Early Reunion Dinner

We had an early reunion dinner today...all 12 of us @ Hua Ting. ^_-) Hua Ting serves authentic Cantonese Cuisine and won many nominations like best restaurants under Chinese Cuisine category by top restaurant guides, Asian Ethnic Restaurant at the World Gourmet Summit 2003 and 2005, its Master Chef Chan Kwok also won the Asian Ethnic Chef Of The Year 2005. Since my sisters got married and everyone started their own family, the reunion dinner becomes a very good opportunity for us to get together. Actually it was only last year we first started to eat out for our reunion dinner. In the past, we had always been taking reunion dinner at home. I guess our family had been expanding so it wont be possible to accomodate the whole family in our tiny table at home. =P

All ready to eat...

Even though chinese new year has yet to arrive, we managed to have "Lo hei" Yu Sheng. Surprisingly Yu Sheng is a typical chinese new year food custom that is only eaten here in Singapore. "Lo Hei" in cantonese means "to mix it up" and also sounds like "to prosper more and more"; while Yu Sheng in chinese and cantonese means raw fish whether fish is the word for prosperity. Yu sheng is loaded with symbolic meaning and is commonly eaten during the chinese new year especially on the seventh day. The most important (and fun) part of eating yu sheng is the mixing together of the ingredients. To ensure good luck for the coming year, everyone calls out "Lo Hei!" while they use their chopsticks to toss the ingredients as high in the air as they can.

Fresh Salmon "lo hei" yu sheng


A combination of crispy roasted duck and chicken


Braised baby superior shark's fin with bamboo pith

Twinny and her dearie do not take shark fins so Daddy Teddy Bear and myself had second helpings to theirs. Kekekeke!

Sauteed fresh scallop with cream and seasonal greens


Stewed bamboo pith with sliced abalone, fa cai and dried oyster


Stewed fillet of sea perch with shimeiji mushroom


Fried rice with fresh crab meat and egg white


Dessert - Sweetened sea coconut tea with lotus seed


Dessert - New year petit fours (nien gao)

This Nien gao is awesome. The outer skin is very crispy but inside is still so soft and tender. Love it. Everyone was eyeing for the chance to second helping. And because the Nien gao was so nice, Mummy Teddy Bear bought one back... A GIANT size one!! =P

Nien Gao (sticky cake)

Well for those who do not know the story behind Nien gao....according to legend, one week before the Spring Festival begins, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report on a family's behavior during the previous year. A negative report by the Kitchen God means a family will suffer from bad luck during the year to come. In order to ensure a favorable report from the Kitchen God, the custom evolved of feeding him Nien gao. According to different accounts this was either a bribe, or simply a means of ensuring the Kitchen God's mouth was too full of cake to pass on an unfavorable report. Nien gao is steamed and made with glutinous rice flour and dried fruit.

After dinner, on our way to step out of the hotel, we passed by a lounge on the first floor and little Junior Ted couldn't resist to do a little dance by himself which won him some applauses from the patrons at the lounge. Heehee! Sooooo cute.... And guess what we spotted when we stepped out of Orchard Hotel, some "Rich Richie" parking his Ferrari. Awesome!!

Wee-wee...Ferrari

I had a wonderful time today even though dinner ended nearly at 11pm. It sure was warm and lovely to be with family. I love all of them very very much.

HuaTing Restaurant
Orchard Hotel
442 Orchard Road
Tel : 6739 6666