Did I Tell You About Our Chinese New Meal?

As Chinese New Year was on January 26, 2009 this year (it changes from year to year because it is based on the lunar calendar), it was appropriate to have a New Year meal on Sunday, January 25.

We (Elizabeth, Lily, and I) ate at Xin Bao Restaurant for lunch.

For a Chinese New Year meal the Chinese are real big on foods with names that "sounds like" other good things, as well as symbolism. Don't ask - Chinese is a tonal language where two words with the same sound but different tones are two different words.

Also, for New Year's the Chinese want to have food if possible that is whole and complete - the idea of wholeness and completeness without anything missing is a good thing for the New Year.

As a result, we had items off the special New Year's menu:

1) Dried oysters, "ho xi" which sounds like the word for "good luck", with black hair moss, called "fat choy" that sounds like the word for "wealth", on a bed of green lettuce, symbolic of prosperity, topped with sliced pork tongue and mushrooms.

(Enough of the "sounds like" explanations and symbolism - for more, go here)

2) Pig hands (front feet) with the black hair moss on a bed of green lettuce.

3) Whole steamed Tilapia fish with the head and fins on.

4) Whole white cut chicken with the head and feet.

5) Bonus dish because we ordered the preceding four dishes: turtle soup.

Yum!