[With Recipes] 2014 Chinese New Year Lunch Gathering With Relatives

This is the second year we invited our relatives over for Chinese New Year lunch gathering where everyone can mingles around as well as enjoy some homecook dishes and cakes prepared by my mum and myself. As usual we have a big group of relatives and to prepare a semi buffet for 30 people in a home base kitchen with gas stove and a microwave convection oven (my built-in oven was down) was rather a bit challenging for us. But thanks god we managed to get all the food up on time and everyone enjoys the array of food and family bonding time too.

So here is a long-winded post with photos of the food as well as related recipes (or recipe links) for your reference in case you need some inspiration on what to cook before the 15 days of lunar new year ends on Friday, 14 Feb 2014 (ooooo it's also Valentine's Day too)

[With Recipes] Our 2014 Lunar New Year Reunion Dinners

Our Reunion Dinners

Time flies fast and today is the 4th day of Chinese Lunar New Year which I believe most of you had a great long weekend with abundant of food and bonding time during house visiting. And out of the 15 days of new year celebration we are still down with another 11 days more to indulge with the New Year atmosphere and food.

Here I would like to share with you how we celebrate our reunion dinners with family and relatives during the week of Chinese New Year Eve.

[Wordless Wednesday] Celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year In Singapore

[Chinese Lunar New Year] Chinese New Year Ornaments

[Chinese Lunar New Year] Chinese New Year Ornaments

[With Recipes] Our Chinese Lunar New Year Goodies

Three more days to go before the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration begins and most of the households are busying with new year bakes such as pineapple tarts, almond cookies, love letters and etc. Whereas for savory dishes most of us will be making the ngoh hiang (minced meat roll), braised soy duck, braised sea cucumber, chicken curry and etc.

In this post, I am sharing some of the goodies (with recipes) that we had made till date such as Kueh Bangkit, Orr Nee, Ngoh Hiang and etc which you might be interested to try any of them during the 15 days of lunar new year feasts.

Birthday Feast @ Blue Bali on Cluny

Blue Bali on Cluny

Although I have not being to Bali (a small island in Indonesia) but I have heard good reviews on their food and many of its tourist attractions from friends who went over for holidays. So last Saturday, we decided to make a reservation at Blue Bali on Cluny to have an early celebration for my Birthday.

As usual, we found this restaurant using the Entertainer App which is now one of our reliable food source adviser that provides great saving dining deals.

[Blue Bali on Cluny]

Blue Bali on Cluny is located along the backyard of a colonial house at Bukit Timah which is within the faculty at the back of NUS Law School. And due to its “hidden” location, first timer might take quite a bit of time to find the place (like we nearly give up finding the location because google map just pin “10D Cluny Road” ends the car park entrance of Singapore Botanic Garden; Nassim Road) if you are not familiar with the area.

2014 Lunar New Year Bakes #1 - Cheesy Pineapple Roll and Black Gold

Chinese Lunar New Year is less than two weeks from now and you can see lot of festive goodies available in either supermarkets, bakery shops and even most of the households are busy with making their own expertise of bakes. Every year for my household, we only make pineapple tarts/rolls because they are our favourite and also when compared to the rest of the new year bakes (such as love letter, almond cookies, kueh balu, kueh lapis and etc) this is consider the most easiest with the help of ready-made pineapple paste.

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) Festive Specials Available From 17 January 2014 plus Giveaway of Smoked Salmon Yu Sheng

[Din Tai Fung] Abalone Fortune Yu Sheng

From now till 28 February 2014, Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) is pleased to introduce a line-up of Lunar New Year specials which is available for dine-in or takeaway. And during this festive season, everyone loves to toss an auspicious New Year with Yu Sheng (鱼生) that brings healthy and prosperity for the new year.

Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) offers two different types of Yu Sheng such as:-
Salmon Prosperity Yu Sheng (富贵鱼生)
- Standard (serves 2 - 3 pax) @ SG$28.80++
- Deluxe (serves 4 - 6 pax) @ SG$48.80++
* Available at all outlets except Din Tai Fung at Parkway Parade

 Abalone Fortune Yu Sheng ( 财宝鱼生)
- Deluxe (serves 4 - 6 pax) @ SG$68.80++
* Available at Din Tai Fung at Paragon, Marina Bay Sands, Resort World Sentosa, Marina Bay Link Mall, BreadTalk IHQ and Raffles City only

Goodness of Beetroot

For those who dislike the “raw” taste of beetroot you can mix it together with carrot and apple to create this miracle drink which has gained popularity all over the world due to its health benefit. To make this effortless juice, blend the three mentioned ingredients above together and consume it immediately. In addition you can also add in a splash of lime juice to enhance the taste.

Entertainer App 1-For-1 Main Course @ La Nonna, Holland Village

Last Saturday while sourcing a new eatery for our usual weekend brunch as well as an early celebration for my boy’s birthday, we decided to pop over one of La Nonna’s branch which is located in Holland Village. Upon arrived, the outlook of the restaurant give us a warm and homely feel with friendly staff bringing us to our seats.

[La Nonna @ Holland Village] Outdoor alfresco area

If you are curious like us, La Nonna meaning "The Grandmother" in Italian and it serves traditional Italian country cuisine.