Dr Christine Cheng

This is for my friend Jay from Thailand, who visited Singapore recently with his father. Andy and I had lunch with him at the Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant at UE Square.

With commercialism, Salmon Yusheng was available a good month before Chinese New Year! As neither of them had tried this dish before, we naturally had to order a portion for them to try.

For those unfamiliar with Chinese New Year traditions (Singapore style), this is a dish that became popular in Singapore some 15 years ago. I remember my mother meeting her friends for "raw fsh" and I was way too grossed out to want to try it for myself.

Fast forward a few years, and now I love this dish! Presented as shredded vegetables served in little mounds on a large plate, the waitress adds in lime, salt, pepper, honey, sesame oil and crispy crackers, reciting a lucky phrase with each step. My Chinese sucks, so I've never quite understood what goes on much, beyond it's about improvement, sweetness and prosperity.

Each diner then uses chopsticks to mix it all together, tossing it high up in the air, the higher the better. Again, lucky phrases are said by all for a great outcome in the new year.

Traditionally, this dish is only served on the seventh day of Chinese New Year. The day that is everyone's birthday. And so we plan to have our company Chinese New Year dinner on that very night, to bring in prosperity in the New Year. This year, the day falls on 20th February, which is a Saturday night.