It's the time of the year again. :) Aside from Christmas and New Year, Chinese New year is one of the occasions that my family loves. No, we're not Chinese but we still celebrate this event every year hehe..

We usually just have a family dinner and then do some rituals for good luck on the eve of Chinese New Year :p. We searched over the net about what lucky food to serve; and as always it was my dad who cooked everything. :p


On top of the list of lucky food for Chinese New Year are fish and pork. For the pork dish we had Crispy Pata and Lechon Kawali.

Crispy Pata

Lechon Kawali

We had Fried Tanigue and Fried Espada for the fish dishes. According to the Chinese, fish is for abundance.

Fried Tanigue

The fish must also be served whole, with the head and tail attached, for a good beginning and ending for the coming year. :)

Fried Espada Fish

Another lucky food are noodles, so we had Pancit Canton-Bihon. They say that noodles represent long life. The noodles should also be kept as long as possible because an old superstition says that it's bad luck to cut them.

Pancit Canton-Bihon

Also in the list is chicken which, for the Chinese, symbolizes family togetherness, and so my dad prepared the Butterflied Grilled Chicken. :)

Butterflied Grilled Chicken

Fruits are also part of the list, oranges and pineapples being the luckiest. :) Pineapple's "eyes" symbolize new opportunities and oranges symbolize gold or money and are said to bring wealth and luck.

Lucky Fruits :p

Sweets are also lucky especially the Tikoy and Hopia. The Tikoy's stickiness symbolizes close family ties.

Tikoy Turon

Sweets and desserts also symbolize a rich, sweet life for the family for the coming year. The round shape of the tikoy and hopia also signifies family reunion.

Hopia Mongo

It is also said that layered desserts symbolize rising abundance for the coming year, and so Gia and I made this Graham Sans Rival for dessert. :)

Graham Sans Rival

We also had these mouth-watering dishes:

Spicy Tofu

Hot Pot

*** Click the photo to view the recipe :) ***

Daddy's home-made Vigan Empanada

Century Eggs

We also did some rituals for good luck like: hanging at the front door a photo of a Chinese boy and girl; putting of incense all over the house; having flowers without thorns as table centerpieces; money in red envelopes; and a bowl or basket with rice and gold coins or charms for abundance. :)

Bowl of rice grains and gold coins for abundance :)

We're not a Chinese family, yes, but I guess it won't hurt if we wish for good luck right? For as long as it doesn't take over our faith, I believe this is just fine. :)

Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!

I think I already have a post or two of our family lunch or dinner with Buttered Veggies. Simple yet mouth-watering and healthy, this surely is a perfect side dish for fried or grilled chicken, pork, fish, or beef. :)

Buttered Veggies

Ingredients:

2 pcs medium-sized potatoes

1/4 kilo Baguio beans

1 pc medium-sized sayote

1 pc medium-sized carrot

50g butter
28g Mc Cormick Chicken Gravy mix
salt and pepper to taste


Preparation and Cooking Procedures:
Wash vegetables with running water. Peel off skin and cut into strips.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Pour in the sliced vegetables and stir, making sure that the veggies are coated with the melted butter. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Cover pan and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Cooking time may vary. I usually want the veggies cooked just right and still crisp to the bite. :) Place the cooked veggies in a plate and set aside.

The vegetables are not limited to the ones listed above. You may add in other veggies like mushrooms or any other vegetable that you wish. :)


For the gravy, pour the Mc Cormick Chicken Gravy mix into a bowl and add in a cup of hot water. Stir well. Pour the gravy over the veggies and serve. Serves 5-6 people. :)

More recipes HERE :)

<< Back to Sizzling Tuesday Lunch

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I was off from work last Tuesday, so I got to taste another set of my daddy's specialties. :D My dad would always ask us what we want him to cook and he would always grant our requests. He actually loves asking my sister Gia because she really tells what she wants haha! :p

And so here are what we had for lunch. :)


It's been awhile since we got to taste my dad's pork sisig. Gia was also craving for it so this was what came first to her mind when my dad asked her what she wanted for lunch. My daddy's sisig is really good! I actually got another serving of rice because of the sisig haha!

*** Click the photo to view the recipe :) ***

Sizzling Pork Sisig

We've been raving about Max's Sizzling Tofu, so this was our second request to my dad. :) My dad just asked us to describe how the dish tasted, and in no time, he already had his version of sizzling tofu.

My Daddy's Sizzling Tofu

Max's Sizzling Tofu

And our verict? My dad's sizzling tofu was very much like Max's, with the look, taste, and all, my dad's was even better I must say! You're the best, daddy!

*** Click the photo to view the recipe :) ***

Sizzling Tofu

And to complete the meal, we also had buttered veggies with gravy.

*** Click the photo to view the recipe. ***

Buttered Veggies with Gravy

We also had ice cream float for dessert. :)

Ice Cream Float

*burp* Thank you daddy for another mouth-watering lunch! ♥♥♥

Shared at: Food Trip Friday, Food Friday

I usually wear my nails short without nail polish. I wear nail polish every once in a while, but I only use light shades like nude, pearl, or platinum.

But I think I can never really resist anything that is pink! :p I saw this in my mom's nail polish box last night and I found myself applying it on my nails in no time.

Chic Classics Nail Color - Neon Fuchsia

Here's what my nails looked after applying 3 coats of the nail polish. :)


I applied a single coat of the Caronia colorless nail polish for an added shine.

Caronia Nailpolish - Colorless Regular

I am so lovin' my pink nails! ♥♥♥

I just hope I can wear my pink nails for at least a day or two. Nail polishes don't really last long on my nails because I tend to remove my nail polish, even if I've just applied it, once I notice some scratches. And yes, I'm a brat that way haha! :p

Today marks the 400th year of my (and my parents') Alma Mater. The week long celebration started last Saturday, January 22, with an alumni homecoming for each college organized by the Alumni. There were also different events like parades and fairs over the week, yesterday was the UST Quadricentennial Countdown, and today is the Quadricentennial Thanksgiving Mass and Grand Alumni Homecoming.


My parents and I, who are all from the UST College of Engineering, attended the UST@400 Eng'gahling (Engineering Grand Alumni Homecoming).

Mom and I, Proud Tomasinos!

Too bad I wasn't able to come to the rest of the events. :( I was stuck at home last night because of headache and clogged nose and I wasn't able to attend the UST Quadricentennial Countdown, so I just settled for live video streaming.

All the students and alumni seemed to be enjoying the event. There were bands and different performances. My favorite part was when the UST Hymn was sung and of course, everyone's much awaited part was the fireworks display.

The UST hymn and the pyromusical gave me goosebumps! They were just so beautiful! Here's a video of the UST Quadricentennial Countdown fireworks display. :)

I also love the UST Quadricentennial Song. I just feel so proud to be a Tomasino!

Happy 400 years UST! 400 years of Unending Grace!

Viva Santo Tomas!!!

Grilled Stuffed Squid