Thursday, February 9, 2012

I smelled the food but I lost my way

I was excited. I always am when our local bloggers plan a get together. While blog sharing in cyberland is what we all love and revolve around, I love the chance to get up, close, and personal with my pals. It is all the more festive & fun if we have a solid excuse to party. What better a reason than the Chinese New Year?    Wendy of Table for two and more was the bright light of recognition that we all would be silly to pass up this chance and very kindly organized a Chinese New Year  (CNY) lunch for local bloggers. Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover generously opened her beautiful home to host the lunch. I was looking forward to this lunch scheduled for fourteenth day of the traditional CNY celebrations . When the day finally arrived, I woke up early that morning to prepare the cauliflower and potato in chilli tuna salad. I left the house early at 11.15am (though the lunch as set for 12 noon).  If a person blessed with a normal sense of direction drove it, they would probably reach Sonia’s house within 20 minutes. It took me 1 hour to reach her house and would have taken longer if not for Sonia’s hubby who was so kind to patiently direct me by phone on how to get there. My Quay Lo said he is very grateful that I can find my way home every night. Oh Darling, how blessed are you!! LOL!


When I arrived at Sonia's home, Lena of Frozen Wings was there already. Sharon of Feats of Feasts arrived shortly followed by Wendy of Table for two or more and Swee San of The Sweet Spot. Although all had arrived, there was still a little last minute cooking and plating for all of us to do before we could sit down and enjoy an array of home cooked delicious food.

LOOK!!
The above photo shows the lovely table setting by Sonia 
and below photos show her famous
nasi lemak with peanuts, hard boiled eggs,
boiled kangkung, deep fried anchovies, fried chicken, 
sambal prawns and the best sambal belacan I have ever had.
Sonia also made us a special drink that was so yummy and refreshing.
She called it Lychee lime soda









Food by Wendy 
beef rendang, kamquat almond mini cake and 
Goiabinhas




Food by Quay Po
Cauliflower, potato, romanian lettuce in chilli tuna salad,
Swedish wedding balls and pheasant pate and cheese on mini toasted bread





Food by Lena
Pandan kueh, sweet sour crab and scallop kueh

Food by Sharon
stuffed you tiau with pork and 
apple salad/slaw

Food by Swee San
Sicile (top l. & r.) an entremet of pistachio and blackberry cake,
and a Plum frangipane tart (below). Exquisite!



Last year, our CNY Blogger's lunch was at the home of Reese of Reese Kitchen  and you can see we had lots of wonderful food then as well. Time flew and one year passed already.



Reese was supposed to join us but she could not make it. Though her plans were changed, it was so thoughtful of her to send the chicken wings that she had marinated through Sharon. 




Reese, thank you so much for the delicious chicken wings. We wish you were here with us and we all missed you.

I am sure everyone will agree with me when I said we all felt connected even though some of us were just meeting for the first time. We didn’t seem to have any reservations; instead chatting like old friends. Our lunch lasted for almost four hours because we had so much to share. I am glad I can fit in despite the age difference between me and all the lovely young ladies. Most of them could be my daughters. 


Like the saying goes, All good things must come to an end, we took a group photo to remember our fun day.

Back row: Wendy, Lena and Swee San
Seated: Sonia and Quay po with
Wendy's two sweetie pies! (We missed Sharon in the photo as
she had to rush off for another appointment.)!

Just before I left Sonia’s home, I quickly caught hold of Lena and told her that I need to follow her car to go out onto the highway.  I know, it was so embarrassing that someone who is not from KL (Kuala Lumpur) had to show me the way out. I had to confess I have no sense of direction and if you blindfold me and turn me around, that would be enough to confuse me where I am.  No kidding, I am that hopeless. For being able to return home safely, I had to thank Lena for leading me to the highway from Sonia's house. Having said that, I can proudly announce that I found my way home without much fumble. APPLAUSE!! 


I would like to thank you again, Sonia, for being such a fabulous host. I am very grateful for your generosity in opening up your beautiful home to host the lunch for all of us. It was so thoughtful of you too to present me those gifts of ingredients any food blogger would be delighted to have.

