#diningpleasures

It wouldn't be Chinese New Year without a round of Lo Hei.

Also known as the prosperity toss, the annual tradition hopes to bring more prosperity and better luck for the new year. The Yusheng, a raw fish salad, is central to this custom and typically contains 27 ingredients.

Famous Chinese restaurant Crystal Jade recently shared with us what some of the ingredients symbolise.

By Esther Au Yong There’s a turkey for everyone this Christmas season as hotels and restaurants pull out all the creative stops to offer myriad versions of the dining table must-have.

‘WU XI’ TURKEY

This Chinese-inspired bird, which has a unique sweet-savoury taste, is braised – not roasted like conventional Christmas-time turkey dishes – with a blend of red yeast, dates and secret spices. Like soya sauce chicken, its flesh is silky smooth. The turkey is paired with Shanghai-style vegetable fried rice studded with dried shrimps and greens, and accompanied by homemade chilli sauce. Yum!

$218 (5kg), The Deli, Goodwood Park Hotel (goodwoodparkhotel.com)

ROASTED TURDUCKEN

If you love your poultry, you’ll love this: it’s a mega-meaty combination of a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, which in turn is stuffed into a deboned turkey. Phew, what a mouthful! It is served with yummy sides such as glazed chestnuts, chicken chipolatas and roasted potatoes.

$211.86 (6-7kg), The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (fullertonhotels.com)

JEN’S ASIAN ROASTED TURKEY

This “Percik” style turkey is another Asian-influenced dinner-table centrepiece that diehard local foodies will love – the succulent meat has a hint of spices and a lemak gravy complements it all. The trimmings are exciting as they include, among others, Sri Lanka Crab Claws in Ah Hoi’s Chili Crab Sauce, Golden Crabmeat Fried Rice and a dessert of Chilled Mango Soup, Pearl Sago, Pomelo, Lime and Gula Melaka.

$198 (5-6kg), Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore (hoteljen.com)

CLASSIC ROAST TURKEY

Take the classic route with this roasted whole turkey, which you should serve with cranberry sauce. There’s nothing like tradition during the Christmas season but for just a bit of customisation of your dish (from $12), you can choose from a range of stuffing, including chestnut, chicken or pork.

$89 (3.6-4.5kg), Swiss Butchery (swissbutchery.com.sg)

TRUFFLE BUTTERED ROAST TURKEY

Truffle has continued to be big on the dining scene here and so, it’s apt that it is featured in a turkey dish too – enter Marriott Hotel’s Truffle Buttered Roast Turkey, which comes with Finanziera Terrine and Madeira sauce. The terrine, made of veal tongue, pig’s ears, beef lungs and tripe, is the perfect opportunity for one to be an adventurous diner, if not already.

$238 (4.5-5kg), Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza (singaporemarriott.com)

SALTED EGG YOLK ROAST TURKEY

Salted egg yolk has to be the ingredient of the year and sure enough, someone had to incorporate it in a turkey dish. Each turkey is deeply marinated for 12 hours in an aromatic bath of salted egg yolk, aged rice wine, ginger, onions, garlic and a secret mix of spices. So, you can be sure it would result in moist, succulent and flavourful meat.