I should have put up these photos together with the previous blog entry, but when I wrote it, I had yet to upload the photos to Flickr. Thanks to a reader who said he’d like to have a look at what my mum cooked for this year’s reunion dinner, I’ve been reminded to give some recognition to my mummy’s cooking.


Every year we have yusheng 鱼生. My mum always orders an extra packet of crackers together with the preserved stuff, and my grandmother’s helper helps to grate the carrots and radish. Of course, we’re always more generous with our salmon since we buy our own fish.


Abalone with spinach. Abalone are auspicious for the new year as they look like the gold ingots that existed in ancient China. You know us Chinese, all we wish for is money! :p


Scallops coated with salt egg yolk served with asparagus


This is a stew that contains, Chinese mushrooms, pork, black moss (发菜), sea cucumber, and tendons. I especially love the black moss. It’s supposed to be eaten during Chinese New Year because black moss’s Chinese name sounds like the word 发财 (fa cai) which means to prosper and strike it rich.


These spring rolls are one of my favourites. The skin is actually bean curd sheets and inside are mince pork, water chestnut, prawns, Chinese mushroom and cloud fungus. I never get tired of munching on them.
There was also soup but I had forgotten to take a photo of them. No real Cantonese dinner is complete without soup. I don’t cook very much in Hong Kong because I don’t have a kitchen in the shoebox I live in. If I do cook, it’s usually with the rice cooker. Also, it’s so convenient to buy food in some cha chaan teng that I often don’t bother to cook. What’s more, I return home late quite often. Quite frankly, there’s not much fun cooking for one as well. Food tastes best when you’re partaking in the act of eating with others.
I do miss cooking though. There’s something very comforting about cooking and creating something to satisfy the stomach. I miss being in the kitchen cooking and experimenting with food. Wonder when will be the next time I can step into a proper kitchen again…