My Chinese New Year Explained

It's this time of year again, the wonderful year of the Dragon has arrived. I'm born in the year of the Goat but needless to say the Dragon is always the favourite zodiac. So, if you're born in 1952/1964/1976/1988/2000/2012 then lucky you, you belong in the year of the Dragon. If you're superstitious then you will find that in this year you will shine and benefit from it the most. Meh, I'm not sure about that.

When it comes to superstitions I would say I'm only very partial to the idea. I always avoid 3 drains and step on 2 for luck and that's about it. I guess when I woke up this morning I wanted to be more 'aware', as in I wanted to make more of an effort to understand my culture and 'supersitiions'. And I'm glad I did, I learnt a few things about the dishes we eat during this festive period.

Every household is different according to your own family's tradition. But before I start, I just want to mention that my dad is very superstitious, superstition is his religion (ha! excuse the pun). So here's my Chinese dinner explained (chinese translation is in Cantonese)...



There are 6 dishes. It can be 5,6 or 9 dishes never 7.



Salt and chilli prawns. Prawns are called 'ha' in cantonese which mean 'haha' as in laughter. Aka start the year with 'haha' and laughter, bringing smiles and happiness into the new year.



Fried fish (which will be left overnight in the rice sack). Fish translates to 'yu' and in this case yu means fortune. We don't eat this tonight as its left in the rice sack to roll over into tomorrow. 'Yu' represents 'left over' (usually in the sense of having extra money left over) aka prosperity, wealth and fortune.



Standard chicken with ginger and spring onion dip. A very common traditional Chinese meat dish. We tend to have this on any possible occasion so I guess it's on the menu for tradtion's sake.



Another traditional dish called 'hoi mei'. It consists of dried seafood such as oysters and scallops etc. There's also a rare delicacy called 'fat choi' which is a plant that grows in a specific area of China and a ban has recently been issued on picking these delicacies. The saying 'fat choi' is commomly said in greetings wishing for wealth as 'choi' translates to fortune. There is a bed of lettuce on the bottom of the dish which is called 'sang choi' as 'sang' means grow, so the lettuce represents growing wealth. Phew, that dish was a mouthful.



Flowers are a big thing to have around new years. The flower budding and opening represents growth and prosperity.

We'll also enjoy homemade and festive snacks like these fried seasame with red bean paste balls.


Finally to end the night with, the lights downstairs in our hall landing will be left on all night. The lights represent a bright new year. Hope this has been as interesting as it has been for me.

Kung Hei Fat Choi. May the year of the Dragon bring you happiness, health and fortune.

A fortnight in a nutshell

What a mad mad 2 weeks since going back to uni. After making a promise to myself in September that I won't succumb to any more all nighters, well, it happened again. Hence why I've been so slack and not updated in a while.



With another set of double deadlines due in next month, I thought I'll commit chocolate/cake suicide in one night.



In celebrating my all nighter the next day I swiftly went shopping and picked up a pair of boots. I've wanted a pair of boots that I could wear out on a night out and casually, so I settled for these Topshop beauties.






It was £76 and I was really adamant about getting them, I just couldn't justify spending that much on pair of shoes, but, I persuaded myself that a girl needs 5 kinds of footwear:

Sandals
Flats
Sneakers
Heels
Boots

The list are essentials and I suppose I need a pair of overpriced boots to feed my list. Regardless of the price, people who know me knows I follow one mantra: I wear/use something for 'X' amount of times at the price I got it for, e.g. I buy a top for £28 I'll wear it 28 times. I don't have to adhere to a strict 'x' amount of times, I could always buy something expensive and wear it 50 times or sometimes wear it 10 times which would work out to £2.80 a time hahaha you get my drift. This formula always works and makes me feel better when I over spend, and to be honest, it's a good coping machanism when I see my bank balance. Try it sometime and see if it works for you.

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol

This epic flick landed in our cinemas on Boxing day and currently to date holds the number spot at the box office, overtaking Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. I can't remember the last time I'd watched Mission Impossible and couldn't remember much of the storyline so I was going in 'fresh' and open minded about the film. I had only read the rave reviews from critics that had made me to want to see it.

The film begins with agent Ethan Hunt escaping from prison only to discover that the reason for his escape is not that simple. There is an explosion in the Kremlin in Moscow and Hunt is believed to be the main suspect for causing the damage. The plot then takes off with the information that Hunt is given by his boss, the IMF secretary: he is to complete this mission without any back up as he is now a fugitive, contact, plan and choice. His team is not only under the pressure of time but also the eye of the Russian police and the decieving mask of the enemy.

As far as thriller-action films go, we never expect an emotional impact from the actors, which is the forfeit that action films accept-its either action or romance-both are usually absolute fails. M.I.4 is filled with mindblowing action around a cliché action formula-one intelligent nutter intends to blow up the world and a secret agent and his hottie et al are going to save the day. But what you see is far from just the ordinary bang-bangs and explosives, even the gadgets are refreshing and different it adds another layer of 'coolness' into the secret service mix.

Expect epic explosions, sand storms and a hell of a lot more kick ass stunts that are actually done by the man himself, Tom Cruise. He really did his own nail biting stunts on the tallest building of the world, Burj Khalifa. The stunts pulled are all so over the top and unimaginable, which makes it work, they don't call it mission impossible if its just any ordinary task.

Director Brad Bird did a great job at keeping us in suspense. He takes the plot to different exotic locations, racking up a grand sum of air miles to Russia, Dubai and Mumbai. The plot constantly moves forward keeping the stunts coming and thats what I love about it, there isn't a moment to spare and it kept me interested. Ok the storyline is nothing groundbreaking but the chief thrill of stopping the evil genius is gripping. There is the constant gamble of 'will he won't he' make it scenarios that keeps us entertained and in the moment we hold our breathe, surely that gives the film some credit. He may not be as suave as Daniel Craig, but personally I think he's far more entertaining than him. it definitely serves to thrill us. This is a must see and a great action blockbuster to start the New Year with.

So-Called Resolutions.

Since rolling over to 2012 I've managed to stack up 2 sessions of Amazon shopping. Main purchases were for my demanding English course and the rest, well, were pure bargains I just couldn't help myself. Since starting uni nearly 3 years ago I've barely dedicated any time to reading for my own pleasure, aka something not on my course. The last book I'd slugged through out of choice was Atonement by Ian McEwan, a big mistake and regrettably did NOT make a enjoyable summer holiday read.

This year I'm going to try and committ myself to read a book I like. I may call this my new years 'resolution', but at the same time I shouldn't think of this as a chore becuase chores are meant to be unpleasant and done unwillingly, it will help calm my nerves by drifting into the thrilling fantasies of Larsson's triliogy.

I've accumulated a haul of books to get through in the next couple of months. I've managed to snag Stieg Larsson's Millenium triology for the price of one shelf price, two of which only costed me 1p...1 penny for a book, I couldn't believe it! Even with the £2.80 p&p its still pretty awesome. I've heard so many positive reviews and praise about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, so it's about time I jump on the band wagon. Altough I do have a tendancy of leaving the last edition of a series, i.e. I still haven't got round to reading Breaking Dawn and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I've already refused to watch the film until I've read them.

Another descent pick-me-up at the moment are magazine deals. I've realised that more regularly Cosmo offer twin packs usually with Company magazine. It's nice to see different publications merging together to form 'super' packs, I picked up this mammoth pack from WhSmiths in London Victoria which contained Elle, Cosmopolitan and company for £6.99 saving £1.30.