Chinese New Year January 25 Treats, Tips, Trivia & Kunghei fatchoy!

Julia Child was fond of Chinese cuisine dating back to the 1940s when she met her husband Paul in China while working for the State Department during WWII.

Tomorrow begins the Spring Festival celebrating the year of the Rat considered to be a lucky year ahead. A huge 20% of the world's population celebrate CNY, and the holiday begins tonight with dramatic fire works displays around the world making it the largest one day fireworks display on earth! The tradition is to scare away evil spirits to make way for all good things for the year ahead.

The two week holiday concludes with the Lantern Festival on Saturday, February 8. In between families celebrate with reunion dinners bringing folks together to feast on the many tasty foods of CNY.

I was lucky enough to witness CNY first hand in Hong Kong for both the Lantern festival with its giant lighted lanterns displayed in the Kowloon park along Victoria Harbor. They are similar to the balloons shown in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on a smaller scale, yet more unique and plentiful. Gorgeous!

For the Spring Festival there is a parade in Kowloon with celebrities and amazing floats. They build stadium seating just for the parade, if you are lucky enough to purchase the limited tickets which I did in 2016 the year of the monkey. The parade broadcasts on TV, and the hosts were stationed directly in front of our viewing seats. During commerical breaks they blared out Uptown Funk, which remains a kind of happy ear worm for me!

The Cantonese greeting for CNY is: Kunghei fatchoy! (pronounced: Gung Hay Fat Choy)

Here are some fun food and tips to ensure you have a prosperous and auspicious CNY.

• It is good luck to give red envelopes of money to family and friends.
• You should clean your home thoroughly before CNY to allow good luck to enter.
• Do not clean on the first and second day of CNY or you will be sweeping the good luck just acquired away!
• Wear red colored clothing, not black or white during the first two days those colors are associated with mourning.
• Purchase a new broom for the new year - makes a great gift, too.
• Eating a whole fish symbolizes abundance.
• Serving and eating dumplings is considered to resemble coins so pile them up!
• Mandarin oranges are popular decorations and food as they are round and gold colored like coins, too.
• Avoid being ill or the victim of crime during the holiday or it means you are up to a challenging year ahead.

Here is a delicious, easy Chicken Fried Rice Recipe from Chef Ken Hom, from Chicago and restaurateur and TV celebrity in London:

Link to recipe courtesy of The Telegraph: Ken Hom Chicken Fried Rice Recipe

For a great traditional dessert, I share again the pineapple tarts from author Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, from my blog from last year's celebration.  Her amazing book about Singapore with recipes can be purchased on Amazon, A Tiger in the Kitchen. Click here to order Cheryl's book

Pineapple Tarts Recipe in this Blog

Kunghei fatchoy Everyone!

And. . . Bon Appetit!

CNY Greeting from Disney HKG

Hong Kong Fireworks CNY 2016

One of the many HKG malls decorated for CNY

One of the floats in the CNY parade.

Viewers Choice: The Best of 2019

I email a link to this Blog to fewer than 40 people whenever there is an update. I am amazed that this Blog has had 2,500 views in less than one year! Thank you - especially to those who continue to forward my email to friends and family.

In the fall of 2018, I was lucky enough to spend a week in Julia Child's cottage in Provence, France cooking, shopping at markets, laughing, and eating with a small group of five complete strangers from Chicago who quickly became my new, lifetime friends. Serendipity. That experience became the impetus for writing this Blog for people who like to travel, cook, and eat!

Julia Child's Cottage in Provence, France.

Thanks to Google analytics, I can track the most viewed posts, and here are the FIVE most viewed postings from 2019. They are linked by clicking on the orange text, so you can easily view them again, and again, and again!

MOST VIEWED POSTINGS 2019

1.  One the few recipes reliant on alcohol (hint to self), this was the #1 most viewed posting since last March. Also includes a no-bake Oreo cookie based Baileys dessert. My Irish relatives are proud! Baileys Irish Cream Brownies


2.  I am pleased that this post on Julia's $1 cooking tool was the #2 most viewed post! In fact, I just bought 11 more of these wonders over Christmas to give away - $11 only!  Julia Child's Must Have $1 Kitchen Tool


3.  In a non-traditional approach, this posting focused on What Not To Do when making the all time favorite Rice Crispy Treats! Tricky Rice Crispy Treats


4.  Clearly everyone loves cream puffs - so easy! French Spin: Italian Zeppoles or Cream Puffs


5.  Last but not Least - Julia Child's Perfect Omelette includes a video link to see her make this recipe! Julia Child Making the Perfect French Omelette with recipe

Thank you for following this Blog, as we continue Meandering Around the World Channeling Julia Child. . . and having fun! I am looking forward to sharing more fun food related tips in 2020.

Bonne Année and Bon Appétit!!