Celebrate Chinese New Year Like A True Malaysian!

Chinese New Year is coming! And whether you are celebrating it or not, the atmosphere is sure to be filled with excitement during this time.

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is one of the largest festivals among Malaysians of Chinese descent. CNY isn't only about amazing cuisine, it's also about spending time with loved ones and celebrating the holiday together, especially during the New Year's Eve reunion dinner.

In case you're curious about the most common dishes eaten by the Malaysian Chinese, read more to find out! Discover some of the most delicious and authentic Chinese cuisines with a variety of meals, including appetisers, soups, noodles, and more!

Yee Sang

Yee sang, a classic CNY celebration in Malaysia.
Source: klook

Yee sang, or yu sheng in Mandarin, is considered an auspicious dish because it has a similar meaning to another expression which means “an increase in surplus”. Yee sang is a type of salad traditionally cooked with raw fish, carrots, daikon, cucumbers, pickled ginger, pomelo, peanuts, sesame seeds, pillow crackers, five-spice powder, peppers, oils and plum sauce. Guests will toss the ingredients using chopsticks and make their wishes for the new year. When you begin your new year by having yee sang, you are wishing for good fortune and wealth. In other words, the higher you toss, the more prosperity you will get and the luckier the new year will be.

Suggestion for yee sang:
Name: Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur
Address: 2, Jalan Stesen Sentral,
Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur
Contact no.: 03-2263 7888
Website

Bak Wa

Bak kwa (pronounced buck k`wah) is a street-style grilled meat snack that is very popular for Malaysians and Singaporeans. Translated as dried meat from Hokkien, this scrumptious snack is a must-have at home throughout the festive season. The delicious grilled bak kwa is similar to several types of jerky, meat sticks, and meat bars. The meats are first chopped into thin strips and marinated in a sugar and spice mixture before being air-dried and grilled over a hotplate. There are two main kinds of bak kwa which are minced and sliced pork. The minced bak kwa is fattier while the sliced version is slimmer and chewier.

Thinly sliced bak kwa.
Source: Malaysia Chinese Kitchen

Suggestion for bak kwa:
Name: Wing Heong BBQ Meat
Address: No. 2, Jalan 7/7 Taman Industri Selesa Jaya, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor.
Contact no.: +603-2856 8753
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Steamed Dumplings

A dumpling a day keeps the gloominess away!
Source: Rasa Malaysia

Generally, a dumpling is a small quantity of soft dough that is boiled, fried, or steamed, and is usually filled with ground pork, shrimp, or vegetables. For those who are not familiar with this dish, they would often think of pot-sticker-style dumplings but in reality, there is such a variety to choose from!

For example, there are dumplings steamed in a bamboo steamer; they are delicate, bite-sized desserts with a variety of fillings that can be savoury, sweet, or both. You can try to get frozen snacks of dumplings since they are the most convenient to prepare and available in a wide selection of flavours that will satisfy everyone's taste buds. When it comes to serving dumplings on a plate, it's difficult to go wrong since all you need is some freshly cut dill or chives to garnish the top of the dish.

Suggestion for dumplings:
Name: Din Tai Fung
Address: Pavilion Kuala Lumpur (6.01.05, Level 6), Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
Contact no.: +6011-3692 9205
Website

Char Kuey Teow

Char kuey teow, Malaysians’ comfort food in any form.
Source: @naomiteng (Instagram) / @nuruleylia (Instagram)

Char Kuey teow is one of Malaysia's most popular street dishes, consisting of rice noodles, shrimp, cockles, Chinese sausage, fish cake, eggs, bean sprouts, and chives in a soy sauce mix.

The distinctive and rich flavour of char kuey teow is not just from its fresh ingredients, but also from the elusive charred scent from stir-frying the noodles at extremely high heat in a well-seasoned Chinese wok. Aside from the dry-noodle style that most people are familiar with, there is also another common variation called “kuey teow basah” (basah literally means wet in English). It's a wet-style char kuey teow with a lot of gravy. While some restaurants like to add more seafood to the meal, others offer unique variations where you may get bigger prawns or even little lobsters in addition to the standard shrimp.

Suggestion for char kuey teow:
Name: Mie CORD Kuew Tiow
Address: Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, Kampung Sungai Penchala, 60000 Kuala Lumpur.
Contact no.: +6016-380 4482
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Yong Tau Foo

Your day can’t go wrong when there’s yong tau foo.
Source: @ainaa_rausi / @shahrin_hashim

In the Hakka dialect, the word yong tau foo translates to "stuffed beancurd." There are a variety of beancurd-based dishes that may be referred to as yong tau foo, including beancurd loaded with pork, soy puffs, okra with chilli, and brinjal.

Yong tau foo may be eaten dry with sauces or with curry poured over it. It can also be served in soup. Many other vegetables, such as chilli, bitter melon, okra, cabbage, and eggplant are packed into a number of different meals, including steamed fish, crab sticks, and squid.

Suggestion for yong tau foo:
Name: Yong Tau Foo Kg Pandan
Address: 4, Jalan Thaver, Kampung Pandan, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.
Contact no.: +6019-387 0685
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Curry Laksa

A flavourful bowl of curry laksa.
Source: rotinrice.com

One of the most well-known dishes in the Malaysian Chinese community is curry laksa which is a very popular choice among locals. From mild to spicy and with a variety of toppings, it differs for every region. Curry laksa is a flavorful soup enriched with slightly creamy coconut milk. In northern Malaysia, this meal is simply referred to as "curry mee." Cockles, cuttlefish, and slices of hard-boiled eggs are common toppings that are added especially when you try this in Penang. The soup is whiter and paler in colour, and fried chilli paste is added to give it a hot flavour.

Suggestion for curry laksa:
Name: Jia Li Mian Noodle House
Address: 19G, Jalan Pandan 2/2, Pandan Jaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Contact no.: +6016-497 8189
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Leng Chee Kang

Quench your thirst with a bowl of leng cheek ang.
Source: rotinrice.com

A refreshing dish enjoyed by all, leng chee kang is a sweet dessert that consists a variety of dried fruits especially lotus seed, or leng chee and is mixed with syrup. It may be served either hot or cold with ice cubes.

You can find a variety of other ingredients in this dessert too such as longans, lily bulbs, dried persimmons, malva nuts, ginkgo nuts, barley, jelly, and basil seeds. The Malays often call it ‘kembang semangkuk’ which literally means ‘expand to the size of a bowl’ because of the many ingredients.

Where to go for Leng Chee Kang:
Name: Pudu Glutton Street Night Market (Pudu 为食街 Pudu Wai Sek Kai)
Address: Jalan Sayur, Pudu, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.