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Australia Dinner

Bailliage of South Australia, Australia
Adelaide, February 5, 2023

Chinese New Year Dinner at Shiqi
" It is the year of the Rabbit. This year will bring prosperity, hope and calm "

We celebrated the Chinese 15th lunar day that marks the first full moon of the New Year. It is known as yuanxiaojie, meaning “first night of the full moon”, a dinner held with lanterns and oranges being a large part of the celebrations.

Accordingly, the restaurant room was decorated with lanterns, oranges, gold, red envelopes and banners for the Chinese New Year. We welcomed everyone and thanked Ron Hing our Vice-Conseiller Gastronomique and the Committee for organising this dinner at Restaurant Shiqi owned by Chef Teng Fei and Amy Li. Our menu was prepared by Chef Teng with wines chosen by the Committee.

It is the year of the Rabbit. This year will bring prosperity, hope and calm because of the rabbit's characteristics. We can expect relaxation, quietness and contemplation. The rabbit is one of the luckiest of the 12 animals in the zodiac. The New Year represents washing away the bad luck and bringing in all the good luck.

The menu included some of the following:
- prawns for happiness
- fungus for fortune
- fish for always having food on the table
- noodles for long life
- oranges represent gold or money
- 2 kumquats for prosperity

Other propitious elements are:
- red packets signify good luck with money for the kids
- new clothes for luck and prosperity
- gold is associated with power, wealth, longevity, and happiness
- red is a lucky, auspicious colour in Chinese culture.

We made a toast: in Malaysia and Singapore the custom is to yell out and hold the word “yam” for as long as possible (until you run out of breath) before ending it with a short “seng” harmoniously with everyone. “Yam Seng,” or “cheers” in Chinese, is a Cantonese term that means “drink to victory”. Typically done during work functions, Chinese New Year, and any other celebratory occasions!

A second toast was of course: Vive la Chaîne!

Macarons, oranges and watermelon were served to finish dinner with plenty of gold leaf to wish our members and guests wealth, longevity, and happiness for 2023!

Serena Harrison-North
Chargée de Presse

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