Have you seen this lion?

Be on the look out for the Lion Dance. The lion is bigger than 2 grown men, and has been known to eat lucky red packet treats right out of innocent by-standers' hands. Spotting the Lion Dancing and jumping has been known to bring good luck to viewers during Chinese New Year.

Lion Mug Shot, be on the look out

Happy Chinese New Year! I love saying that, as Chinese New Year celebrations last for 2 weeks from the New Moon to the Full Moon. On the evening of the full moon, it is the last day of Chinese New Year, and is celebrated with the Festival of Lights. During the New Year celebration, I have come to love seeing my local Lion Dance Team. The team was the brain child of The Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville, and they perform for free all over Nashville and surrounding areas.

The other brain child of The Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville (CAAN) is the Annual Chinese New Year Dinner held at the Golden Coast restaurant, 1722 W End Ave, Nashville, TN (615) 321-8882. CAAN offers a 10-Course Good Luck Chinese Banquet, with a different menu each year. I look forward to this event every year because it is a way to break bread with my friends, celebrate the New Year, feel connected with my heritage, and celebrate my ancestors who came before me. Before CAAN came to town, there was nothing like this celebration, and there were no good luck Lion Dances to be seen in Nashville.

Dessert sweet red bean soup AKA Joy Luck Soup

On the menu for the 10-Course Chinese Dinner was the following:
1. Seafood hot and sour soup
2. Assorted Chinese appetizers
3. Princess scallops
4. Roasted Hong Kong style duck
5. Orange beef
6. Dried shitake mushrooms and bok choy
7. Sesame chicken
8. Crispy shrimp
9. Mixed vegetables with dried tofu sticks
10. Dragon flounder pearl
Bonus. Joy Luck Sweet Soup

Just a note about the banquet recipes, it has no mention of fresh silken tofu, or really white foods because white is the symbol of death, and it is no good to eat that during the Chinese New Year celebration. As most people know, I dislike fresh silken tofu (aroma and flavor), so it makes me all the happier to leave it out of my diet during the 2 weeks of Chinese New Year! The bonus dish Joy Luck Sweet Soup embodies the symbolism of the joy and luck with the tapioca pearls glistening in happiness, the red beans and red color of the soup is for good luck and vibrancy of life, and the ginko nuts symbolize gold ingots and wealth. Chinese New Year is all about starting anew and putting the past behind, honoring new friends and remember loved ones who have passed on, and being thankful for the good fortune of the last year and looking forward in hope of healthy, loving, prosperous and wonderful new year.

Happy New Year everyone! If you have any new year's resolutions that went to the wayside a couple weeks ago, feel free to think of Chinese New Year as a "re-do" or "do over" and start anew. Good Luck friends!