Fortune cooked eats

You eat them, give them or receive them, but do you know why? Eve C delves into the symbolism behind these CNY-centric foods

Bai Du Yu
Usher in a life of abundance during the Lunar New Year with fish; and the fish of fortune in question is no other than the white spotted rabbit fish, also called pek thor her in Teochew or bai du yu in Mandarin. According to author Bonny Tan’s Chinese New Year Cakes and Titbits, bai du yu is highly sought-after by the Teochew Chinese community as its consumption signifies good luck and prosperity. The fish breeds only once a year during the Chinese New Year period and the silver-grey female fish is particularly prized for its rich and delicious roe.
Available to take home only; call in advance to check availability as supply is seasonal.
Teochew Restaurant Huat Kee, 74 Amoy St (6423 4747). MRT: Chinatown.

Ho See Fatt Choy
Instead of saying gong hei fatt choy (Cantonese for ‘happy new year’), just serve ho see fatt choy to your loved ones. ‘It’s a simple dish with an auspicious name,’ says chef Yong Bing Ngen of New Majestic Restaurant, ‘and Chinese people like the association with prosperity during the festive season.’ In Cantonese, ho see has a dual meaning of dried oyster and ‘happy events’; while fatt choy refers to sea moss but also sounds like the phrase for ‘may you have good fortune’. With a name like this, it is not surprising that this dish of braised dried oyster and sea moss in a dark savoury broth is a permanent fixture in most Singapore reunion-dinner menus.
$22 per portion (for up to four people), $40 per portion (for up to eight people). Available for dine-in and take-home. #01-02 Por Kee Eating House, 69 Seng Poh Ln (6221 0582). MRT: Tiong Bahru.

Yu Sheng
Businessmen, corporate types and housewives alike put their hopes for prosperity in the mix by tossing to good fortune (also known as lo hei in Cantonese) with yu sheng; a lucky raw fish salad eaten during the Chinese New Year period. According to Yu Sheng, a book by Bonny Tan and Rakunathan Narayanan, this heady dish of raw fish strips (mackerel or salmon), shredded carrots and radish, pickled ginger, pomelo pulps, crushed nuts, deep-fried flour crisps and mixed spices enrobed in a sweet and silky base of plum sauce and cooking oil is traditionally taken on ren ri (the seventh day of Chinese New Year) as an auspicious meal to bring on an increase in wealth and abundance.
$48+ per portion. Available for dine-in and take-home. Majestic Restaurant, 31-37 Bukit Pasoh Rd (6511 4718). MRT: Outram Park; Jing, #01-02/03 One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Rd (6224 0088). MRT: Raffles Place.

Pen Cai
Literally translated as a basin of food, pen cai (or poon choy in Cantonese) is a traditional Hakka dish served in a clay pot or wooden basin in Hong Kong during the festive season. To chef Yong, pen cai means ‘filled to the brim’; it also signifies close family ties as relatives get together to enjoy this hearty dish. The pot is neatly stacked with layers of pre-cooked roast meats, stewed vegetables and auspicious-sounding Chinese delicacies such as abalone (or ‘assurance of surplus’), sea cucumber, dried oysters (or ‘fortunate events’) and topped with savoury oyster-sauce gravy.
$198++ (for five people). Available for dine-in and take-home. Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, 9 Bras Basah Rd (6336 0220). MRT: Dhoby Ghaut.

Nian Gao
Add the weight of sincerity to your Chinese New Year wish by presenting a gift of nian gao, Mandarin for ‘year cake’, which also sounds like the phrase for ‘going upwards year after year’. According to Tan, it is believed that those who eat the nian gao (which is made from glutinous rice flour and sugar) will be rewarded with higher status or a better life in the new year. The circular shape of the year cake is symbolic of eternal friendship, while its saccharine flavour represents sweetness.
$10 or less. From most wet markets, dry sundry stores and supermarkets. Or try the Nine Fishes Year Cake - pictured right ($68) at the St Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Rd (6506 6866). MRT: Orchard, then ten-minute walk.

Bai Du Yu and Ho See Fatt Choy prepared by Sangokushi, 3 Boon Tat St: 64120966. Photograph by Lester Ledesma