Everything I made for Lunar New Year 2025

Hosting of the month: January

Find my combined recipe here:

Everything I made and why:

1. Jiaozi (dumplings), for wealth & prosperity — the shape resembles old Chinese gold ingots representing good fortune.

2. Yimein (longevity noodles), for a long and healthy life — the uncut long noodle strands represent longevity and smooth success.

3. Steamed fish, for abundance and a good beginning — fish in mandarin, 鱼 (yú), sounds like 余 (yú), meaning “surplus”, and the whole fish represent completeness, good beginning/end.

4. Braised pork belly, for prosperity — the layers of fat and meat represent abundance and a life of prosperity.

5. Roasted duck, for fidelity, peace, and celebration — duck is associated with peace and unity. deep red-brown color signifies good luck and celebration.

6. Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls), for family unity, togetherness, and harmony — the round shape represents wholeness.

My thoughts:

I thought I didn’t have much on my plate, but turns out I did—leading to a bit of a rush and some stress… which meant I didn’t capture as much footage as I had hoped.

Despite the chaos prep & cook time, it was a cozy, warm dinner with friends. We ate so much, played drawbattle.io (if you haven’t—you should!), and watched Singles Inferno after lol.

One lesson learned: I might’ve overglazed the roast duck, which caused it to caramelize and burn too quickly. Plus, the duck turned out to be a lot bonnier.. leaving us less meat to eat!!! It was disappointed after all the effort put into it.

Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have planned so many dishes, especially with my pop-up event around the corner. I was definitely feeling a bit tired by the end of the day, but I’m grateful for the experience and the time spent with my loved ones~