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It’s that time of year again. For family members to gather and sit together at a round table, to cook and to dish up and to eat warm and happy meals. To laugh and to gossip, to ask and to wonder, how was your trip, how will this new year be? To come together, to feast, to be a family again.
Reunion.
.
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More food than we can finish, that’s entirely necessary, you see. So we may never go hungry. Chinese people love symbolism and good fortune comes in the forms of auspicious dishes with the appropriate names. They taste good, too.
.
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And the faces of my nephew and my nieces as they get older, as they grow up. Teenagers now when I could swear it was only a little while ago that I was helping to change their diapers. I am growing older too; only old folks reminisce about kids when they were babies, really. That’s fine. Growing older fits just fine.
.
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The years, they pass us so swiftly. My sister is in her 40′s now, and I still remember her as beautiful as she was on her wedding day. She has taught me everyone is beautiful, if you look closely enough. And my parents have moved on – from doting on their grandchildren to playing with the latest member of our family, a small bundle of nervous energy named Mickey.
Life keeps spinning, and we keep going.
.
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Yet for all the festive cookies, for all the mandarin oranges and the sweet nien gou, the red lanterns and the firecrackers, all the sounds and all the laughter, nothing can keep me here for long.
For I long to come home to you. I long to come home to my family. You are my home, my family. And we’ll be having our reunion soon.
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Copyright © 2011 Kenny Mah Ying Fye. Photography by Kenny Mah.
Kenny Mah believes in the good in people. He has been blogging for over ten years. No, his hands aren't tired. Yet.
wow… all the shots look great!
happy cny, bro! may you, sr and your family have a prosperity new year!
@CK Jr: Thanks, and may you and your family have a prosperous new year too – do come up from Muar tomorrow to Malacca and we’ll hang out!
Happy CNY Kenny. Yeah, to be feasting together is a bliss. Cherish this moment and embrace the warmth. :)
@J2Kfm: I’m embracing my very full belly right now, actually. *chuckles*
Happy New Year, bro!
how come so bright one ah? your reunion in the day time zit?
@fatboybakes: Yup, it’s daytime! We do reunion lunch and dinner each year. More grub for us to gorge on this way, haha…
Mouthwatering! Looking at everyone’s reunion dinners all over the world! Yours looks delicious! :) Happy New Year!
@msiagirl: We should have an online “reunion dinner” one day – with friends and family from all round the world “sharing” their food and joy.
Happy New Year, my dear! *HUGS*
Happy New Year Kenny! It’s been nice knowing you.
@Baby Sumo: Happy New Year – and here’s to getting to know each other better in the year to come!
Allow me to express in Mandarin.. 除夕团圆为中华传统文化及习俗之一，有团才有圆，圆了就满全。
Wishing you a happy and blessed Lunar New Year!
P/S – those dishes look tasty :-P
*HUGS*
May you n Devil n all your loved ones (including Mickey) have a wonderful new year filled with even more happiness and prosperity.
Gong Xi Fa Chai! :)
Gong Xi Fa Cai to you, Kenny !
@Alby: Then, my friend, do also allow me to reply in Mandarin, with much respect to your auspicious, uhm, expression.
我喜欢圆桌。我喜欢圆的生活。这是因为我的肚子也很圆。哈哈哈。
Pinyin: Wǒ xǐhuan yuánzhuō. Wǒ xǐhuan yuán de shēnghuó. Zhè shì yīnwèi wǒ de dùzi yě hěn yuán. Hā hā hā.
English: I like round tables. I like a round life. This is because my tummy is also very round. Ha ha ha.
May you and your loved ones have a blessed Lunar New Year also!
@J the chocoholic: Aww, so sweet of you to include little Mickey too. Yes, may all of us have a more wonderful new year with the Wascally Wabbit arriving to bring more good cheer and happiness our way.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
@Chen Xing: Gong Xi Gong Xi!
what lovely shots ;-) must have been a GREATTT reunion dinner :D
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
@babe_kl: Oh, it was, it was. And having little Mickey running under the table and around our feet the whole time certainly put a new twist to our reunion meal, that’s for sure!
Gong Xi, Gong Xi! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Gong Hei Fatt Choy!!! This is my first year spending CNY away from my Hubby…ermm…pretty okay since it’s business as usual. Looking forward to my trip home and do hope to meet up ok? Have a wonderful rabbit year ahead!
@Precious Pea: Gong Hei Fatt Choy! May this year bring you more success in your business, my dear.
Oh, we must meet up when you are back to KL. Not seen you in yonks! *hugs*
yums! century egg! siew mai-esque stuff! caramelized pork! and pineapple tarts and other kuih whose names i’ve forgotten! :D
eh, there’s a clear family resemblance between you and the others in these photos (except for the one with the pointy ears and furry body who’s sprawled on the floor. i suspect he’s adopted) :P
@Sean: Makes me wonder what you for your reunion lunch. Foie gras with siew yoke? Truffle sauce over steamed pomfret? Hehe.
Uhm, my nephew and nieces are supposed to take after their father’s side of the family, but maybe. Family is family, after all. Mickey takes after my, uhm, natural charm? Ahem.
Family reunions are special and the Mah family reunion must have a very special meaning to each one of you. I bet it was a memorable celebration. I bet it was absolutely perfect. I bet all of the hard work that went into it was well worth it. Here’s to many more, Mr Mah!
GONG XI FA CAI! :D
@jemima: Thank you, my dear. Reunions do have a very special meaning to mean, all the more with my constant travelling and being away.
