Chinese New Year: The Food Edition

Our gracious Chinese New Year hostess, Natascha, has given me permission to use some of the photos she took of the wonderful food she prepared. This is by no means an exhaustive list of dishes served at the feast, but they are some of my favorites.

 These chunks of meat were in about 4 inch squares. I was concerned about eating them with my spoon (the only cutlery I brought), but they flaked apart quite easily. We had to share one between a few people, because they were so big. This was labeled "Blessed With Propitious And Peace."

This fried prawn dish was very sweet, and included pineapple and lychee. I couldn't help but compare it to the "Rainbow Shrimp" at Gourmet Garden (my family's Chinese restaurant of choice in Ann Arbor), except it was a lot better, because it wasn't dripping in a thick sauce.

These are our dumplings! It was labeled "Plentiful Treasures."

 I honestly have no idea what this was. It was like a soft, slightly sweet cake/patty. It was labeled "Good Luck For Whole Family."

 These are some incredibly yummy vegetables with krab stick. It was labeled "To Your Long Life."

Again, I am not certain what this was, but it was fishy and delicious.

I really wish that I had access to more photos and information about this food. But, to be honest, not knowing what I was going to get was part of the fun. Each dish was unique in flavor and presentation, and all of them left me wanting more. My course mates and I are still talking about Natascha's excellent culinary skills, weeks later. She truly is fabulous.