Happy Chinese New Year!

As usual, year after year, our new year decor is minimal.

We do not have those huge red Chinese lanterns hanging off our car porch, nor do we have those gigantic pineapples like the ones hanging at Ting Pek Khing's Terminal 2 house. Maybe that's why he's rich & we're not.


We bought a few fake flowers from Green Gallery. They're very obviously fake as the price tag is still on.

Fake. Poser.

Cushion cover from Hong Kong.

Fresh Lilies have always been a part of our New Year presentation.

The dining table is the only area in our whole house to have some inkling of red colour. We're somehow not so into the traditional ways of decorating, you know, like having an overdose of red on everything. We're not even keen on firecrackers & fireworks. To quote my brother-in-law, we're so angmo.

This is about the only crackers that we're interested in.

Nee's sweet purple potato crackers.


Nee's fish crackers.


Nee's pineapple tarts, kuih momo, sambal triangles & Hongkie Kong.


We've also got these very very traditional ones from my grandma.

Kuih bangkit.

Lek Tau Ko (Mung bean paste)

I used to help my grandma make these when I was a little kid during the school holidays. She'd manually grind the beans into powder on her traditional grinder. Later on, we'd pack the powder into those wooden mould & compact them in by pushing them with the handle end of the spoon.

Althoug it was child labour, I enjoyed it & treasure that experience very much. Nobody's really making them nowadays in a very traditional way. It is truly a lost art. Now serving at Greg & Nee's house!

Greg & Nee wishes all our thousands of readers a very happy & prosperous Chinese New Year!

The End of a Marathon!

A day before Chinese New Year's eve, Nee's fridge looked like this.

I suspect most people's fridges look similar every year at a time like this. Space was very limited & it felt like we're back in Hong Kong. Nee's freezer was so packed with layer cakes that even the ice cubes were evicted.

Even the freezer she just bought a couple of days ago was already filled to the brim.

Nee was screaming & I had to help her reconfigure some more space. I defragmented the fridge & came out with this arrangement.

As the cakes could not fit in side by side, I alternate half of them on top of containers. Like this we could squeeze in 6 cakes onto every shelf. Waisay, for the first time I felt I was cleverer than Nee.

But on the day before New Year's Eve, everything was done, right on target, right on time. I checked, Nee was still breathing. Although she was still conscious, her brain was not functioning.

It was a 2 week's marathon. 150 cakes.
Happy Chinese New Year!

Double Whammy Wonton

We've read Terri's blog about this place where there were two wonton noodle shops which were opposite each other. It sounded like an interesting place to visit. Nee was thinking of repeating Terri's wonton-hopping stunt from one shop to the other. That really made me rolled my eyes, and they stayed up there not wanting to come down.

Anyway, it was fun walking there, almost like an adventure, although it was a looooong walk.

We were hungry but hey, this was our first night in Hong Kong.

We were still enthusiastic about every single little thing, & our backs were still not hurting yet.

But when we got there, Mak's Noodles was already closed. Ngai Tee!

Mak was probably busy counting his money already. We'll be back. You mak our words.


And so it was clear which one we should go for, Tsim Chai Kee.


Even though just across the same street, this shop had definitely put more effort into its interior decor to appeal to the other senses.

You can tell that the owner had taste.

It's definitely not an open-your-mouth-&-eat shop like Mak's. You know what I mean. Mak's would probably be for those I-am-hungry-so-give-me-food-I-eat-&-I-go kinda customers.

I have a very bad habit, and this habit stems from all those years of having Kuching Mee Kolok. So when I tried these wonton noodles, I found them just so so, and a bit bland. Nee would probably be rolling her eyes at me already. I'm sorry but that's just how I felt.

Noodles with Chunky Wunky Minced Fishballs.

However, I knew they were good stuff. It's just that my tongue spoke a different language.

The Classic Wonton Noodles.

The noodles really turned out to be as what Terri claimed. They're like springy rubber. One bite & you'll bounce on it.

Noodles with Sliced Beef.

The Wonton noodles family photo.

I still have dreams about the giant fishball, beef slices & the wonton. They were all EXCELLENT. This shop is well-known for its rock-bottom price. It has the cheapest wonton noodles in the whole of Hong Kong. A typical bowl costs HK$14.

The Hong Kong International Toy Fair Fast Forward

We were at the Hong Kong International Toy & Stationery Fair in January. It was held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre for a total of 3 days.

The exhibition was humongous, covering 5-7 halls.

I was expecting to see kids screaming & rolling on the floor there but it turned out to be a very business event. All we saw were serious grownups in ties & suits. Kids were not allowed.

When we got there, I felt like a 5-year old again.

Photography was not allowed in the halls, & I wasn't ready to chance it. I imagined if I did, it would have been embarassing to be told off by the security personnel. Even more so if they start asking where we're from. We would have been a big embarassment to Malaysia. But come to think of it, Malaysia has already been embarassed many times. Scary Khairy & Zam Zam Alakazam have done their job well in this department. No to mention the recent action video star.

Most of the booths were manned by companies from China. They could make anything from A to Z, & backwards again. Santa Claus would save a lot of money if he'd move his toy factory to China.

We finished off in the evening & like cows, we followed the herd of people out of the building.

Never did we realise how beautiful it was on the outside!

We have finally finally finally arrived in Hong Kong!


When we left the place, this poster was already up.

Imagine that. They've got everything planned out for next year already. It left me with the impression of how advanced the society in Hong Kong is. The way they do things, & their thinking is so far ahead, light years away from Malaysia.

More Sushi King Adventure

Hi All, read here for more Sushi King related articles. See the people I met, & the goodies I got!