Oh Lena, you are so sweet to give me the lovely little ceramic bowl and the pretty apron. I love them! Like how I look with the apron on (below)? I am holding the ceramic bowl you gave me also, I need a bigger one to ask for more of your out-of-this-world delicious sweet and sour crab lah! "lay sik joe lor" (You know what to do). LOL!

A big THANK YOU to all the "kitchen goddesses" who were there,  for your delicious food, great company and an enjoyable afternoon. That was a million times better than to have a lunch at a restaurant. You ladies sure can cook and bake! Three cheers to you gals! Keep on cooking, baking, blogging and sharing!






92 comments:

  1. Wowww..when all the foodie bloggers gathered upon, is all about delicious food!! envy****

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    Replies
    1. Yee Ling, don't envy, next time I organise one, be there!

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  2. Very nice post Veron! Aiyah, i forgot to post up your photo serving us nasi lemak, hehehe,, now i go to add in..

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    1. hahahah that photo of me looks horrible!! "Like a SAW PO!!"

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  3. I wish i was there to taste all these heavanly baked pastries,and homecooked dishes. I agree this was thousand times better than restaurant food. You ladies are awesome.

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    1. Thanks and how about joining us when we have our next meet?

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  4. Oh, I feel so envious looking at the spread of food on the table. Yes, I can (literally) smell the food from here. One word to describe it - WOW!

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  5. The food looks awesome so as the foodies hahaha Gorgeous photos , Quay Po ;)

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    1. Yes, the food are truly awesome and I agree all the young ladies look gorgeous. I borrowed their limelight! hehe

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  6. What a long spread of dishes on that table! Well, it is time to get a GPS!

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    1. I a not sure if I would. A friend of mine got the GPS but when they come to my place, they still get lost. hehe

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  7. You all not even good in cooking, the ladies good looking also. "yap tak chui Fong chut tak teng tong" :op..I need to learn more from you all.

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    Replies
    1. Jes, you don't need to learn from us, you are one already!

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  8. Im so sad i didn't get to take the group photo but im glad i got to taste all the yummy dishes!! Thanks for the post and photos!!

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    1. You are welcome Sharon. Luckily I got a pic of you with Swee San and Wendy:D

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  9. Wow! Awesome post full with delicious food & the foodies look fab! YUM! :)

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  10. Thank you for so thoughtful to add in my "wings"..hehe! Hopefully I'll be able to join the next gathering..:))

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  11. lucy, i'm also glad that you can find your way home every night! you got me scratching my head when you asked me to lead you out to the highway. yes, very glad to meet all of you, friendly people and delicious food! you know i had to skip dinner that night and one thing, whenever now someone mention PH, i will think of that silly name! that is really so funny! Very nice of you wearing the apron, very sweet, look 10 years younger!! LOL!

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    1. Tell me about it. Me too I skipped dinner, breakfast and lunch the next day. Yes, Peeyah Meeyah got stuck in my head until Wendy corrected me. It is Peeyah Haimay lah. If that chef knows we make fun of his name like this, he will sue us for defamation! hehehe

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  12. What a wonderful day. How lovely to meet fellow bloggers and share beautiful food. What clever ladies. Great photos of a great time. It was also nice to have a look at their blogs that I would otherwise not know about. Thank you for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Oh I am so glad you check out their blogs. I have no doubt you will like them.

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  13. woaahhh... I envy you girls...! :)) awesome gathering! and look at those foods... I wish I have blogger foodie friends around me... ssggghh. Congratulation for the sisterhood :)

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    Replies
    1. How about planning a holiday to Malaysia? I will organise a bloggers meet just for you:D

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  14. Thank goodness you found your way in the end. Wouldn't want to miss out on all this!! Tapau even ... yum!
    Definitely a bunch of talented young ladies ... you included :D

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    1. Yes man!! I WON"T want to miss that out. Those young ladies' talent in cooking and baking took my breath away! So kind of you to include me in the same category of them:D

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  15. Wah ...what a great feast!! Bet you gals had a great time!

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  16. I think your Quay Lo should get you a GPS to make sure you get home safely every night instead of sending a search party to look for you lol GPS is a good buy instead of going round in circles searching for your destination.

