Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy New Year! As JJH already noted, this year is our Ben Ming Nian, meaning that it is our birth year, or the year of the Ox. In traditional Chinese thought, life is viewed in groups of 12 years. For example, at 12 a child enters adolescence; at 24 a person enters society for the first time; at 36 a person reaches maturity; at 48 a person should have accomplished something meaningful; at 60 comes retirement; at 72 one should enjoy old age; and if a person lives to the age of 84 or 96, every day is counted as a blessing. One consequence is that every 12th year is viewed as a huge obstacle to overcome in someone's life.

To complicate things, this year I am also Fan(ing) Tai Sui, meaning "offending" Tai Sui. According to Chinese mythology, Tai Sui is a position in the celestial heavens who is in charge of determining the annual fortunes of us all. This position happens to coincide with the 12 earthly branches which coincides with the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. I can't really explain it, but you Fan Tai Sui if it's your Ben Ming Nian. Typically, that means that you will not have such a smooth year.

Coincidence or not, I have already noticed that things aren't going my way...

Last week, I intentionally left Palo Alto at 5:30PM to get to San Francisco (45 mins away) and then to Berkeley (20 mins) to have some pizza before driving up to Tahoe. As fortune would have it, the Cheeseboard Pizza Collective closed by the time we arrived at 8:45PM. Seriously, why on earth did it take us three hours to get to Berkeley? Still, I am hopeful that my Ben Ming Nian won't be as bad as the Fen Shui masters have predicted.

In Chinese culture, there is a belief in balance. So everytime I experience something bad, it means that good is to come. Last weekend, good came! Three feet of snow! That is all I am going to say about that.

In honor of the Chinese New Year, AK and I went to Jai Yun in SF. A fan of pre fixes and omakases, the idea of doing a Chinese one was intriguing. When you first walk in, you wouldn't even think that the restaurant was pre fixe only. It is unpretentitous and gets extra brownie points for that. Jai Yun offers five different pre fixes at 55/65/80/100/150. There is no menu and no way to assess what the differences between them are. Presumably the quality of ingredients increases with the price. AK and I opted to go down the middle figuring that would be the safest bet.

Here I chronicle our food adventure...

Minced Tofu with Cilantro

Pickled Cabbage

Pickled Cucumbers

Five Spice Braised Beef Slices

Shanghai Smoked Fish

"Underwater Vegetable" aka Lotus Root Salad

Mushrooms and Jellyfish Salad

Vegetarian Chicken - aka Bean Curd sheets that taste like Chicken!

"Kung Tsai" (Emperor's Vegetables)

Fried Fish

Mushroom and Veggie Medley

Abalone Foo Young

Wheat Glutten with Mushrooms

Shrimp Delight

?Mushroom Skewer Basil

Chinese Okra with Gingko Nuts

Sauteed Squid

Fish with Corn and Peas

Soy Beans with Silken Tofu

Meatballs with Crab Sauce

Kung Pao Chicken

Celery with Five Spices Dry Tofu

Crispy Eggplant with Scallions

Candies

My favorite dish would have to be the Mushroom Skewer, the Eggplant, and the Meatballs. The food was good. I can't rave enough about the use of textures by Jai Yun. This is truly a Chinese culinary adventure. I even like how there is no drink menu, despite the presence of beer and wine on the premises. You just walk up to the shelf containing all of the wine and point to what you want. How is that for being unpretentious! I still hold that I overpaid for this meal. I think you should defintely go at least once, though if I ever go back, I am going to stick with the 55 pre fixe.

Jai Yun 3.5/5