What's an Authentic Chinese New Year Meal?

Chinese people are very superstitious people. Depending on where you may be from, the New Year traditions can vary immensely. Certain fruits and foods are seen as auspicious in certain Chinese cultures are seen as a sign of bad luck in others. But let’s be serious, many of the so-called “Chinese New Year” meals you read about aren’t really special. Chinese people make up nice-sounding names for all the dishes and tell you that it’s a “unique” New Year dish. So, here’s your look into what’s in a real, authentic Chinese New Year dinner. This is what I had for my New Year Dinner.

(Here's my poon choy. Don't let the picture fool you, the pot is very deep.)

Poon Choy, which translates to Big Bowl Feast, is a traditional type of dish originating from Hong Kong. According to legend, it was said the dish was invented during the Song Dynsasty when Mongol troops invaded China. The locals apparently tried to aid the Emperor and his army which fled to Hong Kong and Guangdong, by collected whatever foods they had and threw it all into a big bowl.

(I was really full so I picked out just a few of my favorite things-abalone, fish maw, and sea cucumber.)

Today’s moden poon choy has ingredients such as abalone, ginseng, shark’s fin, duck, fish maw, crab, radish, shrimp, lamb, beef, chicken, mushroom, eel, squid, goose feet  tofu, to name a few. The dish is eaten with everyone using their chopsticks and mixing the food to bring good fortune in the coming year. 

 Another dish with similar meaning eaten for the New Year is “lo hay”.  “Lo hay” is particularly a South East Asian custom very popular in certain regions of China as well. Lo hay is, is a dish filled with vegetables, crackers, nuts, sweet and sour sauce, spices, raw salmon, and fruit. Each of the ingredients symbolizes some form of prosperity.

 (Some mixing in action!)

Everyone then raises their chopsticks and mixes the platter by picking up the items with their chopsticks. This action is to signify good luck by mixing all these symbolic forms of prosperity.

Happy Lunar New Year!

New Favorite Themed Restaurant in HK!

Hello, Readers! I’m currently in Hong Kong, again. I’ll be returning to Los Angeles soon. Until then,  I’d like to share a new restaurant that I’ve been enjoying.

 I may have found my new faveorite themed-resturant in Hong Kong. Am I a bit biased because of my family’s Singaporean roots? Maybe, from the menus to the detail in the paper placemats, Shiok! is at the top of list.

So how do you even pronounce that? You’ll have to ask a Singaporean but according to Urban Dictionary, shiok is “used to convey a feeling of sheer pleasure and happiness”. Shiok! is located in the new Hysan Place on the 11^th floor of the Food Court. What makes this place memorable is really the branding and thought put into everything.

 Everything had a Pop Art Comic on it. Even down to their placemats! I loved it!

 Onto the food! The food is pretty good. Certain items could have been more authentic, but how could you not love their Pop Art style comics? And bottomless refillable garlic/ginger sauce? Yes, please.

 This was their Bak Kut Teh aka Pork Bone Tea Soup. The color of the soup is supposed to be dark, dark brown. In many Singaporean and Malaysian customs and traditions, women who had just given birth are encouraged to drink this herbal, medicinal soup to restore their nutrients from childbearing. True, authentic Bak Kut Teh can be hard to stomach. It can taste like Traditional Chinese Medicine. Although not the most authentic, this Bak Kut Teh was tasty.

 And of course what kind of meal would be complete without the quintessential Singaporean drink, Milo? This is a Milo Godzilla drink. For those that don’t know Milo is essentially many Asian countries’ version of Ovaltine of Nesquik. Very popular in Singapore, Milo Dinosaur is a cup of milo with an extra spoonful of powdered undissolved Milo added to it and  Milo Godzilla is a cup of Milo with ice cream or topped with whipped cream. Both can be ordered hot or cold.

 Back to the food at Shiok!…Here was my order of Chai Tow Kway aka fried radish cake. I was sad to find that they only had the black kind. This traditionally comes in black and white.

 Here was my order of Hainan Chicken Rice. It was pretty good. Again, not the most authentic, but the bottomless sauces made up for it. Many places are stingy with their chicken and chili sauces!