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    Replies
    1. He wanted to but I did not want it. My friend had one and did not seem to help her. I guess GPS is useless for someone so dense in terms of direction like me. haha

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  17. what a beautiful day, It must have been just such a thrilling experience to all meet after just knowing each other through cyber space.
    What beautiful food and such lovely photos,

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    Replies
    1. What is thrilling is not only the food, it is the connection!

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  18. Lovely to know you had a wonderful time eating,sharing AND meeting bloggers. Good chefs are always in demand!!

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    Replies
    1. I won't want to call myself chef. Not qualify lah:D

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  19. wow that's a good meal with the foodies :) im sure u have a great time exchanging knowledge among yourselves

    Latest: Aftermath of CNY; What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think, we joke and laugh more than we exchange our knowledge that day! LOL!

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  20. Wah, me bright light meh? All bloggers are equal la.
    Oh no... die. I wrote Lena's cake as radish cake. A far cry from scallop cake in terms of "preciousness". LOL. I tapaued quite an amount of your balls and have yet to eat them, LOL. Your balls, hahahaha. Lyanne loved your balls.

    Long live Peeyay Haimey!
    I hope more will join us next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No need to die lah, just go change it. I make mistakes all the time. I am still alive and kicking! LOL! So glad Lyanne loves my balls. Luckily this time, I made the balls and my Quay Lo. LOL! OK OK, Peeyay Haimey not Peeyay Meeyay. Next year is too far away, lets have another one soon!

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    2. wendy, no die lah. Haha..there we go again.. peeyay hai meh leh? hai meh leh?? you girls really jokers!

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  21. Oh my gosh, is this EVER a feast to be reckoned with! Amazing.

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  22. What a fantastic array of food! Yum!

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  23. Everything and everybody looks amazing! I bet u had a really great time!

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  24. Veron, can see all of you really enjoyed the day!! You are also young lah...

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    Replies
    1. Oh thank you Ah Tze to say I am young. I wish. hehe

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  25. Wow what a feast you ladies had and how much fun to get together with some bloggers in your neck of the woods. I love when I get to do that. Nothing like getting together with others that have the same interests as you. There's always so much to talk about.

    It looks like you had a wonderful time in spite of having trouble finding your way coming and going.

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    1. Yes I did and definitely worth spending 1 hour more to look for Sonia's house.

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  26. Your table is nicely decorated.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Sonia did a fantastic job on the table setting.

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  27. I am like you, Veron, always getting lost in KL and PJ especially! Not to mention a new place where Sonia's house is located! I'm hopeless when it comes to directions too! So much good food that I have missed out on!

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    1. Yes you did miss out this time. Hope we to have you next time.

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  28. Wahhhh!!!All the celebrity-floggers!!! You lost you way? Hmmm...how come I'm not surprised? Muahahahahaha!!!!

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  29. P.S.
    I was thinking of hosting a dinner at my house when you all are in town...but looking at this, I've changed my mind liao. Don't wanna disgrace myself... Will look so miserable in comparison. :(

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    Replies
    1. You are being too modest! Don't use that as an excuse not to cook for us. :D

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  30. I am posting this comment from Ameena because she emailed me that she has difficulty getting her comments published:

    "I lose my way in LA all the time...and I've lived here forever!

    Talk about the best party ever...the sheer amount of food has totally impressed me. And it all looks fantastic! Really, you are a talented bunch of ladies."

    Anyone else has the same problem? Please let me know so that I can write to Blogger to find out what happen. Thanks!

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    1. Happened to me this morning. But it seems to be fixed now.

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    2. Ameena, I am so sorry for all the inconvenience caused. I really appreciate you taking the trouble to send me an email to inform me. Hope Blogger will resolved this problem and you can post your comment the next time.

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    3. Ping, I think it is not fixed on mine. Victor's comment still not being published.

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  31. wow.. the gathering and food looked fabulous!!! simply priceless ;0)

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  32. I remembered my first food bloggers gathering three years ago. I was so nervous the first time but it seems so natural talking about food for hours.

    This is quite a feast, the range of food is so different from our foodie gatherings.

    I'm heading to Singapore in May, hopefully I won't get myself lost...

    Have a nice day, Veron.

