gongxi gongxi

gong xi fa cai!
wan shi ru yi!

i wore the racial harmony day outfit with the oriental wooden slip-ons to the hyatts grand reunion dinner just now. well, 50% of the guests there wore mandarin or pseudo-mandarin outfits, of which 70% of the female guests wore that and 95% of the kids under 12, so i didnt look out of place in that outfit. took a whole lot of pix, of me and my family and of the glorious food. will be putting them up on my blog asap after i learn how to do it. my father recommended me to do it through frontpage, but well, i will have to see how far my limited computer knowledge can bring me to. till then... ...

for now, its pure word descriptions! heehee... first dish, yusheng, need not say anything about it. second dish, golden suckling pig, with sweet sauce and egg wrap like those for peking duck kind. oh man, cant wait to show the pix... third dish, you people are so so going to envy me, sharks fin soup with fish maw, the soup is the clear soup kind, not the starched kind and the sharks fin is the whole piece kind, not the individual strand kind, wow, you should see it man! well, pix coming out asap... fourth dish, abalone in coconut, its a very tropical looking dish, but fell short of expectations, only one (quite thick though) slice of abalone with sea cucumber, crab meat, dried scallops and white fungus, okay lah, still a top dish, only that i would prefer it if the abalone was whole... there was also oysters with whole mushrooms, fried prawns in wasabi mayo sauce (only a tinge of wasabi taste so it was just perfect!), korean-styled noodles, and of course the dessert buffet!!! i took a whole lot more photos, cant wait to let everyone ee the wonderful chocolate fountain, strawberry cheesecakes, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, mango pudding and a whole range of icecream. not forgetting other desserts such as tangyuan, berry pies and traditional new year snacks... ...

the whole atmosphere there was very festive as the hotel invited acrobats, a magician (a very lousy one though, his tricks were all seen through by my cousins and we ended up dissing the poor magician throughout), a chinese orchestra, and a lion dance troop. each guest was also given a 200g 4 by 7 white/milk chocolate bar as door gift. really, this dinner, priced at approximately $90 per head was like 10 times more worth it than our pathetic prom dinner (though they are of a different kind of atmosphere). interested? next year perhaps can suggest that to your parents/grandparents?