It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve today – the Year of the Tiger, not that we are looking forward to it. We are keeping it low key and are celebrating it all by ourselves, just to keep the tradition and preserve our heritage more than anything else.
For one thing, I was quite pissed off by the authorities concerned in the state and the rules and regulations laid down as to how we should celebrate the festival – they will say one thing one day and something else the very next day. The people at national level sure made a mess that day with regard to the celebration of Thaipusam.
First, they said no lion dances would be allowed, plus all the restrictions for the reunion dinner and house visiting. Incidentally, they said open houses are not allowed but house visiting is permitted for family members only, the number depending on the size of the house, for just one day and then they changed it to two!. Pray, tell me, what is the difference between an open house and house visiting?
Eventually, they said lion dances are allowed, dunno if they said anything about dragon dances or not. You must put up the QR code at your door and people coming to your house must scan to check in…bla…bla…bla!!! Never mind! Say what you want, do what you want! We shall just do away with everything, no need for all that hassle, such a nuisance!!!
My missus did not make any cakes this year nor are we going to buy any since we are not having an open house plus I am on a low sugar diet. Having said that, this came as a surprise yesterday when my girl’s coursemate and friend dropped these kek lapis (layer cakes)…
…off at our gate for us for Chinese New Year. That was so sweet and thoughtful of him and his missus, the kind and generous gesture is certainly most appreciated indeed, thank you so so much! May God bless them and all their loved ones abundantly in the coming year.
Another surprise followed soon after when we received this kek lapis and a huge pack of muruku…
…from my cousin, AhLek and his wife, Saliah who would send us things without fail every year. I heard just the other day that the two of them are in KL right now with their daughter there so I assumed they would not be giving us anything this year. I guess they must have asked their son here in Sibu to buy and send to us, thank you so so so much to them and their loved ones too and may God bless them abundantly as well in the year ahead.
My missus did make these kuih dahlia or kuih semprit…
…though but they seem a shade darker this year compared to last year’s, probably because of the low GI brown sugar (we do not have regular sugar in the house anymore) that she used, and these Nestum cookies…
…that I do like a lot. Of course, I have to confine myself to just one or two pieces per day.
This is not fish skin…
– it is actually seaweed wrapped with popiah skin and deep fried. The ladies in the house love it so much – they gave a tub to my sister and she said that she finished it in one sitting, watching some drama on TV.
Every year, my missus would buy cashew nuts and toast them in the oven with butter added for extra fragrance. My brother-in-law likes them a lot so of course, she toasted some again this year…
..to give to him and also to enjoy ourselves.
In the meantime, I went to one of the neighbourhood shops in the next lane and picked up this pack of pistachios…
…or as they are called in Chinese, happy beans/nuts (开心豆/kāi xīn dòu). I do enjoy munching on those and this brand is pretty good, the same brand as the canned corned beef that I always buy – I would buy it every year but goodness gracious me! It is now RM50.00 a pack. *faints*
Of course I did buy myself some bak kua (barbecued meat slices) to enjoy. I bought the nice one from Kuching that day but after that, I went for the ones from Loong Kee which, needless to say, did not come cheap but never mind! After all, it’s just once a year.
In the meantime, my girl’s ex-colleague from her former school in the jungle gave her two packs of these mala-flavoured ones…
…thank you so much to her. They are probably locally-made and yes, I do think they are pretty good, slightly spicy and more inclined towards salty, not so sweet.
We still have a bottle of the nyonya acar (pickles) that my missus made…
…that day but we have finished off all the keropok (prawn/fish crackers) that I fried…
…so my missus went and bought two more packs and fried all of them and kept them in an airtight tin. So far, we’ve been very good – we have not touched them yet. I guess it will be gone soon enough, eventually.
