Australian abalone, dried scallops, black moss and dang gui (Chinese herb known scientifically as Angelica sinensis) wrapped in lotus leaf and then baked in a chicken-shaped salt crust; aloe vera noodles braised with scallops, preserved vegetables and dried conpoy ( dried scallops) sauce; tiger prawns with creamy custard sauce.

These are some of the creative dishes that the local Chinese restaurants are offering in their reunion dinner menu for this coming Chinese New Year. But even though chefs try to be innovative every year, they never veer off the standard ingredients.

“Chinese New Year is a time when guests look forward to specific ingredients or dishes for auspicious reasons, so we definitely serve what the people can recognise,” says Chef Goh Chee Kong of Min Jiang at One-North.

The celebratory dinner, which is also known as “tuan yuan fan” (literally translated as “reuniting meal”), is steep in tradition and symbolism. Each dish, down to the ingredients, carries the hopes and wishes that the family members have for one another.

For example:
Chicken meat (complete with head and tail) signifies prosperity and completeness.
Black moss, or “Fa Choi” in Cantonese is eaten for wealth.
Dried oysters or “Ho See” in Cantonese, is included to signify the hope for good events.
Fish, in Mandarin is “Yu” is also a homophone for abundance of wealth.
Prawns, or “Har” in Cantonese, means an increase in joy and laughter when eaten during this season.

Noodles signifies longevity.

Before Singaporeans can afford to go to restaurants for their reunion dinners, these food were prepared at home, by the mothers. They were simple and straightforward, such as poached chicken and stir-fried vegetables.

Another characteristic element of a reunion dinner is that the Chinese, regardless of financial ability, will put the best food on the table – and in abundance too, for they believe that having plenty of food during the reunion dinner would bring the family great wealth in the New Year.

While “best” in the past was understood as simple meat dishes, today it means extravagant, epicurean and even wholesome. The chefs interviewed say they try to strike a balance between satisfying customer’s demands and upholding traditions.

At Min Jiang at One-North, Chef Goh uses traditional ingredients and cooking methods, but surprises one with the presentation. An example would be his Eight Treasures Duck (Ba Bao Ya), which he ties with a string around the duck’s midriff to create the shape of the digit eight (a homophone for prosperity in Cantonese).

Red House Seafood Restaurant on other hand, offers health-conscious customers the choice of olive oil to replace the peanut oil used in Yu Sheng.

Novelty is not exclusive to the new dishes.

Mr Chris Hooi of Dragon Phoenix restaurant, a 49-year-old establishment, said that traditional ingredients that are only available during the Chinese New Year period have the element of surprise too.

“Waxed duck, which traditionally requires the northern breeze to wind-dry, is only available at the beginning of the year,” he says. Waxed duck is one of the ingredients for Lap Mei Fan, which is Cantonese waxed meat rice.

The chefs are careful not to overstep the line as they brainstorm for new ideas.

Group Executive Chef Fung Chi Keung from Paradise Group told this writer that he will not serve vegetables like bitter gourd, which will be interpreted as bitter life, and Mei Cai or preserved mustard green, which is interpreted as bad luck.

But there’s always a second group of people who give little regards to traditions, and to win their spending dollar, some restaurants would go all out to push the boundaries, such as replacing the fish in Yu Sheng with fashionable food like Wagyu beef or simply serving a completely foreign dish (in the context of reunion dinner) like pan-fried foie gras.

Who knows? The future of reunion dinner dishes may be predominantly novelty dishes. Given how people these days are constantly seeking new experiences, this is not at all impossible. But when the time comes, would you be embracing the change with open arms or would you be resisting it?