news

BBC Claims The Seremban-Made Yee Sang Was Created By 4 Singaporean Chefs

The article called it "Singapore's salad".

Cover image via BBC

For years, the origin of Yee Sang has been a topic of hot debate between Singapore and Malaysia, as both countries laid claims to the dish

Image via Marufish

Citing "A Toss of Yee Sang" book, Cilisos revealed that the Chinese dish was introduced by a Chinese immigrant who settled down in Seremban in the 1920s.

The man, known as Loke Ching Fatt, eventually started a catering business and introduced his own version of 'Lo Hei Yee Sang', which has become a vital part of Malaysians' Chinese New Year since the 1950s.

However, BBC claimed in a recent article that the Yee Sang we know and love today was instead created by four Singaporean chefs

According to the article, "[The] dish was brought to Singapore by Chinese immigrants in the 1930s".

Four Singaporean chefs then created their own recipe of the "salad" in 1964, which has now become the "focal point of every Singaporean Chinese New Year celebration".

The four Singaporean chefs who reportedly created the version of Yu Sheng today.

Image via Dragon Phoenix Restaurant

The chefs were held in such high-esteem that they were then dubbed as the "Four Heavenly Kings".

Naturally, Malaysians were not too pleased by the claims

Image via Twitter
Image via Facebook
Image via Twitter

One netizen said that perhaps the news portal gave credit to our neighbour because Singapore was still a part of Malaysia at that time

Image via Facebook

What do you think of the Yee Sang debate? Let us know in the comments section below!

Also, check out this video which explains what each Yee Sang ingredient represents:

Never come in between Malaysians and their food, as these previous incidents have proven:

You may be interested in: