Chinese
Sek Yuen is a legend in Chinese restaurant lore, serving long-forgotten dishes prepared over wood-fired stoves. The sticky pork is delicious, but Eight Treasure Duck must be pre-ordered and is simply spectacular. And for Chinese New Year, the defining dish is Yusheng, made with noodles, vegetables, raw fish and lemongrass, which is a Cantonese dish with origins from the Song dynasty that is no longer found in China. A Malaysian account in the New Straits Times reports the dish being served at a now-defunct restaurant called Loke Ching Kee in Seremban. Yusheng’s fame exploded in Singapore, where the “Four Heavenly Kings” refined and popularised the dish at Dragon Phoenix in 1963. Diners form a circle around the dish, toss in the condiments from lovely, hand-wrapped green and red packets, hollering good luck wishes while tossing and mixing the ingredients in the air. No one disputes that Sek Yuen is now the longest-serving purveyor of this great plate from its original location. Finish with the colorful and refreshing Longan jelly and syrup dessert for a New Year’s celebration unequaled anywhere in the world.
