It's that time of the year to snack.....

Yes, that's right.....it's that time of the year to snack....what is Chinese New Year (CNY) without snacking, right?  So, once a year, I throw my restricted diet out the window (well, I'm not as disciplined or strong-willed as my blogger friend, PH)...wuahahahaha!

So, I'm not going to confess I didn't eat any CNY snacks (like PH's resilience).....coz I did! ;D  Of course, I'm no saint either as I do eat snacks sparingly throughout the year...but not quite like CNY snacking, if you know what I mean (but with as much restraint as I possibly could).  And I start with my most favourite snack of them all...crackers, both prawn & fish! ;)

This year I did not buy my usual 3-4 pkts of prawn crackers from my go-to stall in the wet market coz I wasn't planning to fry to giveaway, so I bought only 1 pkt of Prawn Crackers online @ RM38 from a Shopee seller...and, surprisingly, it turned out pretty good as well (now I can have my favourite prawn crackers throughout the year...yay!).  One pkt was just enough for our own consumption with some extras to giveaway to my makan buddies, hairdresser, Caring pharmacist (coz she always gives me advice or answer any meds questions I have) and the Parcelhub lady boss (return a favour coz she paid for my breakfast one morning when she bumped into me when tapau-ing her breakfast).  As for the Fish Crackers, I also tried a new Shopee seller and it turned out to be thinner and crispier...and better tasting too.  I've since bought both the prawn & fish crackers (again) to be fried later (tak berlarat nak fry for CNY).

Since I didn't fry enough crackers, I supplemented my stash with Tapioca Chips (of 2 kinds) @ RM12 a pkt (bought from Shopee).  One was this normal tapioca chips with salt (kerepek ubi masin).

The other was the spicy tapioca chips (kerepek ubi pedas kering).  Both from this seller were good...fragrant, fresh and crunchy.  The one with salt wasn't too salty and the spicy one wasn't too spicy...just nice! ;)

Next snack on the list was pineapple tarts as this is a favourite of my husband's, so I know I could eat sparingly and know he'll finish the rest...and let me say, I did try a few (new) brands this year (from Shopee) starting with this Aysha Bakehouse's Pineapple Bar (Mixed Flavours) @ RM26 (for 27 pcs).  These pineapple bars come in mixed flavours of pineapple, blueberry and strawberry (or you can opt for just one flavour).

I thought they were pretty tasty...though pineapple wasn't my favourite or the best tasting flavour...the blueberry was better. ^o^  Somehow these didn't find favour with my husband as much coz I think he's not into flavours like blueberry or strawberry other than pineapple.  I ate probably about 70% of this (luckily there were only 27 pcs in total) while he ate mostly the pineapple filling.

I also got smitten by these cute Heart-Shaped Pineapple Tarts by Chocolate Garage @ RM18 (for 21 pcs)...oops, these were bought before pre-CNY snacking.  They make a lovely gift for someone (especially for Valentine's Day), don't you think?

But taste wise, they were just ok...I think it needed a bit more pineapple filling as I really couldn't taste much of it but seeing that it's a closed pineapple tart, it's difficult to pack more filling into them.

My third choice was a winner for all...marketed as a Nyonya Melaka pure butter Pineapple Tart @ RM14 (for 14 pcs).  The small box offered a tester pack for my taste test...and they turned out to be fluffy, crumbly and buttery delicious. ^.^

Since they turned out to be good (and, more importantly, my husband liked it), I did not hesitate to order the bigger box of 42 pcs @ RM40.

I like that they're packed individually in their special plastic moulds (if you can call it that) as this will ensure they arrive at your doorstep in the best possible way (since they're known to be super crumbly).  This Nyonya Melaka and Aysha's will certainly see repeat orders in future...but between the two, the latter is still my pick.

So good that I was tempted to order their other product...the one with cheese added! :O  This Pineapple Cheese Bar (Mixed Flavours) also cost RM26 (except I noticed this one has only 8 x 3 flavours instead of 9 x 3...no wonder lah it's the same price with cheese).  You know what, coming from someone who don't like cheese, this one I really liked.

The extra crispy cheese on top gave it that crunch factor and brought a hint of savoury note to the pineapple bar.  Probably one of the more expensive pineapple tarts on Shopee but it's worth it as long as it tastes good. Incidentally, I bought all my tarts online from Shopee.

What is CNY without mandarin oranges, right?  I can count with my fingers the no. of times I've eaten fruits since I embarked on my restrictive diet but I wasn't going to miss out on this once-a-year fruit...these normal large ones for him.

And the mini mandarins for me...which is better for portion control since they're smaller (I like to think of it that way and "convince" myself that it is...hehe!).  I limit myself to two a day.

This container of ngaku chips was given by my neighbour (who fried it herself).  I wanted to say no to it (coz no-one in the family eats ngaku chips so I'll have to finish it on my own) just like she refused my prawn & fish crackers which I gift her every year (I was taken aback when she told me in advance not to give her any this year...apparently it doesn't taste all that great to her and her husband)! :O  But I know it's not tactful to say no to a gift..."when people give you things that you don't want, you must remember it's the thought that counts".  In the end, I bought her some mandarins as a return gift! *roll eyes*

Another snack that CNY is not the same without is bakwa or BBQ dried meat.  But, these days, the skyrocketing prices of my favourite brand has made it imperative that more reasonably-priced alternatives be sourced.  That made me try out 2 new brands, one was at 1/3 of the price (meaning I could have 3 pkts as opposed to just 1 pkt of Oloiya...I ended up buying a package deal of 4 pkts).

While the other (which someone recommended to me) was priced at 2/3 of the price of Oloiya saying that it tastes just as good as my beloved brand (well, it didn't taste anything near Oloiya which I expected).  But based on the price-to-taste, I thought they were decent enough to eat (always good as a bakwa sandwich).  I ended preferring the cheapest one while my husband preferred the other but my son liked neither! :D

On a side note, this happened during the Mooncake Festival (and not a part of this CNY snacking)...not wanting to indule in sweet mooncakes, I got myself a savoury version.  It has a similar pastry like any traditional mooncake except the filling is made with minced bakwa! :O

How did it taste, you're wondering?  Just think of it as eating the mooncake pastry with bakwa...to be honest, a regular mooncake with lotus paste and salted egg yolks (my go to flavour if I was eating) still tastes better. This one was a bit odd, not that it tasted bad just that it's not quite like a traditional sweet mooncake we're used to.

Well, that's about all the snacks I indulged in this CNY...not a lot really, right?  I'd say I probably ate about 20 - 30% of the snacks (except for the ngaku chips) while my family kaotim the rest.  So fast, it's Chap Goh Mei today already.  Till next year..........for now, let's enjoy our snacks in the meantime! ^_~