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  33. hi Quay Po, how are you doing, you look great in the pic.
    Wow! and all the gourmet looking dishes, surely looks like one very great display of culinary skills, must be very thrilling to be among foodie chefs..
    where every food must be sampled.
    It is a no wonder you all had a four hour lunch.. have a nice day

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    1. I am doing fine. Thanks for asking. It was fun sampling all my friend's food except that I have to skip 3 meals after that.

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  34. I received this comment from Victor by email but it did not get published here:

    From Victor:
    "I remembered my first food bloggers gathering three years ago. I was so nervous the first time but it seems so natural talking about food for hours.

    This is quite a feast, the range of food is so different from our foodie gatherings.

    I'm heading to Singapore in May, hopefully I won't get myself lost...

    Have a nice day, Veron. "

    I have been having lots of problem on the comments lately, anyone else on blogger are facing the same problem as me?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Actually, i sometimes also have problems commenting, hubster told me it's the settings, sometimes the settings of Blogger not suited with the computers/laptos or systems like windows xp and older. It's a maybe.

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    2. Can you ask your hubster what kind of settings so that I can explore further at my end?

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  35. Whao~!!! Cook blogger's potluck, it's awesome! Everyone was so passionate, it must hv been a wonderful gathering!!! Ths for your warm regards, Happy belated CNY!

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    Replies
    1. Alice, so good to see your comment again. It was a very well planned gathering. We must do this more often.

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  36. What a great gathering- so warm and cosy with such great food!! It's also nice to see photos of Wendy, Sonia, Lena..etc.. I always wondered who are behind those awesome posts! Hopefully one day I get a chacne to meet everyone in person!

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    1. Daphne, it is always nice to able to associate a face to the blog we read isn't it? I would love to meet you in person someday. I am sure the rest of the ladies feel the same. It has been a great pleasure knowing you and reading your blog posts.

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  37. Wow, what a party! All the food look so yummy! Well, I'm more of a quieter person & don't really like to socialize. That's part of the reason why I hardly attend any bloggers' events. Call me anti-social. Hahaha!

    But it looks fun, Veron! Love the post! I spent most of my time cooking at home & here's my CNY Lo Hei: Auspicious Salmon Yu Sheng :)

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    1. Shirley, It was a great party we had. I don't think that you are anti-social just because you don't like to attend bloggers' events. I know you have cooked up a storm during CNY. I saw your beautiful table setting for your reunion dinner and your Salmon Yu Sheng was beautiful! I left a comment, don't tell me it was not published. Haiyah when I comment and it is not captured truly drives me nuts.

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  38. What a fantastic feast! I'm sure everyone there had a great time. :)

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  39. Replies
    1. Yes, you did and hope to see you for the next meet. I would love to meet you:D

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  40. Wah I see so many yummy food!! Hungry already la~

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    1. hahaha, even if you don't see so much food, also you will be hungry easily:D

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  41. Wow... all the food looks so good... What a feast! And what a talented and beautiful group of ladies too! :D

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    1. Ya la, next time, when I organise a pot luck lunch in my house make sure you and Devil don't miss out!

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  42. Wow... so many good n delicious food.....
    there is something missing beside the apron...
    a toque blanche (chef white hat).... LOL...
    nice blog n i had added you in my blog list...
    n thanks for dropping by...

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    1. hahaha, but I am a cook not a chef. Thanks for adding me on your blog list. Will do the same for you.

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  43. I went wah... Wah... Wah non- stop when scrolling down the pics. Nice table setting, good food and great company. So envious!

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    1. I agree. Sonia did a nice job setting up the table. No need to envy us, next time you come to KL, give us a buzz early, we will do one for you.

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  44. Wah...all these food just for you ladies? I wish I could join! =) Thanks for sharing the pictures. I saw it on Sonia's site first and wanted to come here to see what you have shared too. SO many great dishes!

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    1. Oh we love you have you!! When are you coming to KL for a holiday?

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  45. Veron, I think you could fit in anywhere, you seem to be such a people person and so fun to be around. But here is where we differ...I have a good sense of direction, and can pretty much find my way anywhere...ha! but I do know many like you so I understand...I give driving directions different to those like you ;) I can't believe how much food you all have there. What a beautiful table and so much food and goodies! Thanks for sharing, I saw the gathering on Lena's blog first, now I have to check the others.

    ReplyDelete

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