First Day of CNY!

It's officially 2018! This is the year of the Earth Dog. According to Chinese Astrology there will be many initiatives kick-started and we will all be busy doing with less time planning or postponing. I have a feeling this year will rush right by me.

Starting off my mornings with the breakfast of champions, dumplings. Dumplings are special occasion food in my family and with the new hawker stall selling these in the morning, we can get it everyday for breakfast.

Earlier this month, I made CNY advent calendars for my family. It's filled with stuff like Lee Kum Kee stir-fry sauce, ginseng, rose milk tea from Taiwan etc. Lots of small things I thought they would like, instead of 1 big item.

I also did some major grocery shopping earlier this month in preparation for CNY. I don't like to jostle with crowds especially when its all heavy and bulky stuff. There are a lot of CNY themed food items around this time of the year and this year I only got the tissue boxes that come with red packets.

My recommendation for this CNY is actually not packaged for the occasion. Lux Luminique Shampoos $16.90 for 450ml. Kinda expensive for Lux brand products but these are scented with traditional Chinese incense, forget about what the label contents state. When I first opened this, the traditional TCM scent is kinda overwhelming but after a few uses it gets gentler and smells just like joss sticks at the temple.

As for gifting, I bought Sapporo beer for myself, it's very light and refreshing. Japan's oldest beer brand is actually made in Vietnam nowadays. I also picked up a 6 pack Singha beer for my dad, this is the classic royal Thai beer seen on guys singlets everywhere.

These CNY decor items are not going to be used over CNY, its gonna be a more permanent feature around my home post-CNY.

Indulging in festive treats, matcha chocolate soft serve from Godiva really hits the spot. They also sell a range of ice-creams in cardboard cups with flavors like Peach White Chocolate and Pear Dark Chocolate, also $9 each. 

Stopover at Isetan supermarket to check out the produce, the best of Japan is sold here including hundred dollar seasonal fruits. I usually get a seasonal bento box but this time I headed out to Itacho Sushi for lunch. The new ordering app took forever to setup but you get a few dollars off for the effort.