Mum's chicken curry, made from organic, free range chicken.

Enough said. 

Steamed "wu" fish, with spring onions, ginger and chili. Dad said the fish was so fresh it was thrashing, and was not frozen at all. 

Pig stomach soup, with ribs and peppercorns. 

Salmon Yu sheng, another CNY staple. 

The rice cooked from the new rice cooker. Mum unpacked the box and realised the electrical cord was not provided. After much frantic phone calls, the old rice cooker was retrieved from the cabinet. 

Fresh salad, with lettuce, purple cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, corn kernels, cucumbers and sulatnas. Mum meant to put in flaked tuna, but changed her mind later. The dressing was thousand island with chopped peanuts. 

Hot pot, with meat balls, sotong balls, spring onions, carrots, mushrooms and a dash of shaoxing wine. Sister made it too. 

Siew Nyuk, roasted pork belly meat, bought from a roasted goods vendor. When we went to pick up the wares, the shop was bustling with people also waiting for their orders. They had huge plastic bins filled with roasted ducks. The owner is a youngish man, very friendly and service oriented. 

The chopped up duck, roasted in over for 30 minutes.

Organic, ok. 

Ethnic apron, bought by dad, from Hainan Island. 

Sir fried vegetables, with snow peas, cauliflowers, mushrooms, capsicums, carrots, onions, chilis and ginkgo nuts. Done by sister. 

Pi Tan, or century eggs, with preserved sweet ginger. The eggs came with a layer of mud and rice husks, which I had to peel off without damaging the eggs. Hard work. Mum said the finished product was not fit for presentation. But it didn't look too bad after I rinsed off the mud.

I wonder if they still use horse urine to marinate the eggs? 

Giant Angka prawns, almost pre-historic in size. Deep fried and doused with tongue numbing chilli sauce.

Bliss. 

Ngo Heong, or meat rolls, also prepared by the neighbour. The rolls were coated with flour and deep fried. The meat was fresh, not as oily, spicy and dense compared to the commercial version. 

Zhing Tu Spare Ribs, by mum. 

Braised duck, given by the next door neighbour. She made it herself. Dad prefers braised duck over the roasted version. 

Keropok, or prawn crackers, is one of CNY staples. 

A fine, sunny day. Good day for visiting the relatives, reading and napping.

I am listening to CNY songs from the local radio station, must be getting old. 

Max loves to sleep on the sofa now. I gave him a floor mat, just in case his ear wax stained the sofa cover. I find it amazing that Spencer, Hat, Max and Kiki ( last year ) all agreed that the sofa cover is extremely comfortable. 

Spencer practically camps on the kitchen table, to avoid Max, but she slept with me last night.

Max and Spencer yolwed for breakfast at 7am but I didn't wake up until 8am. Spencer ate a bit of biscuits but Max chomped through his food. Then he had morning tea again.

Auntycat was meowing downstairs already when I unlocked the door. She talked a lot too, no doubt complaining about BH2. Hat was reluctant to come up, and he didn't eat, even though I locked him in the store room.

Now Spencer is looking at me from the kitchen table, Max snoring on the sofa, and Hat sleeping in the store room. 

Lucky loves sun tanning.

The neighbour dropped by to return the keys. She couldn't explain the broken window pane, but she said the cats behaved. Hat, Auntycat and BH2 knew to wait under the tree, but BH2 grabbed everyone else's food. Hat didn't dare to appear upstairs at all.

She said Max was OK the first day, following her around the house. Spencer, as usual, was hiding under the bed. The second day, Max was sleeping in the basket, looking upset and rejected the food. She felt it was because we didn't appear. She returned again in the evening, and saw that Max had eaten a bit. She finds Max very sweet, because of his expression, and the hippy way he walks. She heard of Max's lifes story, and was sympathetic.

Spencer right paw is still tender, but I can't see anything wrong. 

I guess lions also belong to the cat family?

Gong Xi Gong Xi! 

The 6 months old St Bernard, Yuki. I don't understand why one would want to keep such a big size dog in a semi-detached without a garden. I just hope Yuki finds a better owner. 

This male dog apparently had some kind of severe skin diseases before, he was bald. But now he seems to have recovered somewhat. 

The female dog which I met last September. Glad to see she is alright.