It was a sea of red and gold last night at Metricon’s annual Lunar New Year event. Held at the majestic Doulton show home in Burwood east, the twinkling twilight celebration, honouring the Year of the Pig, saw customers and colleagues alike converge on the Designer by Metricon masterpiece for an evening of fun, food and festivity.
“It was so wonderful to welcome everyone into our Doulton show home for another fun-filled Lunar New Year party,” Metricon Inner Urban Sales Manager Damian Morabito said. “It’s a home that was made for entertaining and we were so proud to see it filled with so much joy and happiness as we rang in the Year of the Pig.”
Returning to the Doulton’s sprawling, open-plan kitchen was reality cooking champion Diana Chan, winner of the 9th season of MasterChef Australia, whose Lunar New Year-inspired menu featured traditional Chinese-Malay treats with a modern twist.
She kicked off the night by taking the more than 100 guests through a cooking class, teaching excited onlookers how to recreate her impressively easy crab eggnests; a mesh-like omelette rolled around a crunchy herb, peanut and crab meat filling dressed in a sweet and tangy sauce of lime, brown sugar and fish sauce.
The delectable crowd pleasers would make the ideal fresh and simple starter for any dinner party and were a mouth-watering way to get our Lunar New Year party started.
Her second demonstration required a little help from the audience, with the hands-on cooking class an introduction to the art of DIY fortune cookies.
Throughout the demonstrations, inimitable host Chris Carroll, founder of TLC Interiors and star of the recently rebooted home renovation series Changing Rooms [which premieres tonight (February 13) on Channel 10], took guests on a culinary carpet ride through Diana Chan’s colourful cooking history – from her Malaysian upbringing and favourite family food memories to her restaurant acumen and, of course, spilling secrets from inside the MasterChef kitchen.
And Diana’s delicious delicacies weren’t the only things whetting people’s appetites on the night. Master calligrapher Benlin You’s personalised scrolls saw people lining up to watch him work his mesmerising, ink-to-fabric magic, while a craft activity centre set up in study allowed youngsters to create their own works of art. Outside, traditional Chinese dancers dazzled guests with an enchanting performance, which was set against a beautiful, lantern-lit backdrop installed by Lumi Lighting.
“We hope you enjoyed the night and, if you have any questions about the Doulton, or any of our homes, don’t hesitate to get in touch,” Damian said. “Thank you for celebrating Lunar New Year with Signature by Metricon. We hope the Year of the Pig brings you lots of luck and prosperity. Kung Hei Fat Choi.”
We loved having Diana Chan back in the Doulton Show Home kitchen to help us celebrate Lunar New Year in 2019. Want to attend one of our special events? Visit our events page, or subscribe to our newsletters and stay up to date with all the latest things happening at Metricon.
