“Remember
to wear Red!” I heard Yeen tell her son, Ben, as she reminded him about the
family dinner being hosted in their home on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
In
Chinese culture, Red is considered the most auspicious colour that symbolizes
fire, joy, vitality and prosperity as it is believed to be a magnet for good
fortune. This colour is prominently used during Chinese New Year and weddings,
not only to attract good fortune but also to ward off evil.
All dressed in shades of Red for the family
gathering which kicked off with the Lo Hei dish
A Chinese
New Year tradition is Red packets or hong bao, filled with lai see
or fortune money presented by married people to kids, singles and elders, with
good wishes for the year ahead. [P.S. This is my favourite CNY tradition!]
According
to the Chinese zodiac where each year is represented by an animal in a 12-year
cycle and in 2026 the Chinese were gearing up to usher in the Year of the
Horse.
With
this in mind, a great deal of thought and planning went into creating a Yee
Sang platter designed in the image of a horse (face). 
A sketch in the image of a horse
as a guide to design our salad platter
Yee Sang, the
Cantonese phrase which literally means raw fish, is a salad dish created
by four local chefs in Singapore as a symbol of prosperity and good health for
the Lunar New Year back in 1964 when Malaysia and Singapore were still one
country – Malaya.
It was a dish designed for
businessmen who wished to toss the salad to great heights, an act which is
believed to augur well for greater prosperity and wealth in the coming year. As
such, this activity is known as Lo Hei or prosperity toss!
Originally, Yee Sang was eaten on
the seventh day of the first month in the new lunar year, known as Yan Yat
(Cantonese for ‘Human Day’ traditionally celebrated as the day humans were
created or ‘everyone’s birthday’) but now, due to its popularity, many
restaurants serve Yee Sang throughout the festive season.
Now families who celebrate
Chinese New Year at home prefer to draw upon their creativity to design this
salad platter – a task often taken as a challenge – to present it as the first
dish or appetizer, at family gatherings.
Dexter and Alexandria with festive
bites on a Tray of Togetherness
An online search for
horse-image-yee-sang designs provided our chief cook, Yeen, with the inspiration
which guided her to fine-tune her design in her choice of colours, and in turn
led to the shopping for the appropriate vegetables/fruits/ingredients.
The dinner menu was planned in
partnership with Auntie Polly who would prepare and contribute her dishes to
compliment the spread for our family dinner.
Traditionally, Chinese New Year
is a serious time of feasting for Chinese families especially for folks whose
forefathers arrived in a foreign land with very little and had carved out a
living from very humble beginnings.
In those early years, working-class Chinese lived humbly throughout the year
and the Chinese New Year was the only time of year to have a taste of real
meat.
Teochew braised duck prepared by
Aunty Polly in grandmother's recipe
A tradition continues to this day
when families will treat themselves to feasts that feature festive specialties
prepared with high-value ingredients and of course, meat dishes made with pork,
poultry and fish, in dishes described with auspicious names.
While bitter-gourd was frowned
upon as a new year dish due to its name in Chinese, fu-kwa which sounds
inauspicious, many forward-thinking Chinese have come up with a dish using this
ingredient but gave it a more auspicious name as ‘sweet gourd.’
When the humble tofu was served, this
ingredient was usually deep-fried in cubes or rectangles and given a more
glamourous name like, ‘golden bricks.’
Malcolm wearing his Red jacket!
I am pleased that my mother and
her sisters not only inherited our grandmother’s recipes but have also mastered
the art of preparing grandma’s famous Teochew braised duck (Auntie Polly) and
warm Cantonese egg pudding (Auntie Sylvia).
I remember how grandma used to
prepare her Teochew style braised duck or Lor Ark, for the family’s
Chinese New Year reunion dinner. As a Cantonese lady who married into a
Teochew family, she brought her special touch into creating a recipe that is
unique and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
This dish was one of the staples
at the family reunion dinner and not just one bird but at least three or four
were prepared to satisfy the large family including their sons-in-law and
families who joined in this annual traditional family dinner.
This year, when Auntie Polly –
one who had mastered the skills to prepare grandma’s Teochew braised duck –
volunteered to prepare this dish, we eagerly anticipated this special treat for
our dinner together in Sydney.
Putting the final touches to
the Yee Sang salad platter
One food item that most Chinese
will agree on for Chinese New Year feasts must be whole prawns because in
Cantonese dialect, the word for prawn is “Ha” which sounds like “ha-ha,”
laughter, so prawns represent joy, laughter and a lively spirit.
Mushrooms
are considered highly auspicious as symbols of longevity, resilience, and the
hope of new opportunities. They are staples during Chinese New Year
celebrations to bring good fortune, health and prosperity.
I
observed Yeen as she prepared a rich gravy made with dried scallops, braised mushrooms
and black moss to drizzle on top of a platter of broccoli florets.
Black
moss or fatt choy may look like strands of hair but are used in Chinese
New Year dishes for its auspicious name in Cantonese which sounds like, prosperity.
Malcolm, our most
well-dressed satay man!
