My grandparents have always been a huge part of my life. We grew up with them less than 10 minutes away, so we were always going up for dinner. Now, my sister lives in Union City, a 45 minute drive from El Cerrito, and I am even farther in the South Bay, but we still get together for family dinners at least once a month. This year, for Chinese New Year, we actually had a lunch instead of a dinner, so I brought my camera with me to take advantage of the natural light. One of our go-to meals to eat at home when we have big family get-togethers is hot pot. The steam made for some awesome photos! We usually only do hot pot during the winter months because it definitely warms you up. My grandma and mom love it because it is quick and easy, because everyone does the cooking! We all help prep everything, but no one needs to do all the cooking alone 😉 The key is to throw in some shrimp (with their heads on!) early because they release a bunch of flavor into the hot pot cooking liquid. We have also started cutting our own meat (New York strip) because we like the meat to be a bit thicker. Add in some veggies and fish balls and you’re all good! I really need to bring my camera with me to gatherings more often, because looking back at these photos brings me right back <3

These photos actually led me to start a project of documenting my grandparents. I rarely take photos of my family (other than my sister and Arthur) and I am incredibly excited about this project for that reason. I want to remember all the little details about my grandparents and I can’t wait to share them with you!