A Chinese New Year's Eve Family Feast - Crown Dragon Restaurant, St George Leagues Club (13 Feb 2010)

Oops - Sorry..this post is a bit late. Here's a belated 'Happy Chinese New Year'  to you and your family (Kung Hei Fat Choy!). 
As a child, growing up as an ABC ('Australian born Chinese') in the south western suburbs of Sydney, I don't really recall 'celebrating' Chinese New Year that much. I'm not sure why... perhaps it was because there weren't that many Chinese families in my neighbourhood. I remember there were only 2 Chinese kids in my primary school class! What I do remember is getting 'red packets' filled with extra pocket money, my mum cleaning the house furiously on Chinese New Year's eve, AND being told not to wash my hair on Chinese New Year day as I would wash away my good luck. It's so funny as I still try not to wash my hair on Chinese New Year day. It's always a problem if I happen to want to go to the gym.
My mum and grandma used to cook for the family for Chinese New Year when I was a kid. But, as my siblings and I grew up, mum and dad decided it was easier to just go out for dinner at a Chinese Restauarant. As much as I'd like to say that I prefer home cooking, I think the food at the Chinese Restaurants we go to are much better (sorry Mum!).

Diners mezmerised by the Lion Dancing

This Chinese New Year's eve, Mr FBC and I had dinner with my family (plus extended family) at the Crown Dragon Restaurant at the St George Leagues Club in Kogarah. It's a relatively new kid on the block. I must admit I was taken aback when I was first told about going to a Chinese restauarant in a Leagues Club. Was I going to get Ching-lish or something (a la 'spring rolls' and 'honey king prawns')? However, this place is great and is overflowing with lots of Chinese people (which is always sign of a reasonable Chinese restaurant). For the Chinese New Year eve dinner, we ordered a set banquet meal.

Yee Sang Salad

We started the evening with Yee Sang Salad, which is made of strips of raw salmon, mixed with shredded carrot, radish, spring onion and some picked ginger. It's a dish that my family hardly ever orders (primarily because my dad doesn't like raw fish), but I quite like it's refreshing taste. Like many Chinese New Year dishes, Yee Sang translates to 'abundance' so the dish is meant to symbolise abundance and prosperity.  The fun bit about this dish is that everyone gets their chopsticks and tosses the ingredients around. The higher you toss, the more good luck you'll get.

Mixed Cold Meat Platter

The cold meat platter is next. Today's platter has a mixture of char sui (bbq pork), roast pork, BBQ duck, sliced beef and jellyfish. It's best to try a little bit of everything (and so I do). Often Chinese Banquets start with this dish so I always know I'm in for a feast when see a cold meat platter.

Shark Fin Soup

We next each receive a bowl of steaming Shark Fin soup. I know many shun the thought of eating shark fin... but... well.... it really does taste nice!  I love the thin strips of fin (think of them as noodles) and shreds of chicken and egg floating around the thick chicken soup.

Black Moss Seaweed (Fat Choi) with Mushrooms and Scallops

I'm not a fan of the black moss seaweed dish, known as 'fat choi', as it reminds me of wet hair! Nevertheless, 'fat choi' also means 'prosperity' so I suppose that's why it's a very popular Chinese New Year dish. 

BBQ Quail

The next dish we have is BBQ quail, which is delicious. Quail meat is dark, like duck, but has the meatiness of chicken. The glaze on the quail gives it's a nice crispy skin which is lovely when you dip it into the condiment of salt and soy.

Lobster with Ginger and Shallots

My favourite type of seafood is Lobster (yes - I know it's extremely decadent of me). So, my eyes always light up when I see Lobster (with Ginger and Shallots) coming my way. Normally the lobster is served on a large platter but tonight's lobster gets dished out on separate dishes. You need to throw your manners aside when eating lobster. You need to get in there with your fingers to get the juicy sweet lobster flesh out of the shells. 

We all hear the sounds of the familiar drums and take a quick break from our sumptuous meal to enjoy the Lion Dancing on offer. I was terrified of watching the Lion Dance as a child. I use to cower in between my parents, covering my ears and eyes. However, I suppose you can't scare away bad luck and shoo out the old year with a wimper. My friend recently told me about someone  they knew who did Lion Dancing, but was unfortunately only the 'bum end' of the Lion and always got touched on the bum. I suppose it is meant to be good luck to touch the Lion right... regardless of which part?! 

Broccoli and Bean Curd with a dried scallop sauce

Back to the food. The next course was a broccoli and bean curd dish. The steamed broccoli and the soft bean curd complemented well with the saltiness of the dried scallop sauce.

Steamed Barramundi with ginger, shallot and soy sauce

Our second last dish for the evening is a whole steamed barramundi. The fish is fresh, tender and flavoursome. I love placing big pieces of fish into my bowl and drowing it in the soy/shallot sauce.

Fish in Chinese is pronounced as 'yu', which is similar to the cantonese word for wish. Fish is often served as one of the last courses. So, I suppose you can end your meal with a wish. Not sure - I'm making that one up! 

Bowl of Fried Rice

I've been told rice symbolises well being and good fortune and with that in mind, we all finish off our meals with a bowl of rice (of the fried variety).

Hope you all had a wonderful 'food filled' Chinese New Year! 

Crown Dragon Restaurant

St George Leagues Club

124 Princes Highway Kogarah NSW

(02) 9587 1022

http://stgeorgeleagues.com