Year of the Tiger- better to live one year as tiger than a lifetime as a sheep.

2010 is the year of the Tiger based on the Chinese Calender. Tigers are fierce, loyal, nuturing and strong. Seeing as i am born in 1986 i like to remind myself that i have inherited at least one of these characteristics or so i hope.

Chinese New Year festivities are emerging, how do i know this? Well, that is easy. When i walked down Cabramatta and all the groceries are lined with red shiny cellophane paper filled with coconut candy and nutty delights.. I remember Chinese new year as a child as i was given the red pockets 'unn bao'. i would use this money to go to the corner store with my older cousins where my ama and agug lived. Chinese new year is a tradition in our family where we pray to our ancestors, eat crispy pork and cha seow with chinese vegetables. As i get older, the red pockets are slowly dwindling and i soon realise it will be my turn to hand out the small red envelops to the kids.

koi mun, gouy kak, banana fritters

Every weekend i wake up to my parents preparing for the weekly sales of banana fritters at the local asian grocery. i love the smell of coconut and the taste of warm fried banana. Its deep fried sweet coconut gives a crunch everytime you bite into the banana and surely makes you wonder if anyone can hear you. Do not cover with any cling wrap or foil as it will spoil the texture and leave it soggy..