No, I did not bother to do any spring cleaning nor did I hang up any lanterns nor take the trouble to decorate the house, no new clothes, no new bank notes, nothing! As you can see, it is going to be a very quiet Chinese New Year this year.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
The deep fried seaweed wrapped with popiah skin is very addictive and I won’t be surprised your sister finish the whole tub in one sitting. Same apply to cashew nuts, bak kwa and keropok with acar. Once you start munching or eating, you can’t stop. With all the strict SOP for house visiting, I think it is better to stay safe at home as social distancing is impossible. Like you, I am eager to know the difference between open house and house visiting.. 😂😂
Those stupid people, dunno what they are talking about! I see many photos of family reunions, weddings, big crowds with no social distancing and no masks, not a good thing to do…and nothing happens…and then they went and fined three young boys at a table in a coffee shop sitting at least one metre apart. Do these people know what they are doing? There are many places (I went to two), so packed, full house, so many people sitting so close together!!! I get so pissed off, seeing all this. Catch just for show only, pretend they are doing something – useless bums!!!
You have quite a variety of goodies to enjoy! Very true, I can understand how you feel about the authorities’ stand on the SOPs. They come up with something, then some people will complain, then they do a u-turn. Nobody really cares about the SOPs from what I have observed. People have no qualms coming close to you at supermarkets or the malls. So fed up! It’s best to just stay home. No mood to celebrate anyway. LOL!
Yes, so mood-spoilt by all the nonsense. Really, want to muntah when I see all those people, talk like they are God almighty!!!
Like what I said in my reply to Irene, I was so pissed off by how they fined three young boys sitting at one table at a coffee shop, at least a metre apart (see the photo in the newspaper report)…while there are so many places here, so full, packed like sardines, customers spilling onto the road but nobody coming round to check and to catch them, This is like the luck of the draw – they pick at random, show they are doing something and then go back to sleep!!! Useless, good for nothing!!!
https://www.theborneopost.com/2022/01/28/six-in-sibu-fined-for-violating-sop/
happy new year to uncle arthur and all your family…
Thank you so much, and the same to you and all your loved ones.
All the best for meaningful celebrations tonight and this week.
Thank you. Enjoy the festive celebrations over there!
I do miss kek lapis very much. Nestum cookies look yummy. For me and my family, CNY has always been a low key thing. So all the SOP thing didn’t upset us. As usual, we stay home to enjoy the snacks and of course, I will be cooking 2 main meals everyday. Wishing you and loved ones a Happy and Healthy CNY!
Thank you and wishing the same to you and your loved ones.
We always had an open house for Chinese New Year on a grand scale, then my parents fell sick so for many years, we did not really celebrate and after they passed away too. I think we had it once before the outbreak of the pandemic and we have not had it since. We did enjoy it a lot, all relatives and friends dropping by but now that we are so old already, it can be somewhat tiring. So sad.
Indeed, very confusing on the sop. One day, said this, next day, different story. Tsk tsk.
I used to like kuih dahlia when I was a kid. We have many bak kua this year, sure can last us for quite long. Haha. But no acar this year. Hubby didn’t buy any, although I fried 3 packs of fish keropok. Lol.
Happy Chinese New Year to you and family!!! Gong xi fa cai!!
Thank you, and the same to you and yours.
A lot of acar at the shops and stalls this year but dunno if they are any good. My missus made her own so we just enjoy hers.
Also a lot of bak kua this year, lots made in Sibu but no, thank you, Swine flu! Best to stay away from the pork from here for a while.
Ha ha… you know the slogan, Malaysia Boleh!
One minute before cannot, one minute later can.
That’s our spirit! Ha! Cannot depend on the government one.
Sarawakian kek lapis is trully colourful. Our regular one in Johor, only got the boring brown and yellow layers.
Happy Lunar New Year to you all.
Thank you, and the same to you and your loved ones.
Your Johor kek lapis sounds like the traditional Indonesian ones, I do enjoy those too.
Indeed, so sick and tired of those people, acting so high and mighty like they know what is best. With the internet, we also have access to all kinds of information and more often than not, they seem to keep to their own agenda – what they want rather than what is for the good of everybody. @#$%^&*!!!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cashews and Pistachios are great, too! I’ll have to see if I can find the Pistachio Mustard I made a couple years ago! YUM!
Pistachio mustard? Gee! Never heard of that before, Interesting!