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I was about to cook lasagna when we realized we had some errands to finish running which is just as well because I really wasn’t too crazy about cooking up a storm on Mother’s Day. So we decided to have lunch at Subway while we were there.

So the lasagna got pushed to dinner time. I already completed half the cooking process so finishing up the last bit wasn’t that stressful. No kicking back for this mother on Mother’s Day but no need for the best wrinkle cream either.

We had an early Mother’s Day dinner as we’ve learnt to celebrate ahead of the crowd. We went to Friday’s and I ordered the pasta. That’s pretty much my usual order.

Since we were a whole day ahead of Mother’s Day, the place wasn’t too crowded and we enjoyed a leisurely meal without feeling like we were being rushed out in a hurry. The food was served promptly, no long waits for refills and credit card processing was not a problem like it sometimes is when it’s crowded.

Where did you go for Mother’s Day and what did you eat?

Have you seen anything this cute? Guess that they are?

Petite Bride & Groom Gourmet Apples

I had a hard time guessing that these are, in fact, wedding chocolate caramel apples decorated to replicate the wedding couple, dressed in a bridal gown and tuxedo. Fabulous, aren’t they? I wonder how they made the criss-cross effect for the wedding gown and the smooth chocolate effect that looks like it could fade stretch marks. The petite size apples are perfect as wedding favors while the jumbo apples are popular as table decorations.

So now that the Reunion Dinner is nicely tucked in and my vegetarian meals cooked for today, it’s time to look forward to tomorrow’s Kickoff Lunch menu. The Chinese New Year Kickoff Lunch (in my terms) is the first meal of the new year on the second day of Chinese New Year. In the old days, businesses would reopen briefly on the second day of Chinese New Year with a lunch for the employees to welcome a brand new and more successful business year.

So I guess that’s how this whole idea of the Kickoff Lunch started. We’ve celebrated this since we were kids. This year, I got my menu ready early so I won’t have to stress myself out so much at the last minute that I have to call on the best face wrinkle cream to save the day .

This is what I’m planning to cook at home tomorrow.

• Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onions (‘fish’ or ‘yu’ in Cantonese is synonymous with having ‘excess’ of all things good in the new year)
• Cereal Shrimp (’shrimp’ or ‘ha’ in Cantonese is synonymous with joy, happiness and laughter)
• Stir-fried Baby Kai-lan with Garlic
• Yee Sang, or Raw Fish Salad (signifying everything and everyone coming together in harmony)

Stay tuned for updates and pictures of our meal.

This year, for our CNY reunion dinner, I decided to slave in the kitchen this year instead of subjecting ourselves to those rip-off festive restaurant prices. My dishes are very simple so it’s not too hard to whip up something pretty quickly.

Stirfried Kailan with Crispy Scallop Bits

Stir-fried Kai-lan (Chinese kale) is a common everyday dish. I merely funky-ed it up with a topping of crispy dried scallop bits. Surprisingly my say-no-to-veggie brood loved this .

Claypot Pork Ribs and Tofu

We’re big fans of Claypot Tofu (recipe here) and I cook this quite often for regular meals. Here I used pork ribs with carrot flowers and wolfberries and turned it into something special.

Spicy Thai-style Crispy Chicken

I topped my easy-peasy and very popular Thai-style Crispy Chicken (recipe here) with shredded carrots, cucumbers and onions.

Braised Mushrooms with Phoenix Claws

Don’t jump now. Phoenix claws are actually just plain old chicken feet.

Lotus Root Soup with Japanese Baby Scallops

This turned out so sweet and flavorful I surprised even myself .

You’ll agree there’s nothing very fattening here so no need for us to start reading phentermine reviews ! In fact, I cooked everything here with fresh ingredients and very little sodium, practically no sugar or added MSG.