Year of the De-Ra-Gon
The Year of the Dragon was the first year that mum didn't cook reunion dinner. Instead of slogging in the kitchen, together with SK, we ate at Rinjin Shokudo, Bukit Jalil. The Japanese restaurant offered special dinner sets complete with lou sang loaded with salmon sashimi. The rest of the food came mostly from their regular menu with some special add-ons like fresh oysters. No need to stress about cooking and cleaning.
The first day of the lunar calendar was celebrated at church with a special mass. Unlike the other zodiac animals, the dragon is shunned so it's not used in the decorations. The most tiring mass in the whole year, having to deal with all the people who do not balik kampung or are already in their kampung and the 3,800 mandarin oranges that needed distribution. Fun fact: KH helped out with the mandarin oranges preparation, removing the packaging and picking out the bad ones.
CNY lunch we had at De.Wan, BSC. Was so glad to plop myself on the cushioned chair after being on my feet for hours. Enjoyed a selection of malay cuisine while tok-tok chiang music blared in the background with their wait staff decked out in traditional Chinese costumes. For some reason that I can't recall, The Tribe didn't return to Melaka, and we had a hotpot and steamboat dinner at my sister's place.
Since the second day of CNY was on a Sunday, I was back in church again. After church we went to Pavilion KL to admire the flying dragons. Lunch was at Baan Pad Thai, another non-Chinese option. Within just a few days, I've realized that 2024 is the year of the 'horse face skirt'. I vividly remember the Ming dynasty fashion style from the 1992 movie "New Dragon Gate Inn" with Donnie Yen as the villainous eunuch.
Surprise visitors came on the 7th day-- my cousin brother and sister from Sungai Burung. They came bearing gifts. Loads of fresh fish and flower crabs. The kids rolled up their sleeves and cleaned the fished right out front at the porch. That stash of seafood was the source of many a satisfying meal.
On the 8th day, SK and I had breakfast with an ex-classmate from Kuantan whom we had not met ever since the Covid pandemic. Since she initiated the meet up, we definitely agreed to it. We ate fish head noodles together with her husband and daughter at Herra Kokki, Desa Petaling. Her daughter was shy and cranky, but that reversed after a visit to the 'urban farm' at SK's condo. Boggles the mind as to why a condo would want to spend money to keep animals. Tortoises maybe, but a deer! Anyway, there's duck, geese and rabbits as well.
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