She
also prepared marinated tender pieces of chicken on skewers, ready to be
grilled like satay, to be eaten freshly-cooked with a peanut sauce dip.
As
the guests should arrive ahead of dinner time, the lounge, dining area and
balcony were being readied with chairs, glasses, crockery and cutlery, to dine
buffet-style.
She
also prepared a beautiful crystal Tray of Togetherness, to serve festive bites
like pineapple tarts (in rolls), kueh bangkit, fan-folded love letters
and crispy mini spring rolls stuffed with dried prawn sambal, when the guests
arrived.
Yeen
was putting the finishing touches to her Yee Sang platter in the horse design
(in Red!) while I was just an observer. We were focused on getting the shape of
the horse’s mane to appear like the horse was in motion when Malcolm came to
join us.
Aunty Polly [Right] with Eva
who made these pineapple tarts
When
I turned to look at him, I literally jumped up in surprise because he
effectively shocked me with his outfit, a jacket in shimmering Red brocade worn
over his shorts and T-shirt!
Yes,
he had the right dress code colour but he was rather overdressed for a family
gathering held in his own home. His wife was familiar with his crazy sense of
humour but he only laughed at my reaction and told me that he has similar
jackets in other colours which he would change into during that evening.
Ahdoi!
This reminded me of Chinese wedding banquets when the bride would change into
several glamourous gowns at various intervals during the dinner. But as the
blushing bride, she had every right to do so on her Raja Sehari day.
Malcolm
certainly got our full attention when he impressed us with his wardrobe-change
of attention-grabbing jackets. He first startled me with Red. Sometime during
the evening, he changed into a glittering Golden jacket and finally into
bling-bling White. 
Ready to Lo Hei, do our prosperity toss!
After
getting all the compliments and comments from his guests, he decided to change
back to the Red jacket because it was Chinese New Year. Tasked to grill the
skewers of chicken satay, Malcolm was deemed to be the most well-dressed satay
man ever.
Our
dinner with 12 people, me included, kicked off traditionally with the Yee Sang
prosperity toss. After everyone had admired the creative design, the salad
platter was tossed together (the higher, the better!) with the loud chanting of
well wishes, especially for good health and strength for everyone.
After
the salad platter was cleared away, the dishes arranged on the table included
Teochew braised duck, pork trotters in black vinegar, mushrooms and black moss
with broccoli, cold whole prawns, platters of noodles dotted with plump prawns
(deshelled) and skewers of satay with a side of satay sauce. Steamed white rice
was also available for those who wished to have it.
Michael and Dexter, able to film while tossing!
In
the Cantonese tradition, particularly for the reunion dinner, food should be
served in generous portions so that the leftovers will symbolize, abundance.
This augurs well for the family and future generations who will be bestowed
with plenty of blessings.
The
buffet-style meal allowed us to move around to chat and catch up with each
other, especially among those who have not met for a long, long time. It was
good to reminisce about grandmother’s recipes and growing up in grandfather’s
house, among other family topics in our shared history.
Whole plump prawns were featured in
our dinner spread
Meanwhile,
the music and karaoke player was on and someone insisted that the English songs
should be replaced with Chinese New Year songs to match the festive mood. They
managed to find some Chinese songs but these were, however, not quite the Chinese
New Year music we sought.
I
am unsure what happened in the switching of music channels but the next time I
tuned in to the music, I recognized it from the Roger’s & Hammerstein
classic, The Sound of Music.
Most
of us have watched this movie countless times and not only memorised the song
lyrics but were also familiar with the characters and know parts of the
dialogue too. 
Food are served in generous portions so that
there will be leftovers = abundance
It
was amusing to observe that many turned their attention to this old show and were
singing along to the songs, having fun watching this film especially as it has
been digitally restored with improved clarity.
Meanwhile
Chinese New Year eve celebrations in Malaysia will go on into the wee hours
where traditional Chinese will welcome the new year at the stroke of midnight.
In Sydney, however, the following day was a work day so we had to call it a
night for those who needed to get up early for work on the first day of the
Lunar New Year.
Soon
as the guests had left, we tidied up the house. Following grandmother’s
tradition, Malcolm got to work revving up the vacuum cleaner and reminded his
son that this task should be done before midnight as there will be no sweeping
or vacuuming on the first day of the Lunar Year.
The giving of lai see in hong bao,
is my favourite Chinese New
Year tradition!
We
(later) saw from videos shared by family members in cities like Kuala Lumpur
and Johor Bahru, how their night’s peace was shattered by thunderous explosions
of fireworks set off at midnight (by neighbours!) in an annual tradition to
usher in the new year with a “Bang!”
In
stark contrast, we were comfortably in bed, tired from the day’s prep and
hosting, as midnight came and passed in Sydney and the Lunar New Year dawned
quietly while we slept.
Another
year is over, with a brand New Year and fresh opportunities ahead. This Chinese
New Year eve family gathering in Sydney was meaningful and memorable for so many
reasons, all of which will be dearly treasured. Happy Chinese New Year
everyone!
#MyJohorStoriesTravelogue
#MyJohorStoriesFebruary2026
