From dishes I made for CNY, I had leftover lotus root, re-hydrated tofu sticks, ginko nuts, re-hydrated dried oysters, so I tossed them all together into some pork neck bone broth and made soup.
It was a meal in itself. We ate this around 5 pm.
Supper for us is usually around 8. Main course was trimmings from a whole beef tenderloin steamed with ja choy (spicy preserved Sechuan veg), stir-fried soy bean sprouts with shrimp, and Jasmine rice. The beef dish was the first real Chinese food I ever cooked for my Caucasian husband - 1966. He loved it then and he loves it now.
I've made Paella often with Arborio rice and have been happy with the results . Then a friend sent me a bag of Bomba rice, and I REALLY liked the difference in texture. It's more expensive but it's so worth it for a special occasion, which really is any meal!