JOHOR BARU: At work, he is a sales executive. But at home during Chinese New Year, Wong Wei Xiang is one of the two “sous chefs” preparing for the reunion dinner.
“My elder sister Hui Chi is the head chef of the family, while my eldest sister Hui San and I are her sous chefs who chop vegetables and hand her ingredients while she cooks,” he said.
He would be up at dawn on Chinese New Year eve, ready to cook up a storm.
Preparations for his family’s reunion dinner begin early in the morning, as he joins his two sisters in the kitchen to serve dinner for eight.
He is the youngest of four siblings. Besides his parents and siblings, his brother’s wife and their son would be joining in the merriment too.
“We find recipes and inspiration on Chinese social media app Xiao Hong Shu. Our staples are three different meat dishes, vegetables and seafood, which all carry prosperous and auspicious meanings,” he said.
He said that cooking the reunion dinner at home is a non-negotiable tradition for the family, adding that the dishes are first offered to their ancestors before everyone sits down to eat.
Wong shared that their mother often teases them, joking that the elders are “lab rats” who get to taste the siblings’ experimental dishes.
“But we know she is happy that her children are willing to cook during major celebrations like Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival so the elders can rest,” he said.
Despite the long hours in the kitchen, Wong said it is worth the effort.
“We get to take our time to enjoy the food together while catching up compared to eating outside, which is more expensive and noisy. At home, it feels warmer,” he said.
For housewife Sim Geok Hong, 55, the intimacy of a home-cooked meal is also what makes reunion dinners special.
Like previous years, she will gather with three extended families at her aunt’s house in Muar for a steamboat feast.
“My two aunts are good cooks, so they will prepare dishes like chicken, duck and homemade dumplings for us to enjoy,” she said, adding that other relatives would be buying otak-otak, dim sum and drinks to contribute to the feast.
“We eat out a lot, so we make it a point to have our once-a-year reunion dinner at home,” said Sim.
But for housewife Loh Siew Fong, 57, dining out has become the preferred option as her family is not keen on hours of preparation and cleaning up.
To secure a table at a seafood restaurant here, Loh made a booking as early as December to avoid missing out during the festive rush.
“It used to take hours of slogging in the kitchen to cook for my family of more than 10. For the past few years, we have been having our reunion dinners outside, where we can just eat and leave without having to worry about cleaning up,” she said.
