Down Memory Lane | My first TET Loh Sang experience for 2020 in Vietnam

This is a throwback post which is long overdue 🙄

Since it's my first year in Vietnam and it's very close to the TET or Lunar New Year celebrations, I was indeed missing all the Yee Sang or some may call it Loh Sang tossing dinner events. This was a standard get-together amongst the Chinese families and friends. The sooner and more Loh Sang we have the better the year will be for everyone!

A week plus ago (that was in January 2020), I was invited by a fellow Malaysian friend to join in for a Malaysian improvised version of Loh Sang at her new restaurant in Thao Dien District. I was hesitant at first because I didn't really know many Malaysians in Saigon but if I stayed home, I knew I would be a potato couch again ! So, off I went to join and meet other fellow Malaysian friends.

It's a co-sharing dining restaurant with other Malaysian/Singaporean stalls. It's a nice cosy place though a bit quiet as compared to most restaurants in District One. I'll have to write about this place one day when I get the chance to try the food here.

Anyhow, this is us getting ready to Loh Sang! As you can see, it's Vegetarian Loh Sang ... Yeap !! All fruits and vegetables only. Talk about change. I was quite disappointed as I was expecting a whole big tray with lots of salmon & jelly fish. Totally not what I was expecting if I had to pay VND350,000 for Loh Sang plus dinner. So, quietly I enjoyed my dinner; at least that was good with lots of fish curry, satay and petai sambal. The spiciness is a bit too much for me or has my taste bud changed so much?

So much is shared about Yee Sang.. Let me give you a short brief about what Yee Sang is all about.

Yee Sang or Yuu Sahng or Yu Sheng or Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei is a Cantonese-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (sometimes salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. There is also a vegetarian version of this dish, where the fish is replaced with soy "fish", which resembles salmon.

Yu Sheng literally means "raw fish" and is interpreted as an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. There are two competing claims to the origins of the modern take on yusheng: first was said to be invented by a Malaysian; second was said to be created in the 1960s by the "Four Heavenly Kings" in the Singapore restaurant scene.

The recipe generally includes ingredients such as shredded white and green radish and carrots, ginger slices, onion slices, crushed peanuts, pomelo, pepper, essence of chicken, oil, salt, vinegar, sugar and more.

Be sure to try this dish out ! It's absolutely fantastic.

Don't forget the classic wishes of “gong xi fa cai” (may you be rich and wealthy), “wan shi ru yi” (may everything be as you wish) and “lou hei” (move upwards) too!
Fyi.. Another thing to remember is that, always toss until the ingredients of Loh Sang spill outside the plate.. That way, you will always have overflow of prosperity !