6 Chefs & restaurateurs share the Chinese New Year dishes that warm their hearts

Chef-owner Yong Bing Ngen, Majestic Restaurant

Kuala Lumpur memories

“I was born in Kuala Lumpur and during Chinese New Year, our family’s must-have dishes include yusheng, pen cai, lap mei fan (rice with preserved meat in Cantonese) and nian gao. Every dish has a meaning: Yusheng symbolises new beginnings, the many ingredients in pen cai signify abundance, while the lap mei fan satisfies the stomach. Nian gao is especially important too.”

CNY food inspiration: Majestic Restaurant’s Porcini Mushroom Dumplings

At Majestic Restaurant, Chef Yong has come up with an extensive CNY menu that reflects traditional favourites such as the Majestic Deluxe Treasures Claypot ($268) and the Claypot Rice With Preserved Meat And Sausage ($48 for a medium-sized portion). In addition, there are interesting renditions such as the Smoked Corn-Fed Chicken With Salt And Hickory ($30) and Crispy Prawns With Salted Egg Yolk, Creamy Milk And Lemon Sauce ($30). He also played around with the Chinese character for ox to create CNY dishes such as the Porcini Mushroom Dumplings In Soya Vinaigrette ($18 for six, pictured above). “Since 2021 is the Year of the Ox, I use porcini mushrooms as its Chinese name ‘牛肝菌’ has the ox character in it . I also use seasonal ingredients such as the pomelo, which ripens in autumn/winter and tastes excellent when tossed with yusheng.”

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