A Roaring New Year of Dragon with Yee Sang Set Menus at Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen

Event :

Date: 14th JAN 2012 – 6th FEB 2012

 

Time: Lunch 11:30-14:30

          Dinner 18:00-22:30

 

Venue: China Spice Restaurant (4/F)

 

Tel: 8358 8655

 

 

Amid the joyous occasion of Chinese New Year, China Spice Restaurant at Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen is full of fun and fantastic tastes. Talented chefs present a selection of unique and sumptuous set menus, featuring 5 Chinese characters, “cai财, gui贵, fu富, xi喜, le乐”, with “Yee Sang(鱼生)” to begin with, celebrating the memorable moment with you together! 

 

” ‘Yee Sang’ is truly an experience in itself. Its symbolic nature is what makes this dish popular during the Chinese New Year”, explained by Peter Liew, Executive Chef of Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen. Chinese New Year is associated with a lot of traditions. Every Chinese tradition and ritual symbolizes an important virtue or value that one wishes for in the coming year. Even certain types of food hold deep meanings. One such dish is the “Yee Sang”, which is served during the Chinese New Year only and stands for prosperity. “Yee Sang” is a treat for the senses. In the Cantonese dialect, it is referred to as the “fatt choi发财”. The word “choi” can also be taken to mean “luck.” “Yee Sang” may vary in taste, depending on the ingredients used. A good “Yee Sang” will have a balanced sweet, bitter, salty and spicy taste. These four tastes represent the different experiences one goes through in life. The dish is made up of a lot of ingredients, the most basic of which symbolizes something auspicious. Crackers represent happiness; Peanut and sesame signify harvest; Oil represents wealth while pamelo stands for good luck. Aside from these, one can choose the fish and seafood to go with the salad, the most popular of which is salmon. “Sang” means “life”, so for the dish to hold true to its meaning, it has to have something raw. It is interesting how one dish can hold so much meaning to it. But it does not stop there. What really sets this dish apart is the ritual one partakes in before eating it. Once the Yee Sang is served, family and friends gather around it, armed with their chopsticks. Instead of eating it right away, however, they engage in a friendly banter of tossing the ingredients as high as they can. This certainly is a sight to behold. The action of tossing or stirring is not devoid of meaning. In Cantonese, it is known as “loh sang” which literally means “stir up life”.