Now try it with the cheap, dirty glass...
The long awaited weekend of family reunion and celebration of Grandma’s 90-year-old birthday was finally here. And as expected, there is no shortage of food and booze!
Hock Yee and May Shiu arrived on Friday night and I was told they stayed up until 3 a.m. chatting, drinking and having a whiskey tasting session! Dan and I stayed with Jane and Claudio that evening and met everybody on Saturday afternoon at Mum and Dad’s house. We knew about the plans to have a BBQ that evening, but what we did not know was that Hock Yee planned a red wine tasting session for us! He sent Hock Lai to pick up proper wine tasting glasses and a variety of reds while Mum and May Shiu went grocery shopping for the dinner.
We all had such a great time! Hock Lai bought 8 different red wines from different parts of the world: France, California, B.C. and Argentina. And to top it off, we started with a nice glass of champagne, scallops and oysters! This was my first real wine tasting and using the Riedel glasses was different from the ‘cheap, dirty glasses’ that my parents usually use! I tried quite a few wines that I have never had before and I have to say my favourite is still Pinot Noir but I definitely enjoyed the Argentinean Malbec 
very much. Thanks, Hock Yee, for introducing me to the great wines! Nothing can beat delicious food, good wine and great company! And of course Grandma was ecstatic to have all her grandchildren in town! So much so that she almost fell down the stairs when she saw Hock Lai walking through the door unannounced!!On Sunday, Dan dropped me off at Mum and Dad’s in the morning while he went to teach at the dojo in Kitsilano. We had breakfast with Grandma and presented her with her birthday gifts – she was beyond happy! Hock Yee had this idea of taping Grandma telling the stories she used to tell us all when we were little. We all remember bits of the stories and have some sort of visual image about them, we none of us remember the entire stories. So that is going to be Hock Yee’s job before he leaves on Tuesday to tape as many stories as possible.
We left Grandma to rest and ‘play’ with her new gifts and we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. The food was really yummy and we all felt that we needed a nap after the meal… but the urge to go shopping was too great and so we went to the mall instead. I am proud to say that I did not buy anything for myself at the mall! After shopping, the others went home to take a nap while I took Gander out for a long walk. When I got back from the walk, I barely had time to get ready before it was time to head out the restaurant for the banquet.
Needless to say, there was more booze and more food. Surprisingly, Dad and Aunt Kitty behaved themselves a lot better this year and did not drink nearly as much as last year. They were absolutely hammered last year at the banquet and it felt more like a frat party out of control!! (Yep, us ‘youngsters’ were quite entertained by our aunts and uncles getting drunker and drunker by the second!)It was sad when we had to go, but we did have a long drive ahead of us. After saying goodbye to al the relatives and friends, Dan and I picked up Gander from Mum and Dad’s and headed south. We didn't get home until almost 1 a.m. and I am still a bit fuzzy-headed this morning!
What a great weekend it was!
posted by Anne-Gigi @ 8:58 AM
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