CNY Dinner 2012 - Ushering in the Year of the Dragon

Apologies for the lack of posts as there have been lots of changes happening all at once and falling sick again and again only added to pot!

I did manage to have a CNY celebration by going back to my favourite place for lobster noodles - Mandarin Kitchen. It was back to a traditional dinner with festive names for the dishes instead of the 'Poon Choi' which I had in 2011.

Some of us got into the spirit of things by dressing up in shades of bright red or traditional costumes - hey, when else can you do it right?

As always, I am intrigued and mesmerised by the names given only during the festive periods to regular dishes that otherwise go by their descriptions. So what did we have?

風生水起： 中式三文魚生

Being Prosperous: Raw Salmon Salad with Fish Sauce Dressing. ￡16.80

Otherwise also known as 'Yee Sang'/'Loh Hei' or the Prosperity Toss, everyone at the table is meant to dig their 

chopsticks into the big plate and toss the ingredients as high as possible while shouting out positive sayings for 

the year.

The version here is missing out on some of the vital ingredients like crackers, yam and the right combination of 

sauce, beggars can’t be choosers I guess.

發財好市：金蠔發菜

Lucky money creates good business: Stewed Large Dried Oysters with SeaMoss. ￡13.80

The Lucky Money is symbolised by the sea moss while good business is symbolised by the oysters. 

金華春夢： 香煎金華鴨半只

Glorious Dreams: Pan Fried Half Duck. Old Shanghai Winter Favorite ￡16.80

I’ve been waiting forever for the lobster noodles to arrive and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It was as good as I 

remembered and still holds the benchmark for me in London.

香色滿園： 川式雞菇煲

The perfume of flowers fills the garden: Chicken Chili Hotpot with GeeBee Mushrooms & Aubergine. ￡12.80

龍氣精神：杞子人參羊肩肉

Strong health and stamina: Ginseng Herbal Lamb Shoulder ￡15.80

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the names of some of the dishes as they were specifically requested.

Here is to an excellent Dragon Year to you!