Special Occasion: My grandma's birthday dinner! (Chinese feast dinner)

Happy 80th birthday mama! That's what I call my maternal grandmother! It doesn't have the same accent as how an Italian would call their mother or how you see toddlers call out to their mothers...the first 'a' goes up in accent and the second goes down. It's a slang in our teochew dialect. This year marks her big 80th and because of superstition we didn't have this big chinese feast dinner on her actual birthday date but on the day before! This dinner was held back in July but I hadn't gotten around to writing this post!

My mother booked a private room at a chinese restaurant downtown which we had eaten at before for lunch for dim sum (see our giant dim sum lunch here)! The dinner was a few hundred dollars as my mom paid extra for a whole suckling pig as the set she chose only came with half!

Continue below for the feast and family photos!

My grandma's 80th birthday dinner! A chinese feast!

I wore a gradient blue smokey look! Using Kate eyeshadow!

Kate gradical eyes palette! I freaking love these palettes and wish I had more of them!

For asian girls with small double eyelids like mine, try to keep the color on your lids and bringing it slightly above the crease is a good move.

I could've smoked out the dark blue in my crease better but otherwise I love the light white from the palette that I used under my browbone!

L to R: Myself behind, my mother, my grandmother, my uncle (mom's sister husband)

My grandmother and mom! With her mountain of oranges which all family members at the dinner gave my grandmother while giving her well wishes!

Family photo! L to R: My mom and dad behind, my boyfriend, myself, my grandma, my brother and my uncle! (the rest of his family are not in Singapore currently)

The first dish of the night! Whole roasted crispy suckling pig! The skin was so crispy and the meat so juicy! Wrap the meat and skin inside the mini wraps (not pictured), a piece of spring onion and a drizzle of sweet plum or hoisin sauce!

A plate of longevity buns! These are steamed buns usually shaped like peaches filled with smooth lotus paste! The big one was for decorative purposes! (the wraps for the suckling pig are in the background)

Another family photo with the table full of food!

One of my favorite dishes from the night! Lobster and fruit salad! Filled with chunks of fresh lobster meat, melon, apple, peach, cucumber and sweet japanese mayo! This was plated so beautifully and was so refreshing and tasty!

Shark's fin soup! A rich tasty seafood broth filled with scallop, sea cucumber and lots of shark's fin, topped with fresh coriander and blanched bean sprouts. (I'm aware of the very cruel and wasteful process of shark fin fishing but for me it's a rarity and is part of tradition when I consume it and I otherwise would never order or prepare it myself!)

Drunken live prawns served in a herbal tonic soup! The prawns were fresh and juicy and the herbal broth light but woody. It might be a bit strong for those who don't enjoy this type of soup however I really do especially with the hint of chinese cooking wine flavor!

Pan seared scallops! Beautiful giant scallops seared to perfection on both sides with a perfect brown crust! A mixed lettuce salad with a light mayo and sesame oil dressing!

Braised sea cucumber, baby abalone and iceberg lettuce! I love these types of chinese dishes. I've always loved these two seafood items and braising is the best ways to cook these items. The sauce is a tasty brown sauce and for some reason iceburg lettuce taste and has a lovely texture even after being cooked.

Braised spinach and mushrooms! The second last dish for the night after so many courses! The last dish was actually a fried E-fu flat yellow noodle with bits of chicken and seafood. This is usually a staple in multiple course chinese dinner. The dish was separated into individual bowls for everyone and I forgot to take a photo!

A platter of sliced fresh fruit!

A pistachio sponge and cream cake from a boutique pastry shop which we purchased the night before for the dinner!

My family posing with the cake and a special fire cracker type candle!

Mom and grandma posing with her birthday bouquets of roses and mixed Orchids!

My brother and I posing with grandma! It's really hard to believe she's 80 this year. She's never had surgery on her face except for some laser to lighten pigments. My point is most people think she's my mom's sister or in her 60s or 70s! I hope to still look and be as independent as she is when I'm her age!

For all those Chinese or Asian families who feast in a similar way during family celebrations you'd understand how full I felt after all the food. Yet at the same time I wish I could've rewind and eat everything all over again! I have a love/hate of multiple course chinese dinners. You know you will probably eat way too much but you feel obliged and yet you also really want to eat so these feast dinners/meals are reserved for special celebrations!

When was the last big family dinner you had?

Do you eat in or dine out?

Let me know!

Thank you so much!