Shiok! only had one kind of laksa. Their seafood laksa was on point. I enjoyed that you could choose what type of noodle you wanted. Laksa is a spicy noodle dish that is popular in Malaysia and Singapore. The soup base is made with curry.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Shiok! The booth was well thought out and executed. The location was convient. You can’t get to the 11th floor directly so I suggest taking the elevator from the ground floor to the 10th floor, which is a joy to walk through anyways. The 10th floor is the famous Eslite Bookstore, formerly only available in Taipei, Taiwan. From that, take one flight of escalators to the 11th floor. Also, there’s a Honeymoon Dessert Booth close by to end your meal! It’s perfect!

Many of the better Singaporean restaurants I have frequented in Hong Kong are very far away and expensive. For me, true Singaporean food should be hawker-style. It’s hard to justify spending the big bucks when you know an old lady roasting a satay in the middle of the street is one of the most savory things you can ever have!

And with that considered, I quite enjoy Shiok! It’s cute, modern, and fast. Of course it can’t come close to being in Singapore, but for being in HK it’s A-OK in my book!

11/F,Hysan Place, 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay

Fusion Fail.

     I know it seems as though a lot of the food I eat is just scrumptiously delicious. The truth is, well it usually is but I think it's also important to acknowledge on my blog when things FAIL. Well, technically the high-end restaurant failed. This is Rock Sugar located in Santa Monica. They call themselves an amazing Pan-Asian dining experience that incorporates the best of Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. delights. Well Rock Sugar-you can suck it  because you seriously suck.

Here's some of the sauces they brought out as our appetizer to go along with our rice cakes. 

Oh look, rice cakes? You mean the things you get in a bag for $2 at Vietnamese markets? My grandma makes it better than this. Sigh...

Crispy Chicken Samosas

They gave this a really exotic name- imperial rolls  but when it came out turns out it was just cha gio aka Vietnamese eggrolls less deliciously made by white people. Where's a Pho999 when you need it?

Dungeness Crab with Cellophane Noodles apparently meant dry noodles stuck together sprinkled with a touch of crab here and there. 

Here was their famous princess chicken. Oh gosh. It was good I guess but seriously they can do way better in San Gabriel for $5? This dish was $14!

For the record this  banana custard cake was what saved the meal. This was amazing!!! Wow so good!

Overall though I won't be back. The decor was really nice. They had buddhas all over the restaurant. For those familiar with Vegas, it's like the restaurant version of the TAO club there. This place just didn't do it for me. It's for those typical Westerners who want to try "exotic" foods and go to a place to be transported to an "Asian" country. This is as Asian as Panda Express. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and hit up San Gabriel and thank me later.

Happy Eatings. 

Last Singapore Post!

Unfortunately, our trip in Singapore was coming to an end. We opted to spend out last few hours at Isethan at their food court. Food courts are THE place to go in Singapore. It's quite awesome. 

Fried Chicken Wings. They were just sitting in a machine going round and round. I knew I had to get some! Instead of lemon, they gave us calamasi instead.

Mee Siam. Yummy. Pho what? This way way better!

My mother's family favorite-bok bia aka what I call them "Fujianese tortillas. "

Radish cakes. Yum. This wasn't the kind you find at dim sum places though. In Singapore you pick your sauce white or black. Personally we like the spiciest of the black!

Here we got another order of the Rojak, Malaysian goodness. It was good but unfortunately not as good as the one we had the day before at the Old Airport. 

You'd think I'd be sick of shaved ice by now. Nope....

More soursop juice! At this point, I decided that this was my new favorite fruit. I had to pack in as much as I could before I left.

More dessert please! 

Thank you Singapore. I love you. Please let me come back soon. 

Happy Eatings! 

Singapore Day 2 Part 2

Last we talked, I was feeling like crap after lunch #1 & lunch #2. I had never eaten that much in my life. I was rolling around in my hotel bed trying to not think about food for once. But now that a few hours had passed by, it was dinner time...


Kalang Food Court at the Old Airport.

