Yusheng is an essential dish this time of the year, and it isn’t really Chinese New Year until there’s one too many lo heis. That said, the dish has definitely changed with the times. In recent years, we’ve seen some yushengs with unique standouts – think uni, caviar, or pufferfish!
Whether you’re into the old-school classics or something modern and unique, toss your way into CNY with some of the most unique yusheng 2021 has to offer!
Peach Garden
Peach Garden has the most extra and OTT yusheng this year. The “Heng Heng'' Million Dollar Yu Sheng (S$168++ for small, S$268++ for large) is a large golden dome encasing the most premium of yusheng ingredients: lobster, baby abalone, Wagyu beef, and salmon.
Smash open the dome and clear the way for good luck with the mini hammers provided. As the dome cracks open it reveals a colourful array of ingredients as well as – wait for it – big sweep tickets!
Crystal Jade
Crystal Jade is serving up something different this year with the Season of Wealth Golden Scallop Yusheng (S$108++ for small, S$168++ for large). With fresh vegetables, fruits and house-made pickled vegetables, it boasts new, fun flavours with a pleasing bite.
Toss to a brighter year with ingredients such as red dragonfruit, watermelon cubes, pomelo, burdock, quinoa, cherry tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, crispy rice and walnuts, along with deep fried yam strips and Hsin Chu beehoon. This is topped with briny pops of ikura and sweet scallop slices. Even the dressing is special: an olive oil-based sauce with flower blossom syrup and plum sauce.
Hai Tien Lo
You can't go wrong with the chef's recommendation. The Blossoming Treasures Yu Sheng (S$168++ for small, S$288 for large) is a decadent platter that comes with gold and silver flakes, lobster, scallops, black caviar and shredded vegetables with passionfruit sauce.
Signifying wealth and prosperity, the raw shredded vegetables are artfully plated to form the shape of two bull horns. Hai Tien Lo also has four other yusheng platters this year that feature different proteins: crispy silver whitebait, abalone, smoked salmon and jellyfish.
Dancing Crab
No need for chopsticks, because the Dancing Yusheng ($48++ for small, $88++ for large) is back! Comprising succulent Alaskan King Crab legs, smoked salmon slices, fried fish skin and assorted greens, the decadent dish is drizzled with a homemade honey mustard sauce and topped with olive oil.
Dig in (literally) and toss the ingredients with your gloved hands! This is probably the most "fun" a yusheng can get.
Fat Cow
Probably one of the most unique and indulgent options this year, beef lovers can toss to good fortune with Fat Cow‘s Gyu Sheng (S$99++). The Wagyu beef yusheng is as fancy as it can get – a perfect combination of melt-in-your-mouth Miyazaki Wagyu beef, freshly shredded vegetables and topped with decadent uni.
Man Fu Yuan
Usher in a Niu year as Man Fu Yuan ups the ante on Lunar New Year celebrations with a luxurious selection of dishes. The new 60-inch Blossoms of Spring Prosperity Yu Sheng (S$388++) comes adorned with Hokkaido scallops and salmon, and is shaped in the form of the Chinese character ‘Chun’ (春), which symbolises renewal and start of fresh and new beginnings. Two days advanced order is required, and the dish is available for dine-in only.
Rumours
The cool beach club is bringing a Balinese twist to the classic dish. The Jimbaran Grill Yu Sheng (S$98.80) comes with lobster tail with sambal merah, grilled squid with kecap manis, and jumbo river prawns with sambal merah on a bed of fresh carrots and white radish. The traditional plum dressing also receives a dressing up with fragrant Indonesian spices!
Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant
Fans of salted egg, usher in a prosperous new year Xin Restaurant's rendition of the dish – Alaskan Crab with Salted Egg Yolk Sauce Yu Sheng (S$98++ for small, S$138++ for large)! Oozing with umami from fresh Alaskan crab meat, coat it in creamy salted egg yolk sauce for that extra oomph!
Jade
Start your auspicious feasting with the spectacular Premium Gold Rush Salmon Yu Sheng (S$78++ for small, $118++ for medium, $138++ for large), beautifully arranged into an image of a bull, while families with younger children will delight in the special children’s version, arranged into a playful calf.
