Friday 27 February 2015

Special: Chinese New Year 2015! (Reunion Dinner and visiting family)

Happy year of the Sheep! To be honest I'm not quite sure if it's a goat or sheep this year as half the portrayals of the animals look like fluffy sheep and the other half have horns and look like goats! Apparently it's the year of the 'ram' to be most specific! I wish all those of Chinese descent a prosperous and happy year ahead! As a chinese Singaporean and living in a country with a predominantly Chinese population the lunar new year is a big deal here.

Expect red and gold lanterns and decorations all over town, supermarkets filled with shelves and rows of traditional snacks and foods for the occasion and streets in Chinatown shut down for temporarily stalls to set up to do business of goods and foods! We also have a public holiday but unlike China or other Chinese countries ours is only a day or two and not a week or two!

Continue below for my CNY celebrations!
Special: Chinese New Year 2015! (Reunion Dinner and visiting family)
A soft shimmery bright peach eye look!
A soft shimmery bright peach eye look! Using a dior and urban decay eyeshadow!
I wanted something soft, peachy, shimmery and clean looking!
On my cheeks is the most pretty coral with golden shimmer, Bourjois Lilas d'or!
Products used: ZA perfect fit two way powder, Cyber colors powder, Kate powderless foundation, Revlon matte (for brows), Bourjois blush, Shiseido cream eyeshadow, Art Deco eyebrow gel, Lady Oscar eyeliner, Maybelline the rocket mascara, Kiss me heroine mascara, Korres mango butter lipstick!
Shadows used: Catrice highlight shade (great dupe for thebalm marylou), shadow from Urban Decay Vice 2 and peachy shade from Dior travel voyage palette!
My completely look for the first day of Chinese new year! Simple, bright clean eyes, pinched cheeks and a juicy peachy pink lip!
If you get a chance to get a mango butter lipstick from Korres, do get it! The texture feels like a dupe for YSL rouge volupte lipsticks which I own 4 of!
My Chinese New Year day outfit! The gorgeous wait fitted red lace dress was a steal from H&M! At only $40 SGD, it was the most elegant and pretty of the 5 or 6 red dresses they were selling before the lunar new year period! I however got the sleeves altered so they stop at my elbows instead of my wrists!
In person the skirt is quite unique, from the front, it's like a diamond, where the front and back are the same length but the sides are raised so it gives the skirt such a gorgeous shape! For those who don't know red is a lucky chinese color and you'll see people in red or other bright/light shades during this festive period!
A candid shot of my boyfriend! In the back is a mini orange plant that a family friend sent us for good luck! You will see these plants at the entrances of shopping malls, businesses and at people's home which are symbolic for luck!
A photo of all the ladies at our family gathering!
My parent's with my paternal grandmother!
Visiting my maternal grandmother! Still strong, healthy and living independently of her own choice at 80! She was looking a bit tired without much make up on but still gorgeous in her red dress!
My family's reunion dinner! This dinner look place on the eve of the lunar new year day. It's usually the immediate family or as many family members who can attend as it's often the one time of the year where all family catch up and eat together!
My mom made a delicious thick seafood based soup with crab meat, scallops, chicken, mushroom and baby abalones!
A deep fried fish with a sour savory tamarind curry sauce!
Deep fried 'scallop' spring rolls! We rarely deep fry finger food like this for normal meals for this was super enjoyable!
My dad's favorite dish. A stir fried glass noodle dish was braised cabbage, black fungus mushroom, carrots and shitake!
Most importantly is the Yu Sheng which is a dish that all chinese families would usually have at least once during this period! It's an appetizier type dish, under the prawns and smoked salmon and crackers is a bed of shredded raddish, carrots and cucumber! Many other types of pickes and garnishes like crushed peanuts and sesame seeds! All topped off with a sweet sticky plum dressing! This dish is tossed by all the people at the dining table while saying well wishes aloud  until it's a mixed up mess!
One of my favorite photos from the day! Le boyfriend stayed over night for the reunion dinner but we parted on the day itself as I needed to go visiting extended family with my family!
For those who celebrate I hope you all had some kind of celebration or festive meal! That's the one thing I always look forward to is the food and snacks! Chinese locals here don't celebrate our independence day with food, we don't have thanksgiving, not many celebrate Christmas or new years the same was as the Chinese New Year! 