Behold this monstrosity. Rojak, Malaysian goodness! It has fried you tiao (dough fritters), bean curds, boiled potatoes, prawn fritters, hard boiled eggs, bean sprouts, cuttlefish and cucumber mixed with a sweet thick, spicy peanut sauce. Come to momma! The line for this went on and on. Luckily, my sister & mom met a nice local Singaporean that let them cut! Aweome!

Welcome to Chuan Kee with the best satay you'll find! Juicy meat and made fresh right when you order it!

Behold!

Look at that satay sauce! Yes, yes, yes!

Here was my mom's favorite-mutton soup aka Lamb. Many people don't like the taste of lamb like my sister but I love it!

Here's some fried kway teow.

This Lao fu zi stand did it right!

Here's one dish I don't discriminate against. Black chili stingray. I will eat stingray from anywhere in Malaysia or Singapore. I love the dish so much. I finished this all by myself while my mom and sister looked at me in disgust. Don't forget to sprinkle calamansi on it like you're supposed to!

Oh man... we walked passed this stand and knew we had to have it. They fried those babies on the spot! Can you say tempura banana but way better? If only they had kaya dipping sauce.... It was still delicious!

At this point, I was having trouble walking but that only meant it was time for more shaved ice. Look at them making it!

Yeah baby! I had shaved ice in Singapore about once to twice a day. Its flavor is not like anything else. You gotta come for Singapore for this baby!

At this point, I wanted to fall over. But someone we were sitting next to recommended that we absolutely had to stop by this one wanton stand. Being frequent Hong Kong visitors, my sister and I wanted to laugh at them when they told us we had to try the Singaporean style wonton. Pssh, we thought. Who does wanton better than the Cantonese? But good, god they were right. Amazing! It had no soup so it was dry but the cha siu, the sauce-everything was just right. I'm drooling about it right now. 

Happy Eatings!

Singapore Day 2 Part 1

    Singapore Day Number 2! Food, food, food! I love Singapore. If you recall my post about Singapore about a year ago, you'll know that I loved the restaurant Blue Ginger. This time, we got a chance to bring my sister along with us so we definitely need to stop by. 

Here was our shredded bamboo shoots and turnips garnished in pie tee cups. They were just as delicious as they were last time! Yum! Yum! Yum!

This is the  is ong choy and sweet potato cooked in cocounut milk with shrimp and chili paste. 

Calamari aka squid yumminess!

This was our tofu in spicy chili gravy. 

And look at the ladyfingers! yum!

Here is the chendol we spilt-cocounut & jelly shaved ice goodness!

And this baby was mine all mine! This was soursop shaved ice! My sister thinks soursop tastes gross but she is seriously missing out. It looks like a cherimoya but tastes like a citrus heaven!

    At this point, we were full off our butts, but we were so disappointed the day before when we went to to Maxwell Food Court and found that the infamous Tian Tian chicken rice was closed. We knew we had to go back no matter what! So given we were at Blue Ginger, a full 2 streets away, we decided to walk those streets and sit our asses back down and eat again! Hardcore I am. I refused to leave Singapore without a fight. 

And Tian Tian was open! But like all good things... there was a wait. 

I was so close! This guy had no idea how close I came to stabbing him for taking too long! I want my chicken!

As you can see, Anthony Bourdain gave Tian Tian a thumbs up too. 

Ah... finally.... I was full as heck from Blue Ginger already but this was the moment I had been waiting for. Mr. Loi's Hainese Chicken. 

Ah... the rice! Yes...

Chicken Insides is what it was called on the menu and my mom and I love the insides of pretty much anything. 

This sauce seriously made the dish. 

Oh my.. the chicken ended up being so good, we got a second order of it. Actually, I got a 2nd order of it. It was ridiculous. I had never been so full in my life. I just finished Blue Ginger, an order of chicken rice, chicken & chicken insides. I was hurting but I wanted more. I mean, I didn't know how long it would be until we would meet again. 

This must be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I seriously could have died happy that day.

Thank you Mr. Loi. You were worth coming again the next day. I love you. You have done the Loi family proud. At this point, I went back to our hotel room and moaned and groaned about how full I was and how bad I felt. I eventually went to bed for a few hours before getting up for dinner. We literally did nothing this trip aside from eat. Dinner to come in my next post. 

Happy Eatings!