Happy Rabbit Year!!!

Sorry if the blog’s not been updated this past week or so. Life though, has been anything but quiet!

You see a few days ago, I’ve flown some 7,000 plus miles from Madrid back home to Singapore just to celebrate the Chinese New Year with my family.

So between the jet-lag, preparations, running of errands, picking new or more importantly, RED outfits to wear, and refreshing the memory with auspicious Chinese phrases to say to the elders, I have hardly any time to sit down in front of the computer since returning!

The eve of the Chinese New Year fell on February 2nd this year based on the Chinese calendar and that was when we had our massive family reunion meals. Apart from having everyone from all generations gather for a meal, to celebrate this important occasion it is also a must to have the ‘Yu Sheng’ dish, which is associated with all things felicitous such as abundance and prosperity.

This raw dish consists of a colourful mix of ingredients such as julienned carrots, turnips, radishes & gingers, shredded jellyfish, chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, crispy crackers, various spices, sweet sauces and last but not least, some kind of raw fish slices like salmon. They may sound random, but once concocted, the colour, taste and texture are strangely fantastic.

In keeping with tradition, I had this with my family at a restaurant recently.

Here's our 'Yu Sheng', with the various ingredients (supposedly more than 20!).



This is the restaurant staff doing the job of reciting some auspicious phrases WHILE adding all the ingredients, spices and sauces to the main dish.

Once he's done putting all the ingredients together, then it's time we get our extra long chopsticks ready! (The normal length ones are for eating other stuff.)

Now we start tossing! The higher, the better! Amidst flying shredded vegetables and criss-crossing chopsticks, everyone throws in their own auspicious wishes of good health and prosperity, each trying not to repeat what the last person had just said. This is the only time we actually play with our food.

The aftermath.



It’s messy. It’s boisterous. But this is how we roll ;)

Here's wishing good health and prosperity in the Year of the Rabbit to all Chinese and everyone else celebrating it!!!
Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!