FollowMy parents no longer do elaborate CNY preparations like they did in the early 1980s, when my late maternal grandmother was still around. Back then, pre-CNY preparations meant trips to Ipoh Old Town to buy dried goods and waxed meat. My parents and grandmother even made their own Chinese sausages. I still remember vividly how they were made — actually quite simple, but incredibly time-consuming. The sausages had to be dried under the hot sun for a couple of weeks. A few days before CNY, some of the homemade sausages would be gifted to relatives.
My grandmother would also stock up on CNY snacks — and the now-demonized soda. In those days, we only got to drink soda once a year, during CNY. The drinks came in glass bottles, packed in wooden crates. My favourites were Fanta Grape, Fanta Orange, and Fanta Strawberry. After finishing the drinks, we’d return the empty bottles to the sundry shop owner.
Dad would also bring us to Super Kinta and let us “throw anything we wanted” into the shopping cart. It truly felt like the best days of our childhood — imagine kids loading the trolley with chocolates, chips, and candies, once a year without limits.
Fast forward more than 40 years, and our CNY preparations are much simpler. We no longer eat much waxed meat as it’s considered unhealthy. Soda is long gone, and sugary snacks are no longer a staple.
But some traditions remain.
My mum still makes cookies every year, no matter how tired she is. And dad must have his customary CNY fruit cake matured in brandy. This year, mum only made two types of cookies — her signature butter cookies using Golden Churn butter, and green pea cookies. She and dad also baked fruit cake using her 50+ year-old recipe. And of course, mum still insisted on decorating the house with CNY decor.
Dad has also scaled down the number of dishes for reunion dinner this year. He is 83 now and gets tired more easily. He insists on cooking all the dishes himself, except for the Yee Sang which was always restaurant-bought.
For my siblings, my mum, and me, it’s no longer about what’s on the dining table. It’s about the togetherness of family that matters most.
I can only hope my parents will be around for many more years, so we can continue celebrating CNY together 💕
Check out the video of our CNY preparation, Eve and 1st day of CNY here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/787338240563419
Our Eve of CNY dinner and brunch on Chor Yat, all home-cooked by dad:
Reunion dinner: Yee Sang with fried salmon skin from Restaurant Sun Marpoh, abalone + broccoli + fatt choy + fish maw + dried oyster, steamed cod fish, steamed Chinese sausage + liver sausage, braised bearded chicken with yellow wine, black fungus and scrambled egg, braised yam with pork belly and blanched yau mak with fried garlic oil. There was also a big pot of lotus root soup.
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| Stir-fried vegetarian noodles for brunch on Chor Yat. |
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