It's going to be a squeaky new year ahead.....

It's the start of a squeaky new year as the Year of the Rat descends upon us.  Could this be Cookie's favourite year? ;)  Well, some of us could end up living like rats (!) this year....fighting for scraps amidst already weakened business conditions (now made worse by the coronavirus outbreak)...or scavenging for food with miserly salaries (that don't seem to go up in tandem with rising prices of goods and services).

A tell-tale sign I noticed was probably just how quiet the shopping malls and supermarkets (even wet markets) were ahead of Chinese New Year (CNY) when I was doing my shopping with literally no queue at the cashiers' counters (even during the week prior to CNY).

A reunion makan at home is obviously the most cost-saving option + the chaotic scenes at restaurants is a deterrent to eat out on the eve of CNY.  I hear of restaurants running two shifts (some even three...yikes!) for CNY eve to maximise profits, so you have to be on time, eat gobble down the food and then leave get chased off discreetly and politely. :D

Similar to last year, we had a reunion at home (in KL) this year so that my mother-in-law could join us from the elderly care facility.  It was a reunion lunch (instead of dinner) as one of my sisters-in-law has a reunion dinner engagement with her husband's family.  So, what dishes can you spot on our reunion table?  I'll let you in on them in another post.

So, after a full lunch, dinner was just the three of us....a simple dinner of braised pork ribs with mushrooms, abalone & dried scallops (which I made earlier for my next door neighbour and hairdresser), nothing elaborate.  I added a minced pork omelette and a plate of stir-fried greens (kai lan) coz we weren't keen on eating the leftovers (of what I cooked for our earlier reunion lunch that day) so soon.

And with every CNY, there'll be some eating in interspersed with some eating out (of course) but that will be another story for another day.

What is CNY without festive snacks, right?  But nope, I didn't bake any, fry any...nor buy any this year.

But before you give me a deserving pat on my back, I couldn't resist the temptation of buying my once-a-year snack...ah, my favourite chicken logo! ^.^  Bak kwa (dried meat) this year retailed at RM115 a kilo (up from RM109 last year...would there be any other outcome than up!).

Unlike last year, the chilli bak kwa this year is vacuum-packed individually.  I don't like this kind of packaging as there's a tendency for the oil to stick between the packaging.  Also, if I were to nitpick, the packaging for each individual piece of bak kwa adds to the overall weight and you tend to lose one piece for every 300g. Not only that, with digital measurement, if the weight goes slightly above your intended purchase weight, you get charged for every single gram that passes your order weight (but they conveniently forget about the extra weight caused by the packaging)! >_<

Even though I don't really need to buy any festive snacks coz, in the spirit of giving and receiving, I'd still end up receiving snacks every year...and this year I got crab stick crackers, mini crispy prawn rolls, bee hive crackers, seaweed crackers, bak kwa, chicken floss, pineapple tarts, cookies and cashew nuts from friends and family.  Let me highlight just two of them.

Homemade bak kwa (and chicken floss) from my neighbour's daughter who returned from Australia for the holidays (made by a friend of hers, not her).

A sister-in-law gifted me this one in very nice packaging with three different types of goodies.  I prefer a variety of goodies in small amounts for obvious reasons...to promote less eating + we won't get sick of eating too much of the same thing.

As for the spirit of giving, I went with gifts of Mandarin oranges this year coz all the snacks weren't very exciting, the same old same old ones.  I saw that Ikea offered a packaged deal for their Mandarins together with a nice-looking basket (at just under RM50), so I opted for them.  I bought all 3 colours of blue, red & white (I kept the blue one for myself).  They're great for storing oranges during CNY and can double up as a carrier for my packed food after that.

At just under RM20, I got these cute-looking packets of Mandarin oranges sold by Aeon.  Each auspicious wu shou lou (bearded man) bears 3 oranges.  Yeah, they may seem more expensive than buying mandarins in boxes but you can't deny that the nice packaging makes them ideal giveaways for CNY.

Also in the spirit of giving and receiving is the tradition of giving and receiving angpows.  So, these were some of the angpow packets that came my way this year.

The best ones were these from Dolly (a clothing brand) in my opinion.  Comes in a packet-of-six where all six designs were different and very colourful too.  Not only that but the print design was embossed on glossy, thick, quality paper.  This one is a keeper (sayang to use it-lah).

Caring chose to go with the rat design...four different rat designs to be precise.  Not particularly a pretty-looking graphic interpretation of rats though.

This one by Affin Hwang (an asset management company), the texture of the packet felt regal, almost silk-like.  Different from the usual paper-type packets for sure.

Ikea also went with the rat design.  The angpow packet design I got turned out to be a different one from what was seen in their print adverts.  Hmmm, strange...a mix-up, perhaps.

OCBC's theme focussed on environment this year with 3 designs calling for the preservation of earth's precious resources.

And in a case of east-meets-west, even Mickey Mouse wants to get into some kung hei fatt choy action.  It was surprising to see even Family Mart giving out angpow packets.

Cookie: Well, I didn't get any angpow this year (or any other year) but I did get a new collar.  You get new clothes, I get new collars.  Let me tilt my head up for you.  Can you see my shiny blue collar with its sparkly green bell?

How do I look? ^_~

What the......??  Yeah, I know this is the year of the rat.....but that doesn't mean I need more rat toys, mommy.

And yes, I do remember rats were my favourite toys when I was little...but I'm all grown up  now...big boy already....and big boys don't play with toys! :P

Haiz, how fast they all grow up!  I remember the time when he would bat and chase the rat (toys) all over the house like it was just yesterday. :'(

A little update: Since going into 'retirement' mode, I've been encouraged by the few first-time comments left by some readers of mine...and of their appreciation for my 'work'.  Knowing that they found my reviews to be useful in some way and their hope for new write-ups (however infrequent) gives me just that little bit of motivation to continue writing even if the posts are few and far between.

Looking back, I've enjoyed the last two months of 'freedom'....of writing when I want, without a prescribed schedule, and putting out 1 - 3 posts a month doesn't seem too burdensome...I think I can manage that.  So I guess I'll continue that way (while still enjoying my 'semi-retirement'...and my coffee) and see how far that takes me.  Looks like I can't stay away from blogging altogether after all! :P  Well, I know of 'someone' who will be thrilled with this arrangement as he's not about to give up on his 15 minutes of fame yet! :D :D