Fresh Tuna Purple Potato Salad

Tuna is a common fish in Malaysian cuisine. The local tuna is smaller in size than the ones we eat in Japanese restaurants or those found in colder waters. The local tuna is known as ikan tongkol and it's not an expensive fish to consume. There is another fish that looks almost the same, known as ikan kayu, and I wasn't able to distinguish between the two, until the fish monger placed them side by side. The local tuna, ikan tongkol's skin is actually bluish, looks pretty when the sun shines on it.

Ikan kayu has a much larger bloody area when cooked, tastes more fishy and has a drier texture.

Claypot Lamb Brisket 腐竹羊肉煲~ 祝你喜洋洋 CNY Spread # 6

Why is lamb or mutton auspicious for Lunar New Year? The Chinese word for lamb and mutton is 羊and it sounds similar to 洋 which means vast. 喜洋洋 means lots of joy.... It might make you laugh more as you eat. Joking :)

I love lamb and mutton and all the likes of them. It's the smell that I enjoy. But I'm not the biggest lamb fan in the house.

Teriyaki Prawns 笑哈哈 - CNY Spread #5

After making a few tedious dishes... maybe a 5 minute dish will be a good choice.

It's quite a no brainer.. with just prawns, some salt and teriyaki sauce.... oh yeah, oil as well.

Bamboo Leaf Belly Rolls 竹叶扣肉（祝你财源滚滚来）- CNY Spread #4

Showing you this recipe for now seems..... weird.

I know it seems hard to find bamboo leaves at this moment, but I think some of you might have some half used packs left over from the last dumpling session. But then again, if you really want to get it, it's usually still available at Chinese ingredient grocery shops. We do eat dumpling the whole year long, just that it's more festive to eat it during the festival.

5 Spice French Quail 芬香迎春 ~CNY Spread #3

fried :)

French quails are a type of quail. I didn't get them from France and neither were they raised in France.

I just bought them from Jusco/Aeon. Go to the poultry section. Sometimes they are thawed, sometimes they are sold frozen in packs. FYI, this is not pigeon or what is called in Cantonese as "Yu Ghap". This is "Umm Choon", from which you get those small spotty cute eggs

Peacock Steamed Fish 绰绰有余 - CNY spread #2

I didn't hunt down any peacock for this dish. Nor peahen. Nor its chicks or egg.
It's just the method of arrangement that resembles a peacock. The auspicious Chinese name I gave this dish 绰绰有余, means, more than enough. And the 绰 (cheok), sounds like the Cantonese pronunciation for peacock.

Starfish Sea Coconut Soup 海底金星- CNY spread #1

海底金星... sea coconut, carrot and starfish 海底椰，金笋，海星.

My kids squealed when they saw the starfish in the soup. Haha! Such a delight.
And my girl asked me to cook it again. She likes the taste.

I made this soup some time ago when I had guests for dinner. No one ever tasted starfish in anything before. No one said no to this bowl of soup. I'm glad everyone didn't feel disgusted.