Chinese New year's Eve

I was invited to a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner at a friends house last night. Nu (my friend) and her mother prepared a chinese feast. We started with shark's fin soup-delicious. There were spring rolls and egg rolls as well, with at least three homemade dippping sauces. There was a whole roasted suckling pig, roast chicken, spicy crabs, two rices, and several salads. One of the standouts was an abalone and mushroom salad that I really liked-it was the first time I had eaten this salad. There was a delicious chicken, cabbage, and mint salad dressed with a light sauce, similar to spring roll sauce. I should mention that this Chinese family also lived in Viet Nam for a time, so their food has many Viet Namese influences.

We finished the evening drinking champagne and eating dragon fruit and Asian pears. At the end Nu and her mother passed out beautiful chinese envelopes with cash inside-which is a Chinese tradition.