Reunion dinners take centre stage

Reunion dinners take centre stage

PETALING JAYA - Reunion dinners are the main theme for some of the video clips shared on social sites this Chinese New Year.

Advertisements and short films remind audiences of the significance of the must-attend event for all Chinese families on the eve of the new year.

Traditional Chinese medicine chain Eu Yan Sang released an advertisement about must-have dishes during the dinner, which varies according to the clan.

The three-minute video, uploaded on the Eu Yan Sang Facebook page, has different segments featuring various dishes.

While Hakka households enjoy pork knuckle cooked in vinegar, which in the dialect means "soaring high", Cantonese folk must have deepfried crispy prawns, whose sound "ha" is equivalent to "always smiling".

In its Facebook post, Eu Yan Sang said the reunion dinner "is the most anticipated event during Chinese New Year", with "all 'mothers' gathering in the kitchen, preparing ... dishes and sharing stories", it said.

It then asked Malaysians whether they could name "all the New Year dishes in their dialect".

"Do you know why these dishes have to be prepared during Chinese New Year? What if you were to prepare the New Year dishes for the family? Can what you cook taste exactly like what your mother made?"

While urging everyone to look forward, Eu Yan Sang said they should also not "forget the past - their culture and language".

"Keep these precious dialects and traditional dishes alive through this video we have made for you," it said.

The video has garnered almost 160,000 views and been shared more than 10,000 times on Facebook.

Another clip that grabbed the attention of viewers was the short film Closer Apart by Jason Lee.

With over half a million views, the film features a reunion dinner scene with a family after being unappreciative of the grandfather.

The film, which has been shared more than 16,000 times on Facebook, ends with the grandfather finally leaving the house and not turning up for the next reunion dinner.

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