Chinese New Year is a time when we visit relatives, and friends to catch up with each other's news and happenings in the past year... of merry making and laughter in between sumptuous meals and snacks. It is a festive and joyful time and a lot of people look forward to that.
Today, I will share some of the favourite snacks with you.
Some of you will have read that I was helping my sister with baking cookies. So those are the 'House Speciality' and hot favourites.
Beehive cookies.
Pineapple tarts.
Cashew nut cookies.
Cashew nuts.
Other hot favourites and must have items include this - barbeque pork. During Chinese New Year, they double in price. Some shops saw people queue overnight to buy them. And there is a limit on how much one person can buy. That's how popular this item is, and how famous the shop for them is.
I don't know what these chips are called in English. The plant looks a bit like a smaller version of turnips.
Crispy cuttlefish. They are spicy and crispy. Very nice.
This is queh bolu - a type of sponge cake. My mum used to bake this, and love letters (below), using a clay stove and charcoals. It is a lot of work, hot and smoky. Those were the days when we were young, and living in the village, where space is not a constrain. Baking this need assistant/assistance. We had to help.
Love letters is another common and popular item. As children, we love them but dreaded it when it comes time to make them. We had to help roll them once my mum lifted them out of the mould. It was a day of burnt fingers.
Another must have item is chocolate. Somehow, every year there is a tin of Van Houten.
Other items are various candies, preserved fruits and such. But, tastes have changed over the years, and cookies and chips have taken over sweets and preserved fruits. Still, there will always be some around for the older folks.
And of course, there has to have Mandarin oranges, symbolic of good luck and prosperity.
Right. These are the basic snacks we had for Chinese New Year. Of course, there are also desserts, and sometimes, guests brought stuff with them. So, there is always plenty to snack on in between sumptuous meals.
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