Eating from one year to the next

Happy New Year everyone! So what did you do on the last evening of 2005?

I literally ate from the 'old year to the new' 8.30pm 31st December till 12.30 1st January. Very auspicious start, by Chinese standards, thanks to Mr and Mrs T, who very generously hosted me and five other guests for dinner at their home. No pictures, for the broken camera is still in the shop (boo), but trust me, it was a veritable feast! Let's just say that at this very moment, 22 hours after I've stopped eating, I am still full from all that food. I kid you not.

And yes, I must say the roast duck is absolutely delicious! And I also liked the side of cucumber salad. (Note to self: Must ask Mrs T what the dressing is...) All this was accompanied by a really yummy seafood fried rice and angel hair pasta (thanks casey!!!) and washed down with wine, courtesy of Mr T, KK and Casey. Every new bottle of wine opened sparked off an animated conversation between them (Old world? New world? Shiraz? Pinot noir? Burgundy?). As for me, I just drank feeling quite sheepish that all this good wine was wasted on me, but I did glean some insights about wine appreciation from KK, so I guess there is hope for me yet. :P

That's quite alot of food, you must be thinking at this point.

Yes, that's what we thought too! And we were more than happy stuffing our faces with the lot, but wait, there's more!!! A sumptious sukiyaki hotpot with home made stock. Loads and loads of tender beef slices, pork belly, cooked with sliced leeks, lotus roots, bamboo shoots amonst other delectable veggies and tang hoon that soaked up the sweetness of the sukiyaki sauce. It's got me thinking that I should try this too, instead of the usual steamboat dish this lunar new year. The way Mrs T put it, it sounds really easy. I've planted the idea of a sukiyaki reunion dinner in sis's head. Hopefully she'll take the bait. hehehehe.

And before you think that's it, there's still dessert to go! Ever the perfect hosts, Mr and Mrs T offered 2 types of dessert, first up, barley soup with beancurd skin, quail eggs, wintermelon sugar and ginkgo nut, accompanied by a lovely dessert wine, and after ushering in the New Year proper with our bubbly, Mr T presented us with another temptation - cranberry and orange cake from Cedele's! And we inhaled it too....

Hey... its the New Year after all. :P

I was ready to collapse from all that food and Mr T came to the rescue again, this time with a much needed brew of Pu er to really wash all that food down, accompanied with conversation and fussing over the dogs.

Thank you Mr and Mrs T, for inviting me around for dinner! And I forgot to bring these two jars of condiments I brought England. :S Never mind, will give it to you next week. See you then!