Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Just spoke to my family on the phone and am now rolling in agony at missing out on all the pineapple tarts, bah kwa (sweet barbecued pork jerky), love letters and most importantly my mum's Chinese New Year dishes for the second year running. BUT, I'm also secretly grateful since Jude and I haven't ever had to dispense those little "ang pows" that married couples are obliged to give younger members of the family. Let's see, I have 2 sisters, 20 cousins and 6 nephews/ nieces- you go do the math... Advice to soon-to-be-married couples: leave the country six weeks after your wedding and do something overseas that prevents you from going home during Chinese New Years until your bank account is deep enough. You'll miss your family to death, but your pocket will thank you...
We're not doing anything special- it's just not the same here as it is at home- no Chinatown (yes, I do miss the sweaty jostling, the insane traffic, and how we used to tell ourselves every year we would never go there over Chinese New Year, but still do year after year...), no pussy willow, and the weather's a little of a damper; but I did make "bah kut teh" last night- it's a peppery herbal pork broth and very comforting this time of the year. It's not a personal favorite but Jude loves it so that was good. Oh and just for that authentic Oriental touch today, we had Chinese take-out for dinner. Seriously. And this is what my fortune cookie said: "Love is like sweet medicine- wonderful to the last drop." As much as I'm gagging at the terribly misplaced analogy, in the light of imminent Valentine's Day, I shall swallow (pun very much intended) this wise advice as my stomach mourns another year without pineapple tarts...
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