrations during the Chinese New Year season this year.
But that's how it is, and shall I just say that these two plain, almost sad-looking Filet O Fish burgers from McDonalds were not all that we had for our celebratory meal this year.
No, no, there were hash browns.
Four of them.
And we had two coffees, both of which we chose to have the thick thick kind.
You know, it wasn't a planned thing that we would have McDonalds for the second day of Chinese New Year, but then we didn't have much of a choice, what with fast food, Malay food and Indian food being the only options available.
It might've been better (I suppose) if we'd thrown the burgers into the rice cooker like for other dishes we normally do.
But neither one of us wanted to take out the rice cooker from the cupboard.
So we didn't.
That didn't mean we didn't have a nice, heartwarming meal featuring our favorite foods for this Chinese New Year.
Just that we had it slightly earlier.
Like the bowl of noodles which we prepared using the rice cooker and which had cuttlefish balls, meat balls, hot dogs, seafood wantons, big juicy tomatoes and a mountain of veggies.
Like the nice (and newly discovered) Hainanese chicken rice pau and fan choy which The Parents bought from the supermarket and which we steamed inside the rice cooker.
And the jar of cookies which we bought from one of the shops downstairs because we were too lazy to go far.
It's become a norm that we don't buy big jars of pineapple tarts, bags of cashews to toast in the oven or even tins of love letters anymore.
But that doesn't mean we don't keep traditions or that we don't stick to them.
We just modulate.
Like how this year we had the addition of bling-wrapped chocolate and apples and pears, but we brought out the red candy tray, the red tissues, the red ang pows and the little golden streamers.
The one thing that's been around for the longest time is the red candy tray.
It's a decor we've always had.
No doubt we don't have snacks and tidbits inside the tray as much as we used to, but there was a time when we had melon seeds in the middle of the tray with preserved fruits of variety arranged all around.
I always asked for preserved mango and sugared winter melon.
Perhaps it's now a little out of our league how we want to celebrate Chinese New Year- life changes- but hey, who knows.
Maybe next year I'll have the tray filled with cookies of all sorts and pineapple tarts and sugee (which I really like).
Maybe I'll stick to preserved mango and sugared winter melon and preserved lotus roots with the addition of kiwi and papaya.
Or I may leave it empty, but bring out new ang pows.
