Yee Sang at Lotus

In further CNY news, went to Lotus last night where we finally had Yee Sang, it being our last opportunity for this CNY. Yee Sang has a funny taste when you're eating but the most delicious aftertaste, and it's crunchy and delicious. And tossing it is pretty fun.



Yee Sang is made on the table, a large plate of shredded vegetables (and, traditionally, shredded fish) in the centre as a variety of sauces and condiments are poured over the top. Everyone then uses their chopsticks (the use of chopsticks is non-optional, no hands, no forks) to toss the salad together. It is customary to toss as high as possible, because the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes will be, as you court abundance.



Following the yee sang we had some char kuay teow (hardly a CNY noodle) and an array of delicious mock meats, cha siew and kapitan and the Sichuan chicken, which had cashews and was quite tasty. D's new favourite appears to be the chicken satay entree, which we discovered last Saturday when we tried the small banquet, and D insisted on ordering again just four days later.


Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant
Unit 1, 220 James St
Northbridge

chinese new year treats

Part of the joy of Chinese New Year is the treats we get, once a year sweets that are sugary and floury and coveted and difficult to make. I tried to make some kuih for the first time this year, they were a bit average but I've still got twelve days to go so that's plenty of time to try again.

A lot of kuih is vegan, except for that critical last second when an egg wash is used to give it that gloss. This year I discovered my very favourite lollies contain egg whites (no!), and all the great looking peanut cookies had an egg wash. The pineapple tarts were egg free, though, and delicious as always.



Love letters are my very favourite Chinese New Year treat. A batter is poured into hot iron moulds, they're difficult to make but the end result is a crispy wafer treat. I'm no where near ready to try making these kuih kapit, so it's a good thing they're readily available at Chinese New Year.



Kuih bangkit are a chalky coconut biscuit that disintegrates in your mouth. My mum usually buys the white ones, as a child they used to be shaped like birds with a little red dot for the eyes, and as a result my sister and I used to refer to them as death biscuits. I love their deliciousness, but they make your mouth stick together and I do wish they weren't quite so chalky!

I love this time of year, all the delicious treats and so much food. I wish some of these treats were available all year around!