Belated Chinese New Year Party @ Happy Receptions

Here are some photos from a Belated Chinese New Year Festival charity event that I went to on Sunday evening at Happy Receptions Ascot Vale. I am grateful for my husband's family connection and generosity that I can attend such cultural enlightening events. Before, I would have shun these types of engagements, but everyone were so friendly, we had so much fun.

For $60 per head, the menu, similar to that of a Wedding Banquet consisted of:

• Suckling Pig Platter
• Special Crab Claw
• Shark Fin and Crab Meat Soup
• Lobster with Ginger, XO and Noodles
• Braised Chicken with Sea Fungus
• Bean Curd Rolls with Lime Sauce
• Chinese Broccoli and Mushrooms
• Steamed Barramundi
• Fruit Platter

The evening was packed with entertainment. Unfortunately, as we sat underneath the speakers, we were bombarded with the over the top and zealous MCs, karaoke acts. Asians love karaoke and many are not afraid to have a go, to our great amusement. The highlight was the Lion Dancing and the Welcoming rituals for the Year of the Pig. So colourful, so vibrant, and again so loud!

The highlight of the charity auction was the signed Australian wines from John So and Steve Bracks, and Chinese ZaoXing Rice Wines from the Chinese Consulat. Unfortunately, the crowd wasn't as receptive as the MCs had hoped... But the John So signed wine did fetch a higher price than the Steve Bracks one - hehehehe. We didn't stay for the raffle even through I was eyeing this rather large box of some electronic goodies on stage, but we were told later that no one on our table won anything. Oh well...