Suzanna Lam
Every year, our family of ten gather together on the Lunar New Year’s Eve and on the second day of New Year. I always look forward to family dinners as there is always a great meal cooked by my grandparents, waiting for me.
Suzanna Lam is an English major undergraduate student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was born in Macau, and raised in Hong Kong.
Warm festivities all sat in a gold “Yuen Bo.” It was the second day of Lunar New Year, grandma’s hands welcomed me as I stepped inside her house.
“Gong Hei Faat Choi!” I greeted her. “Come, choose one!” She smiled as I eagerly took a red packet and showered her with more new year greetings. I wished her a long, happy, healthy life.
Our family had our roots in Shuntak, an area in Guangdong. Naturally, a perfect New Year dinner for us would be a table full of unique Shuntak cuisine. Us Shuntak people love meat and seafood. We had a huge pot full of lamb meat, and another pot of juicy mushroom cooked with goose and chicken. We Shuntak people love seafood, of course there would be freshly steamed deep sea fish, served with soy sauce, along with vegetables and scallops. As a Hong Konger, we always added some Western elements into our food. This time, Grandpa decided to try something new and served a bowl of cheese lobster noodles.
Once everything was ready, the ten of us immediately picked up our bowl and were ready to strike! Chinese people love to put our food on one big plate instead of separating it into individual dishes. This feels more homey as we could help each other with the food. However, during the COVID epidemic, we had to be more careful. We first used extra chopsticks to put the food onto our bowls, and then switch to our own chopsticks.
Each of the dishes have their own unique names and meanings during the New Year dinner.
“Lin Lin Yau Yu” is a New Year phrase that means “surplus every year. ” Since fish is pronounced as “Yu” in Cantonese, eating steamed fish would mean that one would have surplus luck and fortune for the rest of the year.
We also serve dishes with lotus. Lotus is called “lin ngau” in Cantonese, which also sounds similar to “年有”, meaning “having good things every year.”
Grandma and grandpa kept asking us questions. “Is the food good?” “Are the lobster fresh?” They were delighted seeing us enjoying their cooking.
After the dinner, we exchanged new year gifts. We don’t celebrate Christmas in December but the way we celebrate New Year is a bit similar to Christmas. We layed out everything on the table and admired the table full of snacks. And so we decided to have another round of dinner. We always say “our stomach is always reserved for desserts.”
My cousin went to the Wong Tai Sin temple for New Year that day. I didn’t go as I decided to stay home, safe from the virus. To compensate, I borrowed my cousin’s windmill and took a New Year photo in front of the door.
My parents thought I looked gloomy because of my clothes. I wish I had worn something more festive, but I didn’t have any red clothing that suited me.
The next morning, I was greeted with the red snack box my mom prepared.
“Eat some snacks tomorrow so you will have strength for the New Year!”
Here comes another round of family gatherings!