1) Dec 22 marked this year's Winter Solstice - the date which, in the Northern Hemisphere, marks the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours of the year, which is why it is known as the shortest day and longest night. In China/ East Asia, the Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) Festival is one of the most important times of the year. It celebrates the return of longer daylight hours and ultimately an increase in positive energy. The festival's origins can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony. During this time for getting together, families often make and eat tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) cooked in a sweet or savoury broth.
2) My family is no exception. The following pictures feature many days of good food, including recreating that sense of togetherness that is so intrinsic in many of our festivals. The Winter Solstice transitions nicely into Christmas Eve, then Christmas, and finally the New Year. I'll leave you with some really wonderful pictures of both food and family. Thanks very much for reading, scroll down for loads of pics and captions, and have a lovely day. Cheers! :D
Three generations of the Chan family <3 <3 <3
"Bak Kut Teh" literally translates from Hokkien (dialect) as "meat bone tea", and at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic) for hours. Although there is no actual tea in the dish itself; the name refers to a strong oolong Chinese tea which is usually served alongside the soup in the belief that it dilutes the fat consumed in the pork-laden dish. I for one cannot get enough of the rich, herbal taste and (if done properly) the tender meat. Simply delicious!
Another day at - you guessed it - Gourmet Square, with my dad and grandpa :)
Left - Fried Bee Hoon (Rice vermicelli)
Right - Lor Mai Fan (Steamed glutinous rice)
Top right - Wu Tao Gou (Steamed taro/yam cake)
All three great for afternoon tea - which is just what we had :))
Chiffon Cake with different types of filling
(perfect for dessert during the Winter Solstice festival)
Chiffon cake with yam filling
At my maternal grandmother's house - prepping up
A delicious bowl of tangyuan
Tangyuan (汤圆 literally "soup ball") is a Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and served in sweet ginger syrup. Tangyuan can be either small or large, and filled or unfilled. They are traditionally eaten during Yuanxiao or the Lantern Festival, but also served as a dessert on the Winter Solstice Festival.
This version of tangyuan, for example, is filled with black sesame paste!
View from my grandmother's house in First Garden
Group photo with my mom, my cousin and her husband ^^
A smorgasbord of dishes in preparation for the Winter Solstice Festival
Sorry I am unable to name them, but suffice to say each and every one of them tasted magnificent!
Close-up of the delicious food :)
Finishing off with some dessert!
Of note is the large tray of Guilinggao. Also known as Tortoise Jelly (though not technically correct) or Turtle Jelly, it is a jelly-like Chinese medicine, also sold as a dessert. While it was traditionally made from the powdered shell from the turtle Cuora trifasciata "golden coin turtle", 金錢龜) and a variety of herbal products, commercially available guilinggao sold as a dessert does not contain turtle shell powder. Instead they share the same herbal additives as the medicine and are similarly marketed as being good for skin complexion when ingested.
Next day, my parents took me to a "dim sum" restaurant called Chooi Yue Dim Sum Restaurant
Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. The dishes are usually served with tea and together form a full tea brunch. They are traditionally served as fully cooked, ready-to-serve dishes. In Cantonese teahouses, carts with dim sum will be served around the restaurant for diners to order from without leaving their seats.
An assortment of dishes found in a typical dim sum setting
We have siumaai (pork and mushroom dumplings), har gow (shrimp dumplings), chee cheong fun, and a bowl of delicious congee (porridge), accompanied by a pot of piping hot Chinese tea!
A close up pic of the har gow - shrimp dumplings! <3
Can't have dim sum without char siu pao (barbeque-pork-filled bun) or lo mai gai (glutinous rice filled with chicken, Chinese mushrooms, Chinese sausage, scallions and sometimes dried shrimp or salted egg)
What a beautiful day to visit AEON BiG in Falim, Ipoh :)
Introducing the newly launched Proton X70 - very impressed by the build quality and design
Sleek and comfy interior
From RM99, 000 only
(that's around €20, 000)
Having lunch at the food court in AEON BiG
The Desserts section :)
FOOD COURT
Truly spoilt for choice - and that's just one row of stalls
A wide assortment of condiments (i.e. pickled chillies, soy sauce, chilli paste)
My dad recommended this Kam Heong Fried Rice.
