Food Galore – Chinese New Year in Ipoh 2019

It’s a little worrying that at barely 30, I’m already having trouble remembering things, lol.

There’s just an overload of information coming in on a daily basis that it’d be impossible to function without clearing up some ‘space’. Which is why it’s so important for me to keep blogging, no matter how busy I get. How else can I look back on what I’ve been doing at a particular point in time?

So here’s a bit of what I’ve been up to over the holidays 😀

One of my favourite parts about the Chinese New Year celebrations is the food. There’s a reason why people call it ‘comfort’ food – because food is often associated with fond memories and feelings of safety and warmth. It’s such a good feeling to have awesome home cooked food to dig into the moment you step into the house. 😀

In this case, upon arriving in Ipoh, my cousin YS (who is a great cook) had made a big bunch of pork and century egg dumplings in a light, savoury broth. The thickness of the dumpling skin was just right, and the filling had the right balance of fat and lean for a tender, melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Then my uncle came back from visiting friends with a big bag of these fried snacks called “Phoenix Balls”. Apparently they used to be served as appetisers at Chinese banquets, but you rarely find them these days.

The inside was a mix of pork, shredded carrots and egg, enveloped in a chewy layer of pork fat taken from underneath the pig skin, then battered and deep fried. I really liked the textures, despite the ball’s oiliness – there’s the crisp from the shell, the chewiness from the pork fat, and the soft tenderness of the meat.

Then the cous wanted to make charsiewbao (pork buns) so we helped out. It’s a lot of work, since everything was made from scratch, from the dough to the pork filling. Folding the buns into the proper shape was an art on its own.