Tossing salad

Am hosting a dinner for a good friend visiting from HK this weekend and thought it will be civilised to toss some fish with assorted vegetables into the air. For some silly reason, it is not a tradition to do here in Shanghai.

Here is how we toss fish salad properly:

Step 1:
Say Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财 (getting rich) and Wan Shi Ru Yi 万事如意(your wishes come true) when putting down the fish 鱼生 on the table.

Step 2:
Say Nian Nian You Yu 年年有余 (to have a surplus every year) when placing Yu Sheng 鱼生 onto the shredded carrot.

Step 3:
Say Hong Yun Dang Tou 红运当头 (red luck flourishing) when putting chilli, pepper and five-spice powder to the Yu Sheng 鱼生.

Step 4:
Say You Shui Duo Duo 油水多多 (business to be flourishing) when adding the olive oil to the Yu Sheng 鱼生 .

Step 5:
Say Man Di Huang Jin 满地黄金 (to obtain abundant wealth) when adding the thin golden crackers.

Step 6:
Say Tian Tian Mi Mi 甜甜蜜蜜 (business to be flourishing) when sprinkling the dressing.

Step 7:
Say Da Ji Da Li 大吉大利 (to be very auspicious) when adding lime juice to the ingredient.

Step 8:
And lastly, the cue to start tossing is 愿大家捞个风生水起! May everyone here see their fortune rise higher with each toss. The higher you toss, the better.

Time to show these clueless natives how to celebrate Chinese New Year properly!