Cold platter: four happiness wheat gluten [Photo provided to Shanghai Star]

Cold platter: the petite Four/ smooth six/ fortune-making eight

The number of cold platters largely depends on the number of people at the table, but whatever the number, it has to be even and is bestowed with an auspicious meaning. As these dishes are mostly prepared and placed on the dining table hours before the New Year’s Eve dinner, almost as if they are part of the festival decorations, the platters all have something in common: tasty even when enjoyed cold. Staples include smoked fish, dried and steamed sea eel, four happiness wheat gluten, and a variety of leaf mustard, locally known as the silver leaf mustard and tossed with bamboo shoots in sweet and sour sauce. The last one is also seen as the decisive factor to verify if the family is Shanghai native.