The Reunion Dinner

As a kid, reunion dinners meant eating alot. Really Alot. When grandpa was alive ( and great grandma ), reunion dinners we must have many dishes, at least about 7 or 8. While later i suffered some form of constipation ( ahem ) i was a bit terrified at the thought of reunion dinners as great grandma used to star at us eating. Chopstick habits were observed during dinners and it was seemed so formal.  There was always chicken, duck, fish, pork, sausages etc in reunion dinners - plus it was always a must to sit at tables to eat together.

As i grew up, the reunion dinners had a different meaning altogether.  The number of people begin to lessen but i slowly developed the real meaning of reunion dinner. Formats changed, there were more talking and catching up with family members. Number of food dishes did not lessen - till everyone cholestrol levels hit sky high. And with grandma being my only remaining grandparent, the meaning is not lost to me that we should cherish such events all the more.  She used to cook splendid dishes during reunion dinners. Every year besides the standard chicken, duck, fish, pork, sausages, there is always a special dish from her. Sometimes it was pork rolls ( this was pretty awesome but a lot of work ) dumplings etc so that there is something different. However, since she was getting old, we had less and less of that. Grandma now sits and relaxes and waits for reunion dinner to be served! Perks of getting older :)  


Grandma enjoying the keropok we fried earlier. She loves crunchy stuff.

This year, our reunion dinner is much simpler. Well there is only 6 of us. We really cannot eat up a storm. ( I heard in China, reunion dinners go up to 15 dishes etc ) For us, it is more of being together. My uncle in Australia has never been able to make it back as being a professor in Uni, term starts right smack in CNY time.


We kept it about 5 dishes + soup. Grandma hates dry rice.  Must have is duck and chicken. Kai, Ngap. You get the drift and some greens to wipe up the oil. And my favorite - Chinese sausages. :)



The duck comes from the Famous Canning Garden Restaurant Hong Kong. It's also called the Divine duck by Malaysian Insider. We order it a few days in advance for Reunion Dinner. And when you go to collect it, the duck is piping steam hot. Otherwise, if you are eating the next day, they will give it an  oil bath to retain it's crispy skin.  I was always suspicious the person cutting the duck took some liberties with some pieces. And i never caught him. This year the son of the owner decided to do the cutting himself. No missing pieces this year.  There is a kick ass chilli sauce with the duck itself that i cannot do without. Seems like i am the only in the family that eats the sauce!



Home styled steamed chicken. The skin sends shivers down my spine for some reason. That's a full chook here. Plus alot of grounded ginger to go with.

Dinner took 2 hours. In grandma's case ... cause she got distracted listening to all of us talk. So the food going into her mouth was also slowed down.  However she did enjoy herself immensely. Let's hope there are more of such dinners to come.

Restaurant Hong Kong ( Those interested in da duck )

60 Jalan Lee Kwee Foh
Canning Garden
Ipoh.
Tel +605 5477813