Christmas Dinner Party 2016



Merry Christmas from our family to yours!





Kids' favourite corner - mini quiche, cheese rolls, cocktail sausages, chocolates, gummies and chips.


What's a party without drinks... 😜


The spread - roast turkey with cranberry sauce, ham, roast vegetables, red cabbage...


 and lasagne, toad in the hole, roast potatoes and fried prawns...




Dessert time! Chocolate pudding with custard, red velvet log cake...


Love it or hate it. You just gotta have the rich and fruity Christmas pudding, served with a good dose of brandy and vanilla cream.


Delicious food, endless supply of drinks, wonderful company! It was a lovely night.

Santa came visiting last night too!



XOXOXO 💞




Comments

Post a Comment

You might also like:

Taipei - Shopping at Wufenpu and eat street food at Raohe night market

Image
If you are looking for some crazy bargain shopping, head to Wufenpu. Wufenpu Commercial Area is a huge garment wholesale area. Shops after shops line the streets and the numerous small side streets here. They do mainly wholesale, but would be happy to do retail as well. There is an incredibly large selection of clothes, shoes, accessories for women, men and kids. Plenty of Korean and Japanese style clothes and accessories, sportswear and sports shoes, and undergarments too. If you love shopping, you can easily spend half the day here. Most shops are open from 2-3pm till late. For real bargains, spend time looking through the bargain racks and rummaging through the bags on the floors. Most items there were NT$100 (less than SG$5!) The clothes they put up on the walls and those without price tags are their newer collection and are not cheap. Some shops allow a little bargaining but probably around 10-20% only. When I was there, most of the shops were
Keep reading

Braised Chicken Pumpkin and Mushroom Chinese recipe

Image
Pumpkin is very versatile and can be cooked in many different ways. Whether it is roasted or stewed or stir-fried, it always tastes fantastic. On top of that, pumpkin is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. I love pumpkin and always stock up on them whenever I do my grocery shopping. Pumpkin is so rich tasting that I don't need to put all sorts of seasoning to make it flavoursome. A little soy sauce is all I need to bring out the lovely flavour of this dish. Braised Chicken Pumpkin and Mushroom Ingredients: 500g boneless chicken thighs - cut to bite-size pieces 500g pumpkin - cut to bite-size pieces 100g shitake mushrooms - quartered 3 cloves garlic - minced 2 shallots - minced salt and pepper 1 tbsp. light soy sauce spring onions Instructions: Heat cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add garlic and shallot, fry till fragrant Toss in chicken, season with salt, pepper, and light soy sauce, fry till browned (about 5 mins) Add pumpk
Keep reading

Ikan Bilis (dried anchovies) Stock recipe

Image
When I want a tasty soup but don't have the time to make chicken stock, I turn to this ikan bilis stock recipe. Unlike chicken stock that requires 1-2 hours of boiling, this stock only needs 30 minutes of boiling time. This is fantastic as a soup base for steamboat and other soup dishes, or to be added for cooking whenever stock is required. I got these tea filter bags from Daiso and they are great to put the ikan bilis in and discard after boiling. This saves me the hassle of removing all those black residue left behind by the ikan bilis. But if you don't have them, just pour the stock through a sieve after boiling. Ikan Bilis (dried anchovies) Stock Ingredients: 100g ikan bilis (dried anchovies) 1 inch ginger - bruised 2 litres water salt Instructions: Rinse ikan bilis then put them into tea filter bags (I used 4) Bring water to boil in a soup pot, add ikan bilis and ginger Simmer for 30 minutes Discard ikan bilis and ginger Add salt to taste Thi
Keep reading

Kids Craft - Folded Paper Drawings

Image
Following the fun the little brother had with his growing caterpillar  drawing, the 2 older brothers quickly made their own versions. This was their idea but I had to draw it as it was tricky to get the proportion just right. All is not what it seems in the sea... The rest were drawn by the 2 of them. Psyduck that turned into alien. Hidden family. And if I have to pick one FAVOURITE, it will have to be this one below!! Lol. 💙
Keep reading

Kids Craft - Easy 5 Ang Pow Red Packets Lantern

Image
This is the easiest lantern we've ever made. The 2 boys managed to make it by themselves with no help at all. It only requires 5 ang pow packets. Fold the 4 corners so it forms a diamond. Staple each packet to the next at the top along the folded edge. Do all 5 and form a circle. Bend and puff the middle then staple the bottom part. Before you staple the last 2 ang pows together, put a ribbon/string in, which has been stapled to a piece of paper so it doesn't slide out. This is for hanging the lantern. Join the 2 corners of each ang pow and staple in the middle to form a curved top and bottom. Done and hung up in their room. This is the last lantern we are making this year. I think we've had quite enough. The rest of the lanterns are here: 1. CNY Ang pow lantern - lucky star 2. CNY Ang pow lantern - lucky eight 3. CNY Ang pow lantern - Chinese coin 4. CNY Ang pow lantern - wheels of fortune/ flower 5. CNY Ang pow lanter
Keep reading

