Elaborate Prayer Offerings (Praying to the Kitchen God)

I came downstairs to see what's cooking and saw this elaborate spread on the dining table.  It looked like a buffet at a local eatery only, it wasn't. It was a preparation for some prayers.

All these food are a must:

choice cuts of pork boiled in soya sauce or can be substituted with roast pork

kaktoh kueh or teochew rice cake (non vegetarian)Kaktoh kueh has fillings of sticky rice with bits of pork, dried prawns, mushrooms, etc encased in a jacket of yam or rice flour...yummy!

ang koo kueh (vegetarian) filling is either tausah(black bean paste) or linyong (lotus seed paste)

pak cham kai or boiled chickens (Not one, but many chickens) with head and feet intact

pomfret

( I wonder: how do the less fortunate observe this religious ritual: can they afford all these expensive food and fruits ? Do they even get to enjoy these on a good day? are they less blessed for not being able to offer them?)

nuts, mushrooms sometimes  include fuchuk too (all these are vegetarian because Grandmother was a vegan)

tauhu, vermicelli (vegetarian)

fruits like pineapples, oranges, pomeloes, apples

persimmons and bananas...all laid out on the altar

offered with joss-sticks served with rice, tea and wine

must offer at the house entrance too

I am sorry to say that this traditional custom and worship will die with me, for I am unable to carry out the ritual for the younger generation. 
 First, I do not have the faith to carry it out,
then even, if I were to do it, my heart is not in it,  I will only be going through the motions of doing it, or worse, I will even be doing grudgingly: next, I do not have the time nor the commitment to remember the dates, the occasion, or to buy the stuff shown above and cook or prepare them.  I also do not take note how to place them (the food) on the altar, or where to place them , (I do not even have an altar), or how many joss sticks to burn.  I also do not think I can pray to any  Kitchen God. So these pictures will be a reminder of this cultural /religious belief in years to come.

The food above were bought and prepared by the maids under supervision of father-in-law and his daughter.

That night, Grandfather invited all his family members to partake of the offerings and had a feast.