COMMENTARY, Feb. 17 -- There is a particular rhythm to Chinese New Year gatherings.

They are, on the surface, noisy affairs: doors opening and closing, voices overlapping, chairs scraping.

Phones buzz with messages from other households, other reunions happening in parallel. Someone is always running late. Someone is always hungry first.

Yet, within all this constant motion, there are pockets of stillness that often go unnoticed.

I began thinking about this when the first course arrived at our reunion table: the requisite platter of yee sang.

Yes, it's loh sang time again.

Ribbons of carrot and daikon carefully arranged, pale pomelo slivers catching the light, shards of crispy salmon skin resting at the centre like fragile ornaments...