As with the previous years, the ‘Motley Crew’ organised a Lunar New Year get together. Due to some not being available during the weekend, the gathering was held on a Friday – the 27th of February, two days ago.
Dinner was at 7pm. The venue was at our artist and chef friend, Ernest’s house. He had once again welcomed us to his home and volunteered to cook for us.
On this occasion, there were eight of us (including the host). Those who were free went a bit earlier, and those who were working joined us after work.
For starter, we had ‘Yu Sheng’, also known as raw fish salad. The dish contains raw fish (could be salmon, mackerel, or abalone), shredded radishes, carrots, cucumbers, ginger, pomelo, roasted peanuts, and fried crackers, dressed with plum sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
There is a ritual before consuming this dish that is only served during Chinese New Year. Diners gather around the platter and toss the ingredients high in the air with chopsticks while shouting auspicious phrases, believing the higher the tosses, the greater the fortune.
Before you berate us for being cruel to the sharks and not being environmentally friendly, the can of shark’s fin soup was a gift to one of the members in the group, who thought to share it with us. We did not set out to have the dish on purpose.
As usual, there were generous portions of food, snacks and fruits. We all had our fill washed down with a couple of bottles of wine.
We all had a lovely evening. In October this year we would have known each other for 40 years, albeit some missing years in between before Facebook reunited us. It was suggested that when the time comes – in October, we should all go for a long trip together. We shall see.
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