“There’s no fixed way to prepare the hot pot. “We have already started seeing other countries like Malaysia and Hong Kong picking up this practice of lo hei. I think it’s a Singaporean dish that can go far because with some creativity, all the components can be adapted to different food cultures and it is something that is so celebratory and meaningful,” he adds.Ĭhinese New Year is a time for family reunion-sitting around a steaming hot pot, putting in all kinds of different ingredients, taking whatever you want to enjoy while sharing lives and chatting with each other - hot pot has been one of most common dishes served at Taiwan’s New Year’s Eve dinner. This year, he has created nine varieties of yusheng for the restaurant, from vegetarian options to luxe versions with lobster, even working with the hotel’s Italian restaurant Basilico to innovate an Italian rendition complete with pasta noodles, truffle and caviar. He shares that he found the practice strange when he first moved to Singapore from Hong Kong more than 30 years ago, but has since come to embrace the festive dish. “From close relatives and loved ones to acquaintances you might only see once a year, lo hei has a way of breaking the ice and creating that festive atmosphere.” Diners then toss the communally enjoyed salad together with chopsticks while spouting auspicious sayings in a practice called lo hei.Īt one-MICHELIN-starred Summer Palace, yusheng is a dish that almost every table will order during the Chinese New Year season, says executive chef Liu Ching Hai. The various components of the salad are added in a specific sequence, and each ingredient carries an auspicious meaning that is linked to a Chinese couplet. The melange is drenched in oil and plum sauce, followed by a shower of chopped peanuts and pok chui crackers. Traditionally, the vibrantly hued dish comprises slivers of raw fish (saito and salmon) and julienned pickled vegetables such as carrots, white radish, green radish, cucumbers, ginger and onion slices as well as pomelo. Yusheng is a dish of shredded vegetables and raw fish, eaten in Singapore during Chinese New Year because the words yu sheng (raw fish) is also a homonym for “abundance rising”. READ MORE: Chinese New Year 2021 Dining And Takeaway Menus At MICHELIN Restaurants in Singapore I’m glad that our guests and I get to enjoy this year after year.”
“Taste-wise, I like bak kwa that is slightly sweet and savoury with a little char. At Min Jiang in Goodwood Park Hotel, he grills the sheets of marinated meat over charcoal to lend it a smoky fragrance. Now, I much prefer having minced meat bak kwa as it is more tender,” the chef shares. “I grew up eating bak kwa made with very lean sliced meat with a chewy texture. “When I was younger, bak kwa was considered a delicacy as we only got to eat it during Chinese New Year.” This Hokkien treat is said to originate from the province of Fujian in China, where the consumption of meat was considered a luxury in the past and only kept for special occasions. “I am a big fan of bak kwa,” says master chef Chan Hwan Kee of MICHELIN Plate Chinese restaurant Min Jiangin Singapore.
The square sheets of bak kwa are popular during the festive season because of its red hue which the Chinese believe signifies luck and fortune. These succulent barbecued meats are often dipped in a sugar and spice marinade before being air dried and roasted over charcoal. In Singapore, bak kwa, which literally translates to “dried meat”, is synonymous with Chinese New Year.
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