Preparing for CNY Reunion Dinner

Reunion dinner on eve of Chinese New Year is a MUST for Chinese family during Chinese New Year. It normally takes place on the eve before Chinese New Year. We usually have it earlier, so that my married siblings can have theirs, with their spouse’s family on that night.

In preparation for Chinese New Year reunion dinner at home, mom needed to go to wet market to get ingredients for her reunion dishes. I braced myself for throng of people at the market. It went better than I could have imagine.

It took me half an hour of driving and circling for parking, instead of the usual 10-15 minutes time. The road leading to the wet market was heavily congested, and there were many queue-jumping drivers. Tsk. I managed to get a parking spot nevertheless, and off we go.

Seeing my mom, and many other moms out there, reminds me of the power of a mother’s love. Choosing the best of the best, to cook for their beloved family. Things are definitely getting more expensive, a little bit of haggling here and there, to save some moolah for once-in-a-year family feast.

For a long while now, we have been eating out. We wanted it to be a sweat-and-stress-free meal for mom, as it is not an easy feat cooking for a big group. But this year, mom wanted to cook, and we let her be. She told me that our family size is big, and we will not be able to fit all into 1 table. Furthermore, she wants more ‘yan hei‘ at home.

Now that I hear her side of the story, and also seeing her determination, I think sometimes children do need to listen to their parents’ wishes. It could be tiring, but not to the extent of exhaustion. Whilst they can still cook for us, let them be.

Like I said to my siblings, it gives them a sense of purpose and also keeping their brain active.

We do have many things for praying-purpose, don’t we?

We had brunch at the market after CNY marketing, and mom chose porky noodle. Chinese and their pork. What’s so nice about pork? My cendol definitely tastes better than the porky noodle.

All ingredients bought, ready for our CNY reunion feast tomorrow.