May your family reunion and time together be warm and wonderful, tying close knots of love even tighter, year after year.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
No leh, mine was a humble traditional meal. What’s profoundly disturbing is that it was booze-free. Based on your pics, it appears that you and your household shared my sober fate too. Or did you? I suddenly have a vision of underage drinking and an intoxicated dog at your reunion lunch! (drunk dogs are fun to watch, btw!) :D
Got resemblance lah (especially the bespectacled lad), in their eyes, their expressions. As for mickey and you, well … he has your posture. And he’s as well-groomed :p
@Sean: Haha, for us it wasn’t anything as dire as enforced sobriety so much as we don’t really drink.
And no – Mickey isn’t getting a drop of alcohol – he’s hyperactive enough as it is!
My posture? Well-groomed? Dude, you are grasping at straws or whatever’s particularly flimsy and likely to have one spiralling over the edge of a cliff. Hehe.
Ahhh, but alcohol does different things to different dogs, just like it has various effects on people. A bit of brandy might cause Mickey to become calm and contemplative (ie. behave like a cat) :D
And if you snap a photo of him wearing your glasses, I’m sure the resemblance would be even more obvious! :P
@Sean: Mickey on brandy behaving like a cat? Then I’d prohibit the little fellow from taking that particular poison.
Hmm. Maybe a few good chugs of some Paulaner Weißbier will turn him into a pygmy German Shepherd? Hehe.
And Mickey’s eyes are big enough without another pair, haha.
Good that you are aware of your round tummy, but make sure that your neck and face will not become round, otherwise you become like Cxxf Wxn!
*devily laugh*
@Alby: I am so hunting you down in Kuching!!! Grrrr…
*neh neh neh neh*
“You cannot catch me~~! Phhhrrrrr….”
@Alby: I don’t have to catch you… There are other ways… But I shan’t tell you what… *muahahaha*
Ooh, this is kinda fun, thinking of what to feed Mickey. I’ve always wondered if dogs would enjoy cat food. I figure they’d eat it but perhaps not relish it. I don’t have a dog, so I can’t perform such exciting experiments … but you can! Yay! :D
And now that you mention it, he does have saucer-like eyes. With his size and color, why, one could even mistake him for Bambi (especially if you paint a few white spots on his posterior)!
@Sean: I am not entirely convinced cats and dogs can differentiate cat food vs. dog food. And sometimes they don’t even like all that processed pet food.
One food blogger once wrote about how selective her dog was – to the extent of eating only D24 durians, and not the Siamese or kampung varieties!
Bambi? My own Devil at home is notorious for making Bambi eyes at me. And it does work at getting me to cave in to favours – sighs! (I’m too easy.)
Durian-eating dogs?!? I’ve never heard of such creatures! It sounds as bizarre as grass-eating humans! Or human-eating elephants! Or elephant-eating whales! :D
If you can’t beat ‘em … learn how to make Bambi eyes yourself too? :P
@Sean: Okay, hold on to your horses there, Mr. Exaggeration-A-Bit-Much…
Got la. Lemme go search for you. Found it! Here.
My Bambi eyes? Tried di. No work on Devil wor…
Wow, another adorable dog. But considering that it’s sadly deceased, you might wanna consider the possibility that durian-eating dogs might now be extinct :p
Aiya, just means that you haven’t mastered the art of Bambi-eye-making. Time to watch more Disney cartoons! :D
@Sean Fret not, sir! Google “dog eat durian” and you shall find many an evidence to the contrary. You may put your extinction theory to rest.
Or perhaps entertainment that is a tad more adult than Disney? Ahem.
Hmmm, “dog eat durian” returns only about 50 results. But “dog eat dog” … like, 5 million. The cannibal canines win! :p
Oh, you know some other means of bending someone’s will to yours, without resorting to doe-eyed degradation? Do tell :D
@Sean: Yes, well. “Dog eat dog” is an idiom; “dog eat durian” isn’t, not yet anyway.
Oh yes. But. Not telling. Cos I’m evil that way. *muahahahaha*
Firstly, CNY wishes are in order: Xin Nian Kuai Le, Gong Xi Fa Cai & He Jia An Kang!
*curses to this laptop which is more banana than its owner, moi!
Hope your CNY is off to an awesome start. Have a blessed and prosperous year ahead (what’s an extra inch on the waistline! Haha)
Nothing breaks the blood that binds. But home is where the heart is. Schweet la you two!
@joshua: Happy New Year, my friend – and its the sentiment that counts after all, so no worries. (You’re talking me being quite a banana too, haha.)
Just got home, in fact. (To Kuala Lumpur, I mean.) So, I’m mighty happy, as you can imagine. An awesome start to an awesome year – but I wouldn’t mind giving the extra inches round the waist a miss, thank you very much! *chuckles*
mickey sure knows how to pose for pictures, hey, what is the one that’s wrapped in pandan leaves?
i’m sure there are more mini ‘reunion’ dinners to come now that you’re back in kl..have fun!
@lena: I guess Mickey is a bit of a camwhore, just like his master, hehe. The pandan-leaves-wrapped dish is chicken, I believe done Thai-style.
And I’ve had a really nice mini-reunion… at a Korean BBQ restaurant of all places! Yummy!
It is definitely an extensive spread for a reunion meal. What many courses was that> ;p
Happy Lunar New Year!
@tigerfish: How many courses? To be honest, I didn’t really count – and it was really more than we could finish! Abundance for the New Year!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
It’s sweet…. I love my family and hope to see them more.
@worldwindows: As we all do, my friend, as we all do.
i love this post! i guess it’s because i LOVE food! haha. nice shots by the way. and i do agree with your sister. everyone’s beautiful if you look closely enough. smart girl, your sis. :)
@luuworld: Hahaha, it’s fine thing to love, food is. And people too, since we are all booootifuuuulllll… *grins*