Level up your lohei game

With Chinese New Year around the corner, your lohei journey begins. From traditional to innovative, there is a yusheng for everyone. Here are 10 memorable ones to kick off the Year of the Rat.

WHAT Pink of Health (from $10.90)
WHERE Pink Fish, Jewel Changi Airport (6909-9771)

While lohei is a communal affair, there is an option for those who want to lohei by themselves.

Pink Fish offers an individual portion of Pink of Health yusheng, with salmon cubes, carrots, orange peels and golden salted egg fish crisps for crunch.

And the best thing about a personal yusheng? You can "lo" as loudly or as meekly as you wish. The choice is all yours.

WHAT Special Edition Gold Rush Salmon yusheng ($388, with three days' notice)
WHERE Jade, The Fullerton Singapore (Tel: 6877-8943)

This may not be the most adventurous yusheng available, but it is certainly one of the prettiest.

It takes the form of an image of a rat with a traditional gold coin, and it tastes good too, with ingredients such as champagne jelly, pineapple dressing and cranberry cheese.

WHAT Kaleidoscope of Prosperity ($138, with one day's notice)
WHERE Yan (Tel: 6384-5585)

My favourite type of yusheng is the Shun De-style ones, and Yan has a good version with crispy vermicelli, shreds of purple and yellow sweet potatoes, kailan and pickled ginger. The best part is the slices of fresh yellowtail. The taste is clean, simple and addictive.

WHAT Unagi Yusheng with Crispy Udon ($88, with four days' notice)
WHERE Unagiya Ichinoji (Tel: 6268-8043)

This yusheng features grilled unagi with items such as shredded cucumber, carrot, radish, ikura and pork floss.

WHAT Yu Sheng (from $98)
WHERE Restaurant Jag (Tel: 3138-8477)

Who says yusheng must come from a Chinese restaurant? The one-Michelin-starred outfit presents a French take on the celebratory dish with traditional Chinese ingredients, colourful seasonal vegetables and a selection of wild-foraged herbs from the French Alps, topped with scallops, prawns and salmon.

And for a truly luxurious experience add an entire tin of Beluga caviar ($398).

WHAT Healthy Yusheng ($68)
WHERE Auntie's Wok and Steam, Andaz Singapore (Tel: 6408-1288 )

Another big food trend is healthy dishes, and if you're into that, the Healthy Yusheng is for you. This dine-in only item features a variety of fruits and vegetables (kale, green apples and pomegranates) and superfoods (flaxseeds, chia seeds and almond flakes), with sliced Scottish smoked salmon.

WHAT Shun De Yusheng (from $118, with three days' notice)
WHERE Famous Treasure (Tel: 9730-7548)

This Chinese restaurant at Capitol Piazza has created plenty of celebrity buzz recently - Michelle Chong and Zoe Tay are some of the famous faces who are frequent diners there.

The balance of savoury and umami, the freshness of the fish, and the simplicity of the ingredients make this one of the standouts from Famous Treasure's admirable list of CNY dishes. You can also order this from the regular menu.

WHAT Prosperity Yusheng with Deep-fried Soft Shell Crab in Chilli Crab Sauce (from $88)
WHERE Sessions, Resorts World Sentosa (Tel: 6577-6688)

You can get the chilli crab experience in your yusheng too. Sessions' Prosperity Yusheng comes with deep fried soft shell crab highlighted by a tingly chilli crab sauce dressing. Mango, red ginger, capsicum and nacho chips give it crunch.

WHAT Blissful Yusheng (from $58.80)
WHERE SE7ENTH, Oakwood Premier AMTD Singapore (Tel: 6812-6050)

If you're planning a lohei session for the office and don't want to travel too far out, this is a good version found in the Central Business District. It is simple and traditional, but you'll get slices of abalone for extra "huat". Also, if you order this to go, you get a 15 per cent discount.

WHAT 'Ma-Luck' Fa Cai Yusheng ($98)
WHERE The Salon, Hotel Fort Canning (Tel: 6799-8809)

Mala is one of the biggest recent food trends, so it is not a surprise to find it in yusheng.

The Ma-Luck Fa Cai yusheng is a take on the mala xiang guo. The ingredients are expected, but the highlight is the blend of herbs and spices such as nutmeg, star anise, dried chilli, chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorn. Like a mala pot, you can ask for moderately spicy or go for a full-on spice attack.