The word Kam Heong literally means "golden fragrance". It really does light up your sense of smell and tastes out of this world. The key ingredients used in this fried rice are curry leaves, curry powder, dried shrimps, shallots, garlic, and chillies. A must-try, especially when paired with their unique chilli paste!
My grandpa had the wui fan (a type of braised rice with a thick gravy poured over it)
Simple yet delicious - and undeniably filling!
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Afternoon tea at Coco Cafe - still in AEON BiG
Three cups of coffee and a set of toast bread with butter and kaya (coconut jam spread)
Ft. mummy's chiffon cake with purple sweet potato filling
Mini X'mas decorations at the cashier :)
A bright and sunny day (with Keledang Hill in the background)
In the evening, we made our way to Parkson Grand
(yet another shopping mall - yes, Malaysians in general love shopping)
Behold the "Sizzling Kuey Teow"
("sizzling" because it is served on a hot plate; "kuey teow" are flat rice noodles stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantitiy of belachan, and whole prawns)
Xmas is coming soon!
Fancy restaurant inside Jaya Grocer - located at the lower ground of Parkson
Behold "Alipay" - in Malaysia!
We had supper at a mamak stall - an open-air food establishment particularly found in Malaysia and Singapore, which serve a type of unique Indian cuisine. Many of these stalls remain open 24 hours a day!!
This here is "Teh O Limau Ais" - which translates to iced black tea with lime. A very refreshing combination :)
This here is masala dosa, which is stuffed dosa. Dosa is made in the usual way by soaking rice and lentils overnight in water and then grinding it to a batter. The stuffing is made from boiled potatoes with a seasoning of mustard seeds and garnishing of grated coconut, coriander, and lemon juice. The dish is typically served with an assortment of curries - making for a very filling and satisfying meal. 10/10 would recommend.
The atmosphere at "Pelita" - a mamak store near my house that opens 24 hrs! :)
My mom and myself ^^
The following day, I followed my mom to her laundromat called "SeaBreeze", and she took me jogging at the nearby park. I captured this lovely view shortly after the morning jog (just in time for the sunrise)
Plenty of people (mostly senior citizens) engaging in group exercise today :)
While avoiding a child during my morning jog, I managed to graze my left knee - it's still recuperating now ):
Enjoying a nice bowl of
This classic Chinese dessert is known as Fu Chuk Yi Mai Pak Koh Tong Sui (腐竹薏米白果糖水)
which translates to barley, beancurd, and gingko nut dessert soup. Very smooth and silky texture, perfect as a morning post-exercise drink.
For breakfast, my mom and I shared this - claypot lo shu fun (pronounced "low she fun") - fried rice noodles
The noodles are also known as Silver Needle Noodles (銀針粉) in Hong Kong and Taiwan
My mom's laundromat
Soon after our morning exercise, my aunt came over in her MPV to take us on a food adventure (apparently it's a weekly affair XD)
This was the first stop - Restaurant Hoong Wan
We had wonton noodles with fish head soup - which as the name suggests, is a whole fish (usually grouper) head cooked in a rich milky broth! Unusual, perhaps. Delicious? Absolutely!
A large serving of seafood soup - consisting of crabs, mussels, cockles, and veggies in a lip-smackingly delicious soup :)
Crab - one of my favourite type of seafoods if I'm honest ^^
Fried wontons - usually containing a mixture of ground pork and/or shrimp
The very busy atmosphere made the experience all the more worth it :D
For the afternoon, we went to yet another restaurant for some lovely iced coffee (Kopi ais)
Add to that some kaya and butter toast, and some kai dan koh (literally "egg cakes") which have two layers of kaya in between them, and you have a perfect tea time snack :))
Gorgeous sunset view at home :)
When I mentioned in my earlier posts that one of the things I missed most was sharing a late night snack with my dad, this was exactly what I meant :)
And I get to relive this too yeay ^^
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