Celebration @ Foreign Cinema, San Francisco USA

Taking a break from the excessive Chinese food fare for a while, I'm back to USA (yes, still lots to blog about since I was there for 2 months!) and reminiscing the time the group of us celebrated Mrs Pitt birthday (who had an earlier Peruvian fare celebration with the family) at Foreign Cinema.

We sat inside the restaurant as the weather would get colder as night approaches and this area has a more grandeur feel.

For those who chose to sit outside, there were heaters around to keep the patrons warm. More casual feel but sitting here has its benefit (More on the benefit later).

We had arrived at Foreign Cinema early for drinks first and took our time before we ordered our food. Boy! We took a rather long time to decide as we perused the large two sided A3 paper menu. Apart from loving the ambiance, I knew that the dining experience at Foreign Cinema would be different as their menu changes DAILY! The menu (even the smaller drink and wine list) has the specific date printed on it!

Fig wrapped in prosciutto - complimentary appetizer; a toast to the birthday girl; the busy kitchen area.

Chinese New Year - A Whole Lot Going On!

Well, it's the 9th day of Chinese New Year and there was just a barrage of firecrackers going off just now at midnight-so much so that I could smell the smoke in the air. Time flies....soon Chinese New Year celebration will come to an end. I have been having so much fun the past 9 days and there's more to come for sure .... What happens during such a festive period????

• Get a surprise! Meeting up with relatives and still amazed to see "new" additions to the family tree even though it happens year after year.

• Get acquainted/re-acquainted and bonding time with new and old friends over more food and activities that mostly involved decks of playing cards and mahjong tiles :o). Hahaha...no pics for this one!

• Get a delight in seeing how cute some kids are and how they are becoming even cuter day by day (year by year)!

• Get a reality check by being reminded of my "real" age as my once little cousins/nieces/nephews left their childhood days behind and entered adulthood as their over 6 foot frame hover over shorty me.

• Get an overdose of "Yee Sang", but it's always a welcome "fix" during this lunar new year period.

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's Friday and most people at this time are on their way back to their hometown, in time for the family reunion dinner on Saturday. As the Ox make way for the Tiger, those celebrating have been busy - spring cleaning the house, shopping for waxed meat to prepare the traditional Chinese dishes, buying/making cookies, making sure there's an ample supply of snacks and soft/packet drinks for guests etc. etc. etc. This is also the time for meeting up with relatives, some whom you see now and then and some whom you see only once a year! Knowing how to address your relatives proper is a challenge in itself - e.g. Yee Sum, Sam Sook, Tai Koo, Say Koo Cheong, Sai Koo Ma (meaning - 2nd paternal uncle's wife, third paternal uncle, paternal eldest auntie, fourth paternal auntie's husband, youngest paternal auntie) Phew! And that's just to name a few! :p

I remember when I was a kid, I use to get a kick out of drinking Anglia Shandy, it made me feel like a grown up. But now that I'm all grown up (and sideways too!), I want to be a kid again! Hahaha....And it was also during that time, we use to drink bottled drinks that are no longer available now like Green Spot (remember how the jewellers in Petaling Street would give the customers a bottle of Green Spot whenever we patronize the store?) and my all time favourite - ice cold Magnolia Chocolate Milk (which is now available in carton form, but it just doesn't taste the same). Of course, I'll be holding a bottle of this in one hand and a piece of "long yoke" - BBQ jerky in the other. That was and still is, happiness at its simplest. Best of all, it is a time of family togetherness, I'm recalling right now as I write this post; our family would be visiting other families and friends. It was the longest celebration for me, as I got to stay out with my family (yes, with that bottled drink and BBQ jerky in my hands, hahahha). Those are the moments that I treasure till today :o) What do you remember most about Chinese New Year when you were a kid?

To those traveling back to reunite with their families or just simply enjoying a short break, I wish all a safe journey! To all those celebrating Chinese New Year.....

GONG XI FA CHAI!