Have you already broken your New Year's resolutions since January 1? Don't worry: February 10 marks the start of the Chinese Year of the Dragon, promising nobility, honor, luck and success.
Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is the biggest holiday in China, East and Southeast Asia. Food and drink play an important role in the festivities, with special New Year's dishes rich in symbolism being served.
Yusheng's 'prosperity toss' salad is the most famous; "yusheng" means "raw fish" and sounds like the Chinese word for "abundance". The idea is that the higher the ingredients are thrown into the air with sticks, the more luck will descend in the next twelve months.
Dumplings are another traditional dish, as the number of dumplings eaten corresponds to one's wealth for the following year. The Cantonese word for fish - 'yu' - sounds similar to the word for 'wish' and is preferably served whole, as the head and tail symbolize a good beginning and end. A whole chicken, meanwhile, represents rebirth, long strings of "longevity" noodles represent longevity, while meals often end with nian gao, a sweet glutinous rice cake that symbolizes reaching new heights in the coming year.
Chinatown and the West End are the focus of London's New Year celebrations, the largest outside Asia. Details are yet to be confirmed, but this will usually involve a parade from Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square via Shaftesbury Avenue, with plenty of food along the way. For more food inspiration, check out our guide to the best Chinese restaurants in London, the capital's best dim sum and where Chinese chefs themselves like to eat.
However, here we've selected the London restaurants offering the best Chinese New Year celebrations, from Michelin-starred blowouts and special menus to lion dances and wishing trees. However, fire breathing is optional.
This list will be updated as the Lunar New Year approaches.Hakkasan
Michelin-starred London Hakkasans couple are getting ready to celebrate this Chinese New Year with wishing trees, lion dances, champagne cocktails and a New Year's party menu (£128). It starts with a 'Wishes of Prosperity' dim sum duo of lobster and cheese lantern puffs and black truffle dumplings with wild mushrooms, followed by smoked 'eight treasure' duck and wild red prawns with braised dragon's beard noodles. The Lion Dance will take place at Hakkasan Hanway Place on February 8 at 6:30 PM and at Hakkasan Mayfair on February 10 at 5 PM. Don't forget to hang your ted ribbon on the wishing tree when you leave.
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How many? £128 (for a minimum of two people), or order a la carte
When? January 30 - February 25
17 Bruton Street, W1J 6QB and 8 Hanway Place, W1T 1HD, hakkasan.comHouse of Ming
The St James' Court hotel is the London outpost of India's chic Taj group, whose in-house restaurant is the House of Ming, which has established itself as one of the best Chinese in New Delhi. It's a beautiful looking and smelling space, all-gilded ceilings and fragrant incense, made even more attractive this Lunar New Year with 'lucky bamboo' centerpieces and the traditional red envelopes. Six specials represent good luck for the Lunar New Year; Yunnan-style lamb with celery and ginger chili sounds the tastiest of all. Wash it all down with a Firestorm, a cocktail made with dried oranges, five-spice and a flaming garnish.
How many? Chinese New Year dishes from £24
St. James' Court, A Taj Hotel, Buckingham Gate 54, SW1E 6AF, houseofming.co.ukWhen? February 9-11
Mimi Mei Fair
While some restaurants pack up their Christmas decorations every year, one wonders if Mimi owner Samyukta Nair keeps her wish trees in her attic every winter, ready to unwrap the next Lunar New Year. For the Year of the Dragon, the pair of trees are dressed in auspicious colors of blue, green, pink and maroon in honor of the wooden dragon, strewn with hydrangeas and hung with gilded cages where guests place the red envelopes containing their wishes. To eat, a "basket of riches" with a trio of dim sum followed by crispy Norfolk pork with pineapple and pomelo or tiger prawns is served with egg white and black bean sauce; to finish, there is a chocolate bar served with mandarin and pecan nuts.
55 Curzonstraat, W1J 8PG, mimimeifair.comHow many? Three courses, £128, including a welcome cocktail Courvoisier Cognac
When? February 1-24
Pan-Pacific London
80 Houndsditch, EC3A 7AB, panpacific.comThe Singapore-based high-rise hotel across Liverpool Street has a number of offers this Chinese New Year. Afternoon tea features a collaboration between the hotel's pastry chef, Francesco Mannino, and Bun House co-founder and Chef Z, featuring lamb and bamboo shoot sandwiches, alongside sui mai and patisserie baskets. On the evening of Chinese New Year, Straits Kitchen restaurant serves a six-course meal, starting with a yu sheng bluefin tuna salad, followed by Wagyu steak, braised abalone, steamed turbot and a dulcey cremeux dessert.
