In previous years I haven’t been too bothered about when and what Chinese New Year is, and often only become aware of it as the fireworks go off at Lan Yuan, Dunedin’s Chinese Garden. This year our new friends in Terrey Hills made me aware of it and I thought…yep why not.
Last night was the Lunar New Year and there was a street food festival and entertainment at the St Ives Village Green (very similar to Pioneer Park in Alexandra) and so we decided to go. I want to experience various street food options instead of stuff that I can easily purchase at home in New Zealand i.e. when in Rome etc.
When we arrived it was still about 30 degrees at 6pm, but fortunately it cooled slightly as the cloud cover rolled in. We got there early and after this photo was taken the crowd increased in size by tenfold (the locals must have known better than to arrive while it was still so hot because there is little shelter there).
After thoughtful consideration Lucy chose to have a ‘fancy’ burger and I wasn’t going to battle her choices (I’ve learnt which battles are worth fighting) and I opted for three different varieties of Vietnamese bao: pork belly, chicken and beef and was really satisfied with the flavours, size and cost. It also left me with just enough room left for the ice cream treat for dessert.
The entertainment was meant to go until 9.30pm but we could see the signs in the changing cloud (and I can follow weather forecasts) and left before the rain started which it did at about 8.00pm. I felt sorry for the organisers because it was otherwise a very enjoyable event.
My Fear Share 