Joyfulness Dining @ KINEX Mall Tanjong Katong 🐯 Chinese Zodiac Five Elements Lucky Meal by Master Peng Song Hua 彭崧桦

Thanks to June's invitation, I enjoyed a most interesting and delicious dinner at Joyfulness Dining in KINEX Mall at Tanjong Katong Road. Joyfulness Dining's “Chinese Zodiac Five Elements Lucky Meal” dishes are prepared to bring blessings to each Chinese zodiac sign in this Year of the Tiger 🐯

Restaurant name: Joyfulness Dining

Address: 11 Tanjong Katong Road, #02-38, Singapore 437157 (inside KINEX Mall level 2)

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Paya Lebar station

Tel: 8690 4726

Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm (opens at 8am on Sat & Sun)

Joyfulness Dining is a Chinese restaurant at level 2 of KINEX Mall.

The interior decor is contemporary, simple, elegant, with a touch of luxury. Joyfulness Dining is suitable for family gatherings.

This Chinese New Year, Joyfulness Dining presents a special menu by feng shui master Peng Song Hua 彭崧桦 designed to bring good fortune to each Chinese zodiac sign in this Year of the Tiger. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

CC BY 3.0, Link

According to ancient Chinese philosophy, the universe is made up of five elements: wood, fire, earth, water, and metal. With his deep knowledge of the Five Elements (wuxing 五行), Master Peng specially tailored dishes that harness the energy of wood, fire, earth, water and metal to boost the prosperity and fortunes of diners according to their Zodiac sign.

I came to Joyfulness Dining with my curiosity piqued by their special Chinese Zodiac with Five Elements menu and went home with a very happy tummy.

We start with the Zodiac sign Dragon. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The Dragon’s wuxing is earth, which is the source of gold. Suitable food for Dragons include those which are spicy. Yellow colour food which may be slightly sweet nourish the Dragon's spleen and digestive system.

Master Peng recommends chili crab for Dragons ($108 per serving seasonal price).

I like Joyfulness Dining's chili crab. The live crab was meaty, packed with roe, its flesh sweet and tender firm to the bite. The thick sauce was a well balanced blend of sweet, tangy, spicy and savoury umami (from the crab). There's a bit of nuttiness from finely crushed nuts in the sauce. The tasty sauce was perfect with sweet fried buns. I like the sauce so much that I was eating many spoonfuls of it neat. The intensity of flavours was just nice for me.

Wuxing of the Rabbit is wood which is ignited for fire. Fire represents vitality and prosperity. Fire implies red colour food which helps reduce fatigue and ward off colds. It also enhances self-confidence, willpower and boost strength. Fire also represents spicy food, BBQ-ed food or hotpot dishes. Image courtesy of Flickr.

For Rabbits in the family, Joyfulness Dining have Flambé BBQ Chicken which is set aflame with fragrant Chinese wine in spectacular fashion before serving 😄 Yeah..., we've seen this before but it still thrills and excites.

I was even more impressed with the succulent chicken's tender juicy meat and sweet taste with a bit of floral fragrance from the Chinese wine. $38++ per bird.

Wuxing of Horse is fire. As the Horse needs to join forces with others to prosper and succeed, foods suitable for wuxing fire, and wuxing water are good for Horses. These include seafood like fish, sea cucumber, shrimp, kelp, oysters, etc. Image courtesy of Flickr.

For Horses, Joyfulness Dining have Nyonya Asam Fish.

The large sea bass fish was smothered in a thick fiery red blanket of Nyonya style asam pedas redolent with sweet, tangy, zesty, spicy flavours. The sea bass flesh was soft-tender, sweet with a slight earthly taste.

The Goat’s wuxing is earth. Food which strengthen the wood element like tofu, mushrooms and vegetables are good for Goats. Image courtesy of Flickr.

For Goats in the family, Joyfulness Dining have Mushroom with Seasonal Vegetables ($26++ per serving).

Wuxing of the Rooster is metal. Suitable foods are white in colour including radish, potato, taro, sweet potato and ginger. (Image courtesy of Flickr.)

For Roosters, Joyfulness Dining have stir fried carrot cake with beansprouts in XO sauce. I love carrot cake and Joyfulness Dining does one of my favourite renditions of the dish. It has toasty wok hei, nice savoury umami from the XO sauce and sweetness from soft shreds of radish in the tender cubes of carrot cake. $13.80 per serving.

More Chinese Zodiac Food Guide for Year of the Tiger 🐯

Wuxing of the Rat is water. Beneficial food for Rat include yin-er (snow fungus), lotus root, lotus seed, cordyceps flowers. Soups and watery food are good for the Rat so Joyfulness Dining have prepared for them chicken soup stewed with bamboo fungus and cordyceps flowers ($12.80++ per bowl).

Wuxing of the Ox is earth. As gold comes from the earth, food which are suitable for the Ox are white and yellow in colour, like gold. These include garlic, pumpkin, ginger and pear. For the Ox, Joyfulness Dining have pork trotters in vinegar.

Wuxing of Tiger is wood. When wood burns, it creates fire which represents vitality and life. Hence, red foods like chili pepper, carrot, tomato and red wine enhance the spirit of enterprise, enthusiasm and boost fortunes of Tigers. Joyfulness Dining recommends chicken with chilli peppers for Tigers ($13.80++ per serving).

Wuxing of the Snake is fire. Wood based food are beneficial for Snake as wood is a source of fire. Suitable food include green vegetables like asparagus and mung beans which are rich in fibre and vitamins helpful in eliminating toxins from the body. For Snake, Joyfulness Dining have scallops and asparagus in XO sauce ($36++ per serving).

Wuxing of the Monkey is metal. Food that are black in colour is good for Monkey, so black beans, black fungus, black glutinous rice, and roasted food are recommended. For Monkey, Joyfulness Dining have prepared black pork balls with red wine ($28++ per serving).

Wuxing of the Dog is earth, which is rooted in fire. Fire food like those cooked in claypots and peppery food boost energy levels and improve fortunes of the Dog. Joyfulness Dining recommend claypot seafood for Dog ($128++ per serving).

Wuxing of the Pig is metal which are white in colour represented by food like scallop, fish and prawn. Joyfulness Dining recommend dry fried tiger prawns for the Pig in the family ($14++ per piece).

Family meals are great opportunities for connecting and boosting the energy flow within the family. With Joyfulness Dining's “Chinese Zodiac Five Elements Lucky Meal” designed by feng shui master Peng Song Hua 彭崧桦, everyone in the family can have an auspicious start to the Year of the Tiger.

You can also follow this Chinese Zodiac Food Guide for Year of the Tiger to eat well for the rest of the year.

May I also take this opportunity to wish you Happy New Year 🐯 Image courtesy of Flickr.

Guest post by Shirley Tan who was also one of the guests at the "Chinese Zodiac Five Elements Lucky Meal" dinner at Joyfulness Dining.

Written by Tony Boey on 14 Jan 2022