Gathering Around the Table: Chinese New Year, Reimagined
It begins with a table. Red paper on worn wood, oranges in a plastic bowl, someone peeling garlic in the kitchen. Every Chinese New Year has its rituals, its returning questions — and always, the quiet hope that whatever is served will make everyone feel at home.
At some point, the idea of reunion shifted. Not away from family or tradition, but towards something new: gathering with less stress and more intention. Yummy Food and Yummy Palace Restaurant seem to understand this gentle shift. Their Yuan Yang Buddha Jump Over the Wall Pen Cai isn’t just another festive dish. It’s a story, ladled out, bowl after bowl.
The Heart of the Feast: Yuan Yang Buddha Jump Over the Wall Pen Cai
What happens when you can’t choose between Buddha Jump Over the Wall and Pen Cai, two of the most iconic centrepieces for the lunar table? This year, you don’t have to. Yummy Food combines them – not as a compromise, but as an act of abundance.
More than twenty ingredients, patiently layered. Dried scallops, bold with umami. Silky fish maw, slices of Chinese sausage, caramel-edged roasted pork belly, sakura chicken so tender you almost forget to chew. Somewhere deeper, whole abalones glisten beside the goose web, all cradled in a broth rich with eight hours’ worth of secrets. Each mushroom, each piece of tofu, quietly soaks in that stock, holding more story than spice.
There’s no need to hover over the stove or defend the last piece of sea cucumber. There’s no wrestling with reheating or worrying if the flavours will hold. The meal arrives in an electric cooker: lift the lid, let the broth come alive, and the aroma does the rest. Even the most practical detail – the plug-and-simmer design – feels quietly thoughtful. The food urges you to sit down, breathe, pass the ladle, and linger as bowls refill and laughter folds itself between chopsticks.
Do order yourself online at yummyfood.com.sg if you are keen.
A Reunion Where Everyone Belongs
For those who want a Chinese New Year that is generous but unhurried, festive but free from the panicked early morning prep, this dish seems to meet you halfway. It offers what so many are quietly seeking: a meal that draws everyone in, lets tradition breathe, and leaves time for what matters most — being together. The year turns, the stories are retold, and around the table, something warm and hopeful simmers on.
Read more about the dish that brought lasting change to family tables here.
