HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Xin nian kuai le, nian nian you yu, shen ti jian kang etc. ... this is one of my favourite times of the year, firstly cos it's a time for family, secondly cos it's a time for food, food and more food. Singaporeans will take any excuse to pig out, and this festival is the biggest feast of the year. Sweet treats to give you a 'sweet year' include cheng tng (a sweet soup with dried dates and longans), pineapple tarts (little flaky pastries filled with sticky pineapple jam), bakwa (barbecued sliced pork), mandarin oranges galore, 'love letters' (thin crispy biscuits flattened and folded like love letters), kueh lapis (a peranakan layered sponge cake); the list goes on and on.

As it is the first day of the new year, I await the arrival of my maternal relatives for the new year lunch, which is pot luck by tradition. I will be seeing a new nephew and a new niece - I LOVE BABIES.

As for the V-day event, I should quickly update and say it was a huge success, about 180 pple turned up (with more than 200 having bought tickets in total), which brought us to a total profit of HK$20,702 for the charity. I was tres pleased, but got wasted beyond belief, which I'd rather forget. Happily the event was aso a catalyst for a lot of my friends getting hooked up or at least meeting interesting members of the opposite sex. Love was very much in the air, aye. I was thoroughly encouraged by the enthusiasm of many who helped me sell tickets, bring guests or run the event; special thanks to the sales queen Dionna, the very good right-hand woman Vennie, the helpful bar staff Lois and Phillipe, and my massive and entertaining security guards (who did it for free), Bruce and Mark.

I'd love to make this a yearly thing. Ahoy CHOCOLAT 2008!