Sunday 18 September 2016

Our favourite family meal

We are very busy during the school term and there is often two or three sittings for dinner at our house. The family meal is a rare occasion, usually managed only once a week, and now seems to be lunch out on the weekend when the 5 of us are together - though even that is hard to manage as the teen is often out with their crew.

It is something I'm mindful of, and something I try to lock in at least once a week. I think it's one reason I love travelling - we get huge blocks of time together, without other friends or extended family stealing our attention away from each other. Even breakfast is a shared and lingered event. These moments are important to sibling dynamics as well as parent-child conversation.

So the current family favourite meal is not something I've made at home, which with a vegetarian and a particularly fussy eater would be hard to find a common dish marked as favourite. A meal at Din Tai Fung is the current fav, as all 5 of us like it, and there's something for everyone beyond chips...For those that don't know, it's a lauded Michelin starred (in Hong Kong, not here) Taiwanese dumpling and noodle joint, famous for it's super tasty Xiao Long Bao.

Meals are a very social event for us, and if we have a blank space in the diary, we'll organise lunch or dinner with friends. There's something so easy and satisfying about relaxing over food. However, I need to try and make sure the five of us get a few more times a tavola each week.

“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.” – Epicurus

Linking with Denyse for #LifeThisWeek - as no one eats the same food, I don't have a go to meal. It has to be at least 3 go to meals....argh!

17 comments:

  1. Oh yes... it's a tradition with my brother, SIL and niece to go to a particular Chinese restaurant when I'm visiting them in Brisbane. We've been going there since before my niece was born and she's now 20. I last went just before she moved to China to work earlier this year.

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  2. We all love chinese food but have yet to find a really good one that doesn't give us an msg headache the next day. That taiwanese place sounds awesome.

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  3. Mmm noodles! It must be tough to cater for everyone with different dietary needs. My SIL was a vegetarian for about eight years and whenever we had a big family meal I had to cook two dinners because my dad won't eat anything without meat.

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  4. That does capture what a favourite family meal is about...it's the getting together as a family over a meal and you are certainly doing just that! Thanks for linking up today!

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  5. Favourite family meals are the ones when the family is all together. It doesn't really matter what is on offer at the table x

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  6. I'm going to take the time to enjoy the closeness of our family now before the craziness of teen life takes hold. It's good that you do take the time to share a meal as a family at least once a week. And I'm definitely with you on the benefits of a holiday bringing a busy family together!

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  7. It's reasonably easy to sit everyone down now, but they're still so young. I imagine there will be much juggling as the teen years hit. I'm looking forward to our Christmas holiday this year, mostly for long, relaxed lunches in the sun!

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  8. The quote of Epicurus that you ended your post with is so true and something I am ashamed to say I don't follow through with often enough. Meal times at work are often a rush to get something to eat in my office after a long morning.

    SSG xxx

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  9. It was good to read this again..I miss family meals but the kids have families of their own. Thanks for linking up for #lifethisweek 11/52. Next week's optional prompt is "From My Window I See..." Denyse

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  10. Aaaaah the DTF XLBs...my fave too!

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  11. Din Tai Fung are a winner here too! I also sometimes buy home frozen xiao long bao to steam at home for a quick dinner.

    SSG xxx

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  12. Oh I love that quote and I love Din Tai Fung and especially their Xiao Long Bao!

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  13. Lydia, you have created a record!! I love you for this. Third time you have linked this post in 3 years. And my sentiments remain: I understand how hard it is to get the family together but when you can, it's joyful.
    Thank you for linking up for #lifethisweek. Next week, 30/9/19 the optional prompt is Spring Stories. Hope you can join in too. Denyse.

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  14. Enjoying good food with family or friends is a pleasure in life. #lifethisweek

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