FollowThe second day of Chinese New Year (CNY) brought with it a sense of excitement as we packed up and drove back to Ipoh with Haru in tow. The journey was surprisingly smooth, taking us only 2 hours and 10 minutes—a far cry from the pre-CNY traffic crawl we had braced ourselves for. Haru, our little adventurer, behaved impeccably throughout the ride. She stayed snug inside her new astronaut backpack, only letting out a few soft meows, unlike last year’s journey. It was a relief and a blessing to have such a stress-free road trip, setting the tone for a wonderful CNY celebration ahead.
This year’s CNY was extra special as it marked the 20th birthday of our CNY baby, Sherilyn. Born on the 8th day of CNY two decades ago, her birthday has always been intertwined with the festive celebrations. As with previous years, my parents gave her double ang pows (red packets), and we kicked off the celebrations with her favorite strawberry sponge cake from JJ Swissroll. This bakery has been our go-to for years, thanks to their freshly baked, not-too-sweet cakes. While collecting the birthday cake, we couldn’t resist picking up a cempedak Swiss roll, another family favorite. The joy of sharing these treats added a sweet touch to our reunion.
On the third day of CNY in Ipoh, we had dinner at Hakka Yin Signature, a restaurant known for its authentic Hakka dishes. As a Hakka family (my dad and my husband’s family are both Hakka), we were eager to savor the flavors of our heritage. Although hubby and I aren’t fluent in the Hakka language, and our daughters don’t speak it at all, the food spoke volumes about our roots. The meal was nothing short of spectacular. We feasted on Hakka stir-fried yam abacus, rice wine chicken with fried egg, braised yam with pork belly, deep fried fish, and pig intestines and stomach pepper soup, among other dishes. Each dish was a masterpiece, but the rice wine chicken and the pork intestines soup stood out as my personal favorites.
The experience at Hakka Yin Signature was really enjoyable, and we left with a doggy bag of leftover rice wine chicken, which Dad thoughtfully froze for us to take back to Kuala Lumpur. The meal was a beautiful reminder of the rich culinary traditions that bind our family together. As we drove back home to KL on the 4th day of CNY (also with no traffic jam on the highway), I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the smooth journey, Haru’s good behavior, the joyous birthday celebration, and the delicious Hakka dinner. The only minor inconvenience was that I had to wake up at 5am to feed Haru on both trips and to coax her to pee & poo, so that she had at least two hours of digestion (to prevent her from throwing up in the car) before her car ride.
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