Cate’s Singaporean boss invited her and a friend for a Chinese New Year dinner at their home, so she brought me. It was my first time to set foot in a house and not an apartment in Singapore.
year of the Ox
We started the meal with Yusheng, which is an appetizer to raise ‘good luck’ for the new year. In a celebration known as “lo hei” families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it’s customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes. And that’s exactly what we did. The dish tasted a bit like my favorite achara, only with nuts and cornflakes thrown in it.
yusheng
lo hei
with Cate’s colleague Kai
Dinner composed of steamed fish, bulgogi, lotus root soup, and a few other dishes, chased by wine. After we had our fill, the kids broke out the Bingo game and we played. I won the first round, tied with Cate’s boss. But since he was the host, his wife insisted that I was the only winner and gave me my prize – an ang pao with 6 dollars inside. Not bad. After a few more games, Cate and I bid goodbye, and her boss slipped each of us another ang bao with cash in it. What a happy new year indeed lah! ^_^
Chinese New Year feast
first round winners
the winning Bingo card