Kung Hey Fat Choy!

Eventhough there isn't a huge Chinese population in Iowa (as compared to the big cities with Chinatown like New York, San Francisco) - I managed to celebrate it in various ways (no massive cleaning though):

1) Chinese New Year Dinner with friends - tried out Mandarin Grill (recommended by a few foodie friends) a pleasant surprise!

Cold noodles with Chicken (not sure why they added wasabi....) + Ma Po Tofu (most authentic though can be more spicy) 

Braised pork with sour cabbage (everyone loved this dish)

Fried seasonal vegetables (You Mai Cai)

Mandarin Shrimp (borderline authentic but tasted good)

Not pictured: Noodles with black bean sauce, pork and seafood - more like soy sauce noodles.... would not recommend lol

It is only appropriate to round up dinner with local Whitey's mint chocolate chip ice-cream!

2) Attending Chinese Association of Iowa's celebration

Chinese Lion Dance - No lettuce-catching though

That's probably the only non-Chinese American dish - Chinese Pork Bun (With cabbage & celery)

3) Decorating my apartment - glad I brought some Hui-Chun from Hong Kong and got a Chinese calendar from the festival! (Now I can check when's the best day to get a haircut ...)

4) Making Chinese New Year treats - Almond cookies and Coconut sticky rice cake - surprisingly they tasted quite authentic!

5) A late celebration of Chinese New Year with Hot Pot - various fish / meat balls, shrimps, scallops, mushrooms, cabbages, noodles and even quail eggs in Tom Yum soup! It was a great night hanging out with my American, Malaysia and Japanese colleagues!

Lots of food for the hot pot!

Takoyaki (Octopus balls) - YUM!