祝大家马年快乐！马上有钱，马上有对象，马上放假，马上有车。

Every year, we gather at Grandpa's place on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year before noon all the way till night falls. This year is no exception. 

Guess what are we busy with?

We were arranging the prosperity toss 鱼生 yusheng to look like the Chinese character of horse, '马'. 

Prosperity Toss 鱼生 yusheng

Also known as lo hei is Teochew-style raw fish salad. It consists of raw fish strips (usually salmon) mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments. 

Yusheng means raw fish literally but it also means abundance and prosperity. 

It is popular during Chinese New Year especially in Singapore and Malaysia. 

Ta-dah, this is what we came up with.  

Someone ingenious came up with the idea of placing the abalone on top of the Chinese character of horse, '马' which means 马上有鲍鱼. 

When adding the ingredients or condiments of the 鱼生 yusheng, auspicious words to be said are as follow - 

恭喜发财 Gong Xi Fa Cai 

Congratulations for your wealth

万事如意 Wan Shi Ru Yi

May all your wishes be fulfilled

The fish is added, symbolising abundance and excess through the year. 

年年有余 Nian Nian You Yu 

Abundance through the year

The pomelo or lime is added to the fish, adding luck and auspicious value. 

大吉大利 Da Ji Da Li

 Good luck and smooth sailing

Pepper is then dashed over in the hope of attracting more money and valuables. 

招财进宝 Zhao Cai Jin Bao 

Attract wealth and treasures

Then oil is poured out, circling the ingredients and encouraging money to flow in from all directions. 

一本万利 Yi Ben Wan Li 

Make 10,000 times of profit with your capital

财源广进 Cai Yuan Guang Jin 

Numerous sources of wealth

Carrots are added indicating blessings of good luck. 

鸿运当头 Hong Yun Dang Tou 

Good luck is approaching”. 

Shredded green radish is placed symbolising eternal youth. 

青春常驻 Qing Chun Chang Zhu 

Forever young

After which, the shredded white radish is added - prosperity in business and promotion at work. 

风生水起 Feng Sheng Shui Qi 

Progress at a fast pace

步步高升 Bu Bu Gao Sheng 

Reaching higher level with each step

Then, the condiments are added. First, peanut crumbs are dusted on the dish, symbolizing a household filled with gold and silver. 

金银满屋 Jin Yin Man Wu 

Household filled with gold and silver

Followed by sesame seeds which symbolizes a flourishing business. 

生意兴隆 Sheng Yi Xing Long 

Prosperity for the business

Yu Sheng sauce, usually plum sauce is drizzled generously over the yusheng. 

甜甜蜜蜜 Tian Tian Mi Mi 

May life always be sweet

Deep-fried flour crisps in the shape of golden pillows is then added with wishes that literally the whole floor would be filled with gold. 

满地黄金 Man Di Huang Jin 

Floor full of gold

We usually start off with 1, 2, 3, 捞啊 lo ah! Followed by any auspicious words of your choice. For example, the adults would say things like may there be pay rise and promotion while the younger ones will say GPA 4/0 or 5.0 or top the class. The elderly will say things like good health and all things smooth sailing. The prosperity toss usually ends off with 发啊 huat ah!

This year, Uncle cooked nasi lemak for 初二 CNY lunch instead of the usual steamboat session we normally have.

Love the shrimp paste chicken wings! They are so good!

Love the Ngoh Hiang that I made with Aunt and Mommy.

Before tucking it, Elvin showed us our cutlery for the day. 

Its so pretty that I had to take a picture of it. The serviettes are so pretty, especially the floral ones! Can't bear to use them for sure. 

And because I have an unhealthy obsession of taking pictures of my food.. 

My Aunt made almond jelly for dessert. Tell me, who doesn't love almond jelly with longan? Especially when it is in the form of a koi fish. It does look like its swimming in the pot, doesn't it?

No Chinese New Year celebration is complete without Chinese New Year goodies, especially homemade ones! My Aunt's mom can make very good butter cookies, pineapple tarts and chocolate cookies. They were almost gone after an hour of ban-luck.

Before we knew it, it was already dinner time!

Here's my #ootd for CNY Day 2 初二.

Ending off with my #ootds 穿搭 from Chinese New Year Eve 除夕 to Chinese New Year Day 3 初三.

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