Lantern festival celebration

We bought tickets to our RC (Residents Committee)'s Lantern Festival cos RaeAnne's classmate's (Jiahuan Cheh Cheh) Ah Ma offered to help us buy tickets. Last year we went to the one organised by Tampines Central CC. The goodie bag was good with 1 pomelo, 1 lantern, 1 pack of popcorn and food/game/kiddie stalls and a huge stage with singing/dancing at the Tampines Central park. We were quite impressed so thought it's good to go again with the 2 gals and invite MIL along.

The RC understandably had a smaller budget but what a world of difference in terms of the food, prog and goodie bag. Although food and drinks were included, it was not individual portions and when we went down at 8pm (the celebration started at 7pm), the 'aunties' were already rationing the obviously home cooked food from their 'food pails'. Eg. if you wanted fried mee siam, you only got to have another dessert (cheng tng). If you chose the fried rice (they don't give you the braised chicken, you had to ask for it). There was curry vegetables but the aunty was guarding it like her treasure and only gave us a small bowl to share among 3 adults (and I suspect only because we know Jiahuan's ah ma, her neighbour).

There was no stage, no stage activity, no emcee, no mike, only a lion dance gig at the badminton court doing its own thing. There was pomelo but they were broken into individual wedges and place on a huge traditional wedding ceremonial metal plate. I dread to think who peeled them and whether the person had handled the fruit hygienically. Houseflies were flying near the food and the fruits were uncovered despite the aunties 'guarding' at the food table. Strangely, the aunties were unperturbed by the flies buzzing around. Even my Filipino maid is more paranoid about houseflies than them.

Did we eat the food? Yes, we did cos we had no back up dinner plan and I didn't know ILs did not cook nor feed RaeAnne (even though I told MIL that the kids will eat before we go for the event, I only bought tickets for the adults). So, she had to eat the fried rice along with everyone else. Actually, the food tasted not bad. But hopefully no after effects. So paiseh to have asked MIL along cos the organisation/food portions was bad. Everyone was just eating at the Senior Citizen corner quickly than going home.

Actually, I cooked a lot the last 2 days. Last night, we had beggar chicken (steamed 1 whole chicken, gave ILs half a chicken and my mum a portion). This morning, I cooked half a rice cooker worth of yam rice and gave most of it to ILs cos hubby and I were going out. If I had known, I would have kept aside some yam rice and gave it to RaeAnne. Hubby and I were still hungry after we came back and we already made plans for instant noodles. :P

In hindsight, I will only go for the big community events with bigger budgets eg. national day dinners or else prepare our own food instead of worrying that RaeAnne will get a tummyache and getting our stomachs half filled. RaeAnne was bored so we just took a few photos and quickly came home. But at least she got to play with sparklers this year. Didn't allow her to play with them yet last year cos of the sparks and fumes.