What country were you in celebrating the lunar new year?
What's your favorite lunar new year food?
Let me know!

Feel free to comment!
Thank you!

16 comments:

  1. Happy New Year Sharlynn! You look gorgeous. Love that dress! I wish I could've celebrated CNY with my family, but we had an early celebration in January while we were there :P

    Sheri | Behind The Frames

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  2. you look stunning and the food looks delicious! The Yu Sheng looks great! I really need to learn more about this Holiday!

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  3. I knew that dress looked familiar! I wore the black version of it for my birthday (: Happy (late) new year and I hope your year is great! I'm away from my family in a pretty white city and so I didn't really celebrate, but I'm trying to convince my parents to still make me lunar new year celebration food when I get back :D

    Hao | haodoyounngo

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  4. Happy belated CNY!! It is my year as My chinese zodiac is goat/ram hehe! CNY is one holiday/celebration that makes me the most homesick and this year is my first CNY at home after 5 years being away and never made home at CNY..
    My family never have Yu Sheng because no one likes it lol but I always like to see others having it. It looks so much fun!
    Your dress is gorgeous btw!

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  5. Your cheeks are so on point! Also loving the red lace dress, I've been on the hunt for a good one for a while! :(

    Macarons and Mischief

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  6. food looks super delicious! Chinese New Year isnt that big here but we do out up decorations and have awesome sales :)

    http://steph-g.blogspot.com/

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  7. looks like you had a great Chinese New Year! all the food looks absolutely delicious and LOVE the red dress!

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  8. Happy New Year my dear for you and your Family :-******
    Loving your Red dress <3

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  9. OMG, I wanna tuck in too! My knees go weak at the sight of abalones!! xoxo

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  10. You look gorgeous in RED Sharlynn ♥♥♥ Happy Chinese New Year to you xx

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  11. AHHH! Peach! My favorite! And you really look stunning with peach makeup! Love the dress too! :D And the food, ugh. I always get hungry when I see your food posts! :P

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  12. Omg..you look so so so pretty in red dress. The dress is just for you. Looks like you had a great Chinese new year doll. All the food looks so delicious. Loved your whole makeup and outfit. Kisses

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  13. I usually spend Chinese New Year in HK with my relatives but not this year :c seeing your photos make me really miss them! Your dress was so festive indeed! And stunning make up look x

    Chloé⎪ status.chlo (previously à la foliee)

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  14. Hey Sharlynn, This goat/sheep/ram thing has gotten me confused too. Is the accurate one ram? I thought it was goat after reading an article on The Straits Times explaining how it should be goat but sheep looks cuter and hence many use that for marketing reasons. I went to google again coz I'm too puzzled and here's what I got:
    http://www.cjvlang.com/Spicks/sheepgoat.html

    You did a wise thing altering your red dress till the elbow. It looks a lot more classy this way. Your mum's soup looks heavenly and all those home-cooked Chinese food! I'm going crazy now. I keep thinking that you're a Singaporean living in a foreign country. It is nice to see a fellow Singaporean blog friend celebrating CNY the Singapore way. Most of my frequent blog commenters and friends are all international. If you notice, the Singaporeans usually read blogs silently and not comment much. I'm sure it happens to you as it does to me.

    Jo
    Jo's Jumbled Jardinière

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  15. What a lovely looking family you have Sharlynn!
    So many aunties as well haha :P
    Anyway happy Chinese New Year as well c: you look
    beautiful in your red dress! Your home food meals
    are looking good! Xx

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  16. Happy Belated CNY (I DON'T REMEMBER IF I HAD WISHED IT TO YOUR OR NOT, BUT DOING IT ON THIS POST SEEMS APPROPRIATE) and my god that ABALONE SOUP LOOKS GOOD. Really loving how peachy this whole look is, and I feel like a borken record, but that Korres lipstick looks HELLA GOOD ON YOU.

    I didn't really celebrate this year (well, I guess we kinda did...days later), but man, y'all look dashing in red. I've got a red dress that I never wear, mostly because it's short as hell and I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought it because IT TURNS OUT THAT I DO NOT LOOK GOOD IN RED.

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