Saturday, July 18, 2009

Feast for the Senses...




Last week, we (aunts/uncles/cousins/grandparents/hubby/I) celebrated my maternal grandfather's 88th birthday. It was truly a fabulous time, and a Feast for the Senses!

My mom is one of nine brothers & sisters, and although she lives in Brazil, my aunts/uncles all live in Oz, as do my maternal grandparents. Growing up in Brazil, there weren't many 'Brazilians' of Chinese heritage, and I was often mistaken for a Japanese-Brazilian (Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan). So growing up I was not often exposed to Chinese culture, people and food (not like I am now). As previously mentioned, my family gatherings revolve around food, and lots of it...

My aunt's 'char siu' (Chinese barbeque pork - but a million times nicer than the kind you can buy from those 'roast duck/pork/etc' restaurants)

My grandma's 'famous' Yam & Belly Pork' dish (Chinese)

Uncle's Chickpea & Saffron Stew (US Food & Wine named him in the top 10 “hottest chefs alive”)

Uncle's (again) Roast Duck & Pork (Chinese) -


Grandaunt's Nonya (Malaysian) Zong Zi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves)

Stuffed roast pork

Another aunt's Sambal Fish (Malaysian)

Lemon Meringue - my cousin, who recently returned from her honeymoon in Europe, made this amazing dessert...this had us literally breaking into song...(well, one person, who shall remain nameless, haha)


My aunt's 'croquembouche' of red bean buns (Chinese with a Western spin),


Haha, how cute is that?

My aunt's and mom all (but one) grew up in England after they left Malaysia in 1969, so they are all heavily 'British-influenced'.

I didn't get time to take a picture of my outfit that day, but I may reprise it today/this weekend and take a photo...

www.style.com

20 comments:

  1. YUMMY

    and

    Happy Birthday to Ur grandfather!

    XoXo

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  2. mmmmmmm....that looks so delicious!! :P

    box-of-style

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  3. Wow your family is so international and such culinary masters!

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  4. OMG, these shoes... I want these shoes... and 'have dinner at your place, but the shoes first... I can even sell my soul, whatever it takes... let me have them....

    ok... I may not be able to walk with them... but they are dead-gorgeous....

    Cheers!

    Sarah
    ~ Lolita of modern times ~

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  5. h.b!

    omg amazing food that really looks home food!

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  6. Happy birthday to your grandfather! What an enormous feast! It's a wonderful mix of eastern and western dishes =)

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  7. everything looks so tasty, yummy :)

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  8. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Everything looks sooo good!!
    mmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmm

    Besos!

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  9. Happy birthday to your dear grandfather! (:

    All this food looks so scrumptious, which is actually making me quite forlorn. I've just gotten my wisdom teeth removed and am starving ): Lol!

    bisous,
    La C.

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  10. I never saw so many extraordinary yummy food..
    How do you call it? .."Nonya" & "Zong Zi" or the delicous "croquembouche"
    WoooooW!!!! I wish I could even pronounce it the right way ;)

    I´m sure you looked awesome in your outfit!

    Happy sunny relaxing weekend to you!
    Hugs
    Martina

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  11. your foodie shots always make me soo hungry!

    ps. april italian vogue has come in on sea mail now, so grab a copy!

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  12. How lucky--culinary talent runs in your family. There's nothing better than bonding over food. Happy Birthday to your grandfather!

    Homemade Zong Zi beats anything store-bought. It's so time-consuming, but so good.

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  13. wow, quanta coisa deliciosa!!!
    Não há nada como comer uma comidinha assim, dos deuses!
    Amo a cultura oriental....sempre surpreendente!

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  14. i can't tell you how much i would pay to have really good char siu and also zong zi now. i need to go back home (singapore) just to eat food.

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  15. ok that's it, your family can all come over and cook for me on my birthday next time!! My mouth is seriously watering right now . . .

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  16. wow... food looks amazing, especially that dessert... and youre lucky to have your uncle as such a good chef!

    happy birthday to your grandfather also!!
    that food would be the best birthday present ever!

    xx brooke

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