Chinese new year is just not the same without family around. Not only did I miss out on lucrative red packets from my parents and aunts, I didn’t get to partake in the usual extravagant feasting that goes hand in hand with welcoming in a new year.

London’s Chinatown comes alive over the new year period, and red lanterns are everywhere – gorgeous illuminated ones are currently strung up over Oxford Circus. Unfortunately, the massive crowds prevented me and Steve from seeing any of the lion dancers. Every Chinese restaurant in the precinct was also packed out, which killed the idea of a gluttonous Chinese feast, so we went to have Thai instead.