Home Alone This Chinese New Year!

This Chinese New Year (CNY) I'm home alone!  My family went back to Ipoh on the first day of the Lunar New Year but I decided to stay put.  Since the pandemic, I've grown used to not travelling...and the idea of getting stuck in traffic for a longer than anticipated balik kampung journey isn't something I look forward to these days.  Anyway, I'm more than happy to spend some me time at home by myself! ^_~

Though I may be home alone, at least I've got some snacks (and the idiot box) to keep me company.  Time to binge-watch some downloaded series/movies (The Menu, Amsterdam, BTS Concert, Dr Death are some that comes to mind)! ;)  I'm not one to snack big time and these days (after the pandemic) I don't go looking for anything new in the nearby wet markets either.  I just stick to my usual stash of snacks that I've been happily munching on all these years.

The first is (of course) my family's must-have Prawn Crackers...the same one I buy every year to fry.  Last year's price was RM33 (for 600g of uncooked crackers), this year it went up to RM35 (these days increase in prices don't surprise us anymore).  This year I ended up giving them to even more recipients, so there wasn't quite enough for us (sorry, there'll be no second refill for my sisters-in-law..hehe).  I think I need to up my stock again next year.  One recipient liked it so much that she immediately asked me to buy 5 packets for her but (as expected) my supplier had already sold out her stock as early as 4 weeks before CNY (she said she had to put in her order with her supplier as early as October and she doesn't have an option to restock).

Similarly like last year, I ordered the Crab (Surimi) Crackers from the same source.  This time it was even easier as I already have her contact stored in my Whatsapp.  The price went up to RM20 from RM18 last year (again a price increase is a given these days).  This year I placed an order for 6 cans (3 were my sister-in-law's order, one to give-away and two for our own consumption).  I remember last year that it took us quite a while to finish the two cans but this year it disappeared in a jiffy (probably because I bought less types of snacks). Love the light savoury taste and super crispiness of it (need to get more next year!).

This year, my dry goods supplier sold these Chicken Biscuits (RM25) which he made sure to introduce them to me.  In my years of balik kampung, we'd usually stop by Bidor for breakfast enroute to Ipoh and also to stop by Pun Chun to buy their famous chicken biscuits but I remember those biscuits to be thick.

These ones are super thin and crispy with added fragrance from the black and white sesame seeds.  The taste of the fermented red bean curd and five spice powder is also not as overpowering.

From the sticker on the can, I think (everything was written in Chinese) the goods are sold in Ipoh at 3 places (Ipoh Garden, Jalan Theatre and Pasir Putih).  I thought it was pretty good and went back to buy a further two cans to give away.

This year I told my sisters-in-law not to gift me any cookies and stuff coz we don't eat them as much now and will struggle to finish them.  So one sister-in-law gifted me Bak Kwa....ah, as the paper bag says...this is truly a bag of love....kekeke!  This year, a 600g pack retails for about RM75...ouch!

This once-a-year indulgence my family welcomes with open arms...and this year, they came in rather colourful packaging.  Between the two flavours, I definitely preferred the original (in purple, orange & green packaging) to the spicy (in blue packaging).  My husband concurs as the spicy one is just too spicy that you just can't taste the original flavour of the bak kwa anymore.  I've bought the spicy one before some years back but don't remember it to be that fiery.  I had one piece and that's it...the heat level is just too much for me! >_< 

And that's about all the snacks we have to munch on this year....Mandarin Oranges (about RM25 for medium-sized ones) don't count, right?  I was very controlled with the buying so that we can practise eating in moderation.  Last year, I ordered the oranges from Shopee supermarket to be delivered to my doorstep (but this year they weren't selling), so I had to go to the shops to lug them home.  Mandarin oranges is a must every year as I need them as giveaways to (some) neighbours, my newspaper delivery man, the sampah men (refuse collectors), our gated community security guards, my hairdresser, even Shopee delivery personnel.

These days I favour these small Honey Mandarins as they're extra juicy and easy to eat (look kinda cute too)....and they're also much lighter to cart home! ;P  They're, of course, much pricier than their bigger cousins....and retails at around RM15 a packet. You'd probably get about 20 - 25 in one packet and they last very long in the fridge.

Just like I told my sisters-in-law not to get me any cookies, I feel I should reciprocate and do the same.  So I got them some dry goods (like mushrooms, dried prawns, ikan bilis and dried cuttlefish) instead which I thought is a rather practical gift, one which they can use for their day-to-day cooking (also to help out my dry goods supplier lah whose business is not that great this year it seems).  Other pricier options that's great as a giveaway include lap cheong (dried sausage), lap ngap (waxed duck), hoe see (dried oyster) and dried scallops (conpoy).

Another sister-in-law, in return, gave me a few cans of Abalone, Japanese Dried Scallops and Sea Cucumber...premium gifts, no doubt.  Such practical gifts are way better than cookies which can be put to good use in our cooking for all to enjoy.

This year we were also privileged to receive a CNY Hamper (courtesy of someone's employer).  Incidentally, this is a vegetarian hamper.  I spotted two types of bird's nest, a bottle of Merlot (red wine), pineapple juice, cookies of sesame straws and kuih bangkit (tapioca cookies) and even handmade ramen.  One of the boxes only has Chinese writing on it, so I don't know what's that.

Actually, if there's a cookie I like to eat it would be these melt-in-the-mouth tapioca cookies if they've a good dose of santan (coconut milk) flavour in them (though I try to refrain from eating them).  Now what am I going to do with handmade ramen?  It's not like I know how to make tonkotsu ramen broth.  As for the bottle of red wine, perhaps I might finally attempt a beef stew or a red wine reduction sauce (for steaks) but I'll need to research recipes online coz I've no idea how to make these or even where to start! :O

On a side note, we got these well-known Tanjung Sepat Tapioca (Cassava) Chips (kerepek ubi) before CNY but continued munching them well into CNY.  We got 3 flavours...original, spicy and barbeque.  Tapioca chips has a thicker and harder texture compared to potato chips, so if you like your chips with a good bite, then you'll fancy this.  These kerepek ubi from Tanjung Sepat specifically are fresh, crispy.....and good....and the spicy one is the best! ^.^

As you can see, I was very controlled this year with the snacks.....my best performance so far, don't you think?  Lol!  So, for those of you who can (and want to) enjoy CNY snacks, do so without guilt...after all, CNY comes round only once a year.  We live only once.....so let's hop into the Year of the Rabbit and enjoy our guilty pleasures while we still can!