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saturday jan 172004 1 economist sun suntribune diversions fresh food fresh start chinese celebrate new year with menu filled with luck by linda johnson staff writer christina li bites into a golden sweet cake a special treat eaten only at chinese new year she has many reasons to smile as with most of the foods eaten during the biggest chinese holiday of the year the cake not only tastes good it also brings good luck in every bite chinese new year begins thursday and runs 15 days once known as spring festival the lunar new year signalled the renewed fertility of the earth today it symbolizes a fresh beginning traditional foods and ingredi ents reflect that meaning select ed to play a special role during the holiday because their names sound similar to all the good things one hopes to enjoy throughout the year the chinese like to play with phonetics said ms li who grew up in hong kong and is business development director for the ambassador group they believe what you take in brings you good luck which is why new year cakes are particularly special cake is pronounced go in chinese and sounds similar to the word that means rising implying rising fortune and success eaten at lunch or brunch new years cakes are made with rice flour which symbolizes cohesive- ness savoury cakes include taro and turnip cakes of sweet cakes two of the most popular are the traditional red new year sweet cake made of brown sugar flour and water and the golden sticky cake its really different ms li said of her favourite adding the cus tardflavoured treat has only become popular in the past two or three years christina li of the ambassador chinese cuisine restaurant on west beaver creek in richmond hill displays chinese new years dishes including a new years cake fish fore ground made of rice powder and sugar second row sweet cakes golden sticky cakes turnip cakes and taro cakes third row duo chips sesame smiley balls peanut in spicy shell and golden dumpling ms li holds a traditional banquet good luck dish inset made with lucky ingredients 7 dry oysters chinese black mushrooms black seamoss dried scallops and corn poy staff photossjoerd witteveen m new years cakes are steamed and then left to stand a few days allowing the flavours to mix and mature they are then sliced panfried and served warm because the cakes are made mainly from root vegetables they were available in winter and to poor families however it is customary to add special prestigious items such as pork and shrimp traditional dinner foods cer tainly included in the new years eve feast are also filled with sig nificance common items are fish which sounds like excess mean ing there is food left over black mushrooms includes the word for east the first of the four direc- tions meaning you will have gods blessings from all direc- tions and your path throughout the new year will be eased black sea moss or fat choy a typical part of a new years greeting meaning growing fortune and dried oysters sounds like good things think of it you have wealth fortune and good things what else can you ask for ms li said with a smile as well as linguistic similarity foods are also chosen for their colour shape and flavour so it is customary to eat crispy pastries and nuts which are golden a symbol of wealth or fortune and sweet a symbol of sweetness or happiness in life golden dumplings and fried chicken are also common for their auspicious colour while chinese people cele brate the new year on the same day no matter where they live in the world the foods they eat vary from place to place chef fred oh owner of the culinary arts centre in richmond hill and winner of many international culinary competitions said traditional see food page 16 v monkey jan 22 is the first day of the year 4701 on the chinese calendar the year of the monkey the- coming year should be a tinmpf progress advancement and learning i the monkejus intellectually agile and this year shmmtfie marked by invention 1 improvisation and success even in apparently impossible ventures r 4 f t i f ie year ahead will see everyone more likely tospeculate a w gamble owisky vemures avoiding direct confrontation petiole will more ely to gethead by tryingtq outsmart one bper in politics diplomacy high finance and business 0 1 i pi me chinese zodiaclthe monkey is aj entoraridimproviser he is tfufck-wittea- sver flexible and innovative 1 a sj j i 1 f t i ople bonrunngthjs yhiar will bo successful at whltrthey choose 0 do onie ofher hand they are likeffwhave a seriority complexfandsack respect for oth 1 1 theymaybaemelykelfish gocenojcandminthey tendto be alohs and extremely competitive i ft in the chinesecalendar years are m ometimep couritewna linear cyclf bstead bfnventing 12 special symbols for e purposhjeach year is represented by annimal rv- f c