Learning to Tangle - Zentangle Inspired Doodle Art

Image
Zentangle inspired flower art Zentangle is an abstract drawing method created using repetitive patterns (called "tangles"). These structured and repetitive patterns are easy-to-learn, hence accessible to all, whether you are a beginner or an expert. This art form provides a fun and relaxing way to unwind while creating beautiful art pieces. It is meant to be pleasurable and meditative. I love the fact that it is abstract and supposed to be relaxing. It is also said to increase focus and mindfulness, all of which I need right now ! The Zentangle art images I saw online have been nothing short of intriguing and I was itching to try it out. All it requires is a white piece of paper and pencil or black ink. There is no rule to it, and the creation of each piece of art is completely organic. NO eraser should be used to erase any mistakes. Here's how it went with my first Zentangle. Start with a border or a shape - in my case I started with a simple f
Keep reading

CNY Chinese New Year Ang Pow Craft Lucky Eight

Image
I enjoy doing art and craft with the kids. I guess it's me trying to connect with them in some ways. As they grow up, they are much more interested in their gadgets and books or Nerf guns and Lego and all those other boy stuff that I find we are spending less and less time with each other. Doing art is my rare moments with them when we can just sit down and work together and chat. Since we are doing Chinese New Year decorations, the boys have lots of questions about the Chinese traditions and superstitions. I have to admit I don't know most of the answers so Google has been very helpful here. As we were making the lucky number Eight wall decoration, the boys were asking me why the number eight and not any other number? 8 is considered the most auspicious number in Chinese culture. Number 8 is read as "ba" which sounds like "Fa" which means wealth and prosperity in Chinese. So the Chinese usually try to incorporate 8 whenever they can. The boys
Keep reading

CNY Chinese New Year Craft Ang Pow Lantern

Image
I made more CNY decorations over the weekend. There's something about creating something with my hands that makes life fun. And therapeutic! These are my ang pow wheels of fortune. My little one insists that they are flowers and not wheels. They do look like flowers from below. I made 3 of them as I happen to have 3 sets of these ang pow packets in different colours. Since we are learning about lucky/unlucky numbers , 3 is also considered a lucky number in Chinese as it sounds similar to "birth" (sheng) in Chinese. There are 3 important stages in a person's life: birth, marriage and death. Chinese culture stresses upon family and children so this number is seen in a positive light. These ang pow packets are horizontal so they are great folded in half with the pictures still visible. I used 10 ang pow packets for each lantern. Fold them in half. Put 2 ang pow packets together and staple them, on the top and the bottom, somewhere in the m
Keep reading

Chicken with Red Yeast Rice Soup recipe

Image
This is my kids' favourite soup. So simple to make and nutritious. Red yeast rice has been said to help improve stomach health, particularly for indigestion and diarrhoea. I always make this soup whenever any one of them is unwell or I don't have time in the kitchen. The kids never complain! 😀 Chicken with Red Yeast Rice Soup Ingredients: 1 kampong chicken - cut to parts 2 inch ginger - bruised 4 cloves garlic - bruised 2 tbsp. red yeast rice 1.5 litre water 1 tsp salt pepper light soy sauce to taste Method: In a soup pot, bring 1.5 litre of water to boil Add chicken, ginger, garlic, red yeast rice, salt and pepper, bring to boil Simmer for 1.5 hour Add light soy sauce to taste
Keep reading

Stir Fry Pork with Sesame Oil and Chinese Wine recipe

Image
Stir-frying is a staple in most Chinese household as it is hassle-free and quick. Once you get the hang of it, it is easy to change it up, experiment with different ingredients, and use up what you have in the fridge. I do a lot of stir-frying at home too. It is great for a weekday dinner when everybody is rushed for time, frazzled from the day's activities and just want to sit down for a hearty meal. The key to any stir-fry is that it has to be done very quickly, so have everything on hand and ready to be thrown in. Today's stir fry is sliced pork with sesame oil and Chinese wine. A favourite in my household as the pork is deliciously juicy and tender, with a hint of Chinese wine to give it a warm earthy flavour. Stir Fry Pork with Sesame Oil and Chinese Wine Ingredients: 300g pork shoulder butt Marinate in: 2 tbsp. light soy sauce 1 tbsp. oyster sauce 1 tbsp. sesame oil pepper 2-inch ginger 3 cloves garlic 1 shallot dash of black peppe
Keep reading