Lou Yee Sang

Address: Nyonya Restaurant, 194 Grand St, New York

In true Yaokui fashion, we celebrated Chinese New Year in New York City this year by having a feast at Nyonya restaurant in Chinatown. Of course, a Chinese New Year dinner would not be complete without Lou Yee Sang. Yee Sang is a tasty raw fish salad dish which ingredients normally include fresh salmon, daikon, carrots, ginger, chinese parsley, peanuts, chinese crackers, five spice powder and plum sauce dressing. Lou Yee Sang represents a symbol of abundance and prosperity, and all friends and family gather around the table to toss the Yee Sang (with chopsticks) as high as you can, while saying prosperous wishes. Although, the origin of the dish is vague to us, it is seemingly clear that the tradition of eating this dish during the Chinese New Year is still a common practice by the Overseas Chinese community in South East Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. Gong Xi Fa Chai (Mandarin), Kong Hei Fatt Choy (Cantonese), Kiong Hi Huat Chai (Hokkien/Teochew), Happy Chinese New Year (English) everyone!