Fresh ingredients are elevated by champagne jelly, shallot oil and kumquat dressing, striking a captivating balance of rich and refreshing flavours. The yusheng is also presented alongside elegant Chinese calligraphy written by Chef Leong himself!
Auntie’s Wok and Steam
Leave the calorie space for the CNY snacks with this guilt-free yusheng. The Andaz Healthy Yusheng (S$68++) is filled with superfoods such as kale, beetroot, green apples, flaxseeds and chia seeds. Delicious slices of Scottish smoked salmon offers a pleasant contrast of flavour with its savoury, peppery notes. Invite in good health this year with this yusheng!
Blue Jasmine
Blue Jasmine tosses up good fortune with a beautiful yusheng platter that comes with a refreshing Thai twist. The Thai Chin Yu Sheng features slices of silky smoked salmon served with a tall mountain of crispy rice crackers, and vegetables and fruit including Thai green mango, papaya, pomelo and pickles. Presented at the table at the start of the meal, the yusheng is served with the various traditional elements as well as a unique and refreshing plum and passionfruit sauce.
Cherry Garden
Invite in a new auspicious beginning and surround yourself with loved ones this Lunar New Year as you savour specially-curated set menus at Mandarin Oriental's Cherry Garden. There's a yusheng for everyone, which includes the Triumph Yu Sheng featuring a medley of premium ingredients such as black truffle and black caviar, or the classic rendition with salmon slices that is the Prosperity Yu Sheng (S$88++ for small, S$168++ for large)
Alternatively, you can go for the Bountiful Yu Sheng (S$138++ for small. S$276++ for large) with abalone, Hokkaido scallops and salmon, or the Harmonious Yu Sheng with fresh lobster, scallops and salmon (S$158++ for small, S$258++ for large). Whichever your pick, it's perfect for tossing to a sweet year ahead.
Duckland
For something out of the ordinary, start the year with Duckland Yu Sheng (S$48++), a wonderful mix of fresh herbs and vegetables such as carrots, daikon, turnip and edible flowers. They are served with roasted Irish duck, Norwegian smoked salmon, and topped with crispy, crunchy pork cracklins. Finish it off with a generous drizzling of their signature raspberry sauce.
Until 28 February 2021, you can enjoy the Duckland Yu Sheng at S$38++ when you purchase a whole Roast Irish Duck!
Hua Ting
Master Chef Lap Fai presents a lavish selection of six different yusheng – from the impressive Ox-picious Yu Sheng - Whole Abalone ‘Lo Hei’ (S$188++, order one day in advance) and Whole Abalone ‘Lo Hei’ Yu Sheng (S$78 for small, S$138 for large), to Fresh Hamachi ‘Lo Hei’ Yu Sheng (S$78++) and Fresh Toro ‘Lo Hei’ Yu Sheng (S$198 for small, S$388 for large).
Health-conscious diners can enjoy the Healthy Organic Seasonal Green ‘Lo Hei’ with ice lettuce and truffle (S$78 for small, S$138 for large). For an all-out experience, feast on the Live Australian Lobster, Salmon Roe, Whole Abalone ‘Lo Hei’ Yu Sheng (S$628++).
Syun
Tradition is brought alive in Syun's Special Yu Sheng (S$118++), a medley of greens and sprouts topped with fried kataifi pastry and served with sesame-ponzu sauce. The highlight of this yusheng is the A4 Kagoshima wagyu that replaces the regular salmon slices. The wagyu is sous vide to a medium-rare, then torched and sliced paper-thin.
Feng Shui Inn
Feng Shui Inn has not just one, but three very unique yusheng dishes this year – the Vegetarian Fish Yu Sheng with Sea Grapes and Black Fungus (S$78++), Smoked Salmon Yu Sheng with Crispy Pearl Rice and Crispy Kailan (S$88++), and Abalone Yu Sheng with Sea Grapes and Japanese Sakura Dried Shrimps (S$108++). We love the combination of different standout ingredients that bring a different mouthfeel to the usual yushengs out there.