"Yu Sang" In Advance

Today is the seventh day of Lunar Year of Tiger. Happy birthday to everybody!

According to the Cantonese tradition, the seventh day of the New Year is the birthday of all humankind. The specialty for today is to have “Yu Sang” – “yu” means fish and “sang” means life or raw. In my childhood time, my mother used to prepare slices of raw fish on the day. My brothers and I would eat them with boiled porridge. It is a kind of delicious New Year food that I can’t forget.

Due to commercialization, the businessmen take the good meaning of “Yu Sang” and develop a kind of business product which is totally different from my childhood’s “Yu Sang.” It is sellable in almost all Chinese restaurants and the packed “Yu Sang” is available in supermarkets now.

In receiving the visit of my Deputy Dean Prof. Dr. Latiffah, we had the commercialized “Yu Sang” yesterday. We enjoyed the good meaning of “Lou Yu Sang” – getting prosperous!

We wish everyone a healthy and prosperous year!

P/S

I wish to make public one of Dr. Lat’s SMS, “My dear Dr. Chang or my otherwise good fellow Peng Kee. Thank you so much for your warmth and hospitality. I am so touched by your sincerity, openness and generosity. Truly appreciate the orchids, kuih bakul and oranges. You seem to have a lovely home for yourself and family… I am proud to have you as my colleague. Small advice from me. No matter how busy you are with work don’t forget to nurture your plants for they nourish our soul. Regards to your gracious wife. Thank you again and have a good weekend.”

My family enjoyed the delicious cheese cake from Dr. Lat this morning. Prior to that, it was Dr. Dah’s chocolate cake that added sweetness to our Chinese New Year celebration.