Poon choi, which literally translates to “basin vegetables” in Cantonese, is a shared delicacy that is from Hong Kong and dates back seven centuries. Legend has it that when Emperor Bing of the Song Dynasty found himself near modern day Hong Kong/Guangdong area, the villagers wanted to pay their respects and feed the Emperor and his army by throwing in the most luxurious ingredients they could offer from their homes. However, due to the lack of containers, the villagers had to instead lay the prized ingredients layer by layer in a large bowl.

Poon choi is a dish that is only seen during big celebrations and during the Lunar New Year holiday. The dish symbolizes abundance in the coming year. The dish requires lots of preparation and is very time-consuming to make. The basin is assembled into a casserole where each item must be prepared separately and then layered into place. Although there are no set ingredients, there can be upwards of 15 ingredients depending on how lavish the poon choi is, including barbecue pork, abalone, sea cucumber, lamb, beef, pigskin, bean curd, taro, turnip, and napa cabbage. Prices range from $199 to $299 depending on the size and ingredients.

Poon Choi, which is literally translated to “basin food”, is just what its name suggests- a large basin filled up with up to 14 ingredients (such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, shark fin, fish maw, prawn, crab, dried mushroom, fish balls, squid, dried eel, dried shrimp, pigskin, bean-curd, daikon , bamboo shoots), assembled into a casserole. Each item is prepared separately and then layered meticulously in the basin. The final product has a stew-like consistency, with the juices of the meat fusing with other ingredients. The most prized items such as roast duck, prawns, dried mushrooms are placed on top, low-profile ingredients such as turnip and taro, are placed at the bottom to absorb the glorious gravy from the meat on top.