How many? Afternoon tea, £68; six-course menu, € 138,-
When? Afternoon tea, February 8 to March 25; dinner, only on February 10th
25-34 Cockspurstraat, SW1Y 5BN, gouqi-restaurants.co.ukGouqi
This chic Trafalgar Square Chinese is overseen by two Hakkasan alumni: friendly restaurant director Alan Tang and chef Chee Hwee Tong, who gave the original Hanway Place Hakkasan its Michelin star. High standards in service and cooking are therefore virtually guaranteed, but so are high prices. But if you can't take the boat out on New Year's Day, when can you? Tables of four or more must order an eight-course set menu (£128), while smaller groups are free to choose from the likes of pork belly with abalone in premium oyster sauce and a kumquat and coffee dessert in the shape of a yin-yang dragon shape. The restaurant will be decorated with Chinese red lanterns, an illuminated 10-metre dragon and fireworks, while there will be free toys for children. Please note that tables are served in three sessions at 5:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM.
How many? Eight courses (tables of four or more), £128; three courses (tables of 1-3) approximately £100
113 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PE, daddybao.co.ukWhen? February 9-10
Papa Bao
Chinese New Year isn't just for China: Taiwan also celebrates the Lunar New Year, and this Tooting purveyor of the island's most famous culinary exhibitor is going all out to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. The all-day festive menu (£60) includes venison and plum bao (tofu and plums for vegetarians), but there's more on the menu than just bao, with dishes chosen to represent good luck, from dumplings cooked on old Chinese gold bars corpses and fried nian gao, a traditional rice cake that represents prosperity. Still hungry? Add a whole bream for an extra €15.
53 Parklaan, W1K 1QA, chinatanglondon.co.ukHow many? Four courses, £60 (£50 for a vegetarian/pescatarian menu)
When? February 11
China Tang
Level 35, 31 St Thomas Street, SE1 9QU, ting-shangri-la.comIf the Dorchester location wasn't enough of an indication that China Tang is more luxurious than the average Cantonese, then silver-plated chopsticks, embroidered napkins and wallpaper imported from China and hand-finished on site should indicate the size of the final bill. For such a glamorous setting (you could be dining on a Jazz Age ocean liner) the refreshingly simple menu offers a chic take on Anglo-Chinese favourites, although for Lunar New Year in addition to the a la carte menu there is also a special menu that For prosperity, mix the salad with raw fish, lobster with XO sauce on crispy noodles and wok-fried whole tiger shrimp. Want to be sure about your finances in 2024? Order 'Five Blessings Descend Upon Your Home', a dish of mixed seafood, poultry and Japanese abalone to share for £588. Lion dancers will perform at the dinner on February 9 and 10.
How many? Chinese New Year dishes from £20
When? February 9-11
15-17 Broadwick Street, W1F 0DL and Broadgate Circle, EC2M 2QS, yauatcha.comTing
The towering Ting, on the 35th floor of the Shard, may offer one of the best vantage points in London on New Year's Eve, but it's also a real eye-catcher for the Lunar New Year, although fireworks may be harder to spot. The New Year's menu is designed to symbolize happiness and prosperity: crispy duck appetizers with pancakes and oscietra caviar; barbecue pork belly with Chinese mustard; Stir-fried spicy shrimps with dried crab, crispy garlic and dried chili. Luck for the coming year may not be guaranteed, but the views will at least make you feel like you're on top of the world.
How many? Chinese New Year dishes from £21
17 Berkeley Street, W1J 8EA,@mrbenmccormack parkchinois.comWhen? February 9-13
Yauatcha
London's dim sum and Cantonese specialists, in Soho and the City, are offering a nearly month-long celebration of the Year of the Dragon. The Chinese New Year menu consists of seven Chinese festive dishes based on auspicious ingredients, from abalone chicken shui mai in the dim sum dish to Alaska king crab in kam heong sauce with taro and dried shrimp, plus a Lucky Dragon petit gâteau, a white sesame sponge and praline cake with kumquat compote and ginger cream. There will be a lion dance in Yauatcha City on February 9 at 7pm and in Soho on February 10 at 3pm.
How many? Sharing menu for minimum two guests, £98; individual Chinese New Year dishes from £12
When: January 30 - February 25
Park Chinois
Even by Mayfair standards, Park Chinois takes opulence to a new level of gilded, velvet-covered ostentation, making the restaurant's more-is-more approach to everything from interior design to culinary inspiration the perfect meeting place for the lunar new year. Eleven days of immersive entertainment are promised from February 1 to 11, including nightly lion dances, live entertainment from the in-house band and a Chinese drummer on February 9 and 10. To eat, you can expect, for example, wok-fried abalone or double-fried abalone. boiled fish head followed by New Zealand scampi with truffle or rib-eye from Australian Wagyu with pineapple XO sauce. Do you really want to show off? Pre-order "Eight Treasure" roasted suckling pig with glutinous rice, Chinese pork sausage, salted duck egg and dried prawns (£438).
How many? Chinese New Year dishes from £18
When? February 1-11
