By Annette Chan
10 December 2021
Copyright © 2022 LOCALIIZ | All rights reserved
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Header image courtesy of China Tang Landmark
Originally published by Catharina Cheung. Last updated by Beverly Ngai.
Besides family reunions, temple visits, and sharing blessings, Chinese New Year is a time for sumptuous feasting—a glorious, week-long marathon of poon choi (盆菜; “basin feast”), puddings, and other auspicious delights that mark the traditional celebrations. And yet, as many of us know, the planning and preparation that comes with all the dinner get-togethers can threaten to dampen the fun a little. So to take some of the load off your hands and help you ring in the Year of the Tiger in grand style, we’ve scoured the city to find the best Chinese New Year menus to enjoy with your loved ones!
Get your year off to a spicy good start with Michelin-recommended Sichuan restaurant Chilli Fagara’s lavish festive spread. Adding a touch of heat and flair to the traditional Chinese New Year mainstays, chef Chan Kai-ying has prepared a wide selection of limited-edition mains designed to deliver a wealth of fortune and flavour.
Look forward to meaty highlights like the crispy-fried mandarin fish in tangy chilli sauce ($388), stir-fried abalone ($88 per piece), stir-fried premium mud crab ($488), and tea-infused chicken ($298 per half portion), alongside spruced-up vegetarian delights like the Sichuan-style taro bird nest with water bamboo and wild mushrooms ($288) and trio vegetables wrapped in bean curd skin ($168). If you need a gift for your foodie friend or family member, Chilli Fagara is also offering two festive Chinese New Year hampers (starting from $698) filled with the restaurant’s signature sauces, house-ground spices, and other edible goodies!
Chilli Fagara, 7 Old Bailey Street, Central | (+852) 2796 6866
When: From 17 January to 15 February
Leave it to Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Yat Tung Heen to prepare a tongue-tantalising Chinese New Year feast that will impress all the discerning gourmands and epicureans in your life. Carefully designed around iconic festive classics and prized seasonal seafood, the curated à la carte menu features standout dishes like the steamed fish leopard coral garoupa ($1,680); braised whole abalone, dried oysters, black mushrooms, sea cucumber, and lettuce in abalone sauce ($988); sautéed tiger prawns with water chestnuts and broccoli ($488); and marinated kind razor clams with shredded chicken ($888).
For those who prefer to take their festive celebrations home, Yat Tung Heen has you covered with its takeaway deluxe abalone poon choi (starting from $2,888 for six), a big bowl feast brimming with succulent abalone, ocean-fresh prawns and oysters, roasted goose, marinated chicken, pork knuckle, and more.
Yat Tung Heen, Level B2, Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan | (+852) 2710 1093
When: From 1 to 15 February
Helmed by award-winning executive chef Jacky Chung Chi-keung, modern-chic Cantonese establishment Yue is ushering the new year with a promising line-up of auspicious Canton dishes. Yue’s New Year set menu ($5,288 for six) keeps to tradition with time-honoured favourites like roasted suckling pig, stir-fried oyster with Chinese lettuce and black boss, fried rice and abalone, and crispy roasted chicken, while adding in a dash of creative local flavour with dishes like deep-fried crab shell with crabmeat and onions, and sweet red bean soup with glutinous rice dumplings, lotus seed, and aged tangerine peel. Dial your festive spirit up a notch and get your table to toss up some good fortunes with a traditional lo hei prosperity salad ($688)!
Yue, 2/F, Sheraton Hotel, 9 Yi Tung Road, Tung Chung, Lantau Island | (+852) 2535 0028
When: Now until 28 February
Poon choi is a harbinger of prosperity and a must-have during the Lunar New Year, but this meat-and-seafood-laden communal dish is often a no-go for vegans and vegetarians. However, Green Common is making sure that plant-based eaters do not have to miss out on the festivities this year, presenting the Omni Kinder festive poon choi ($638). Filled to the brim with 20 nutritious and vegan ingredients, including mochi kinchaku with Omnipork, golden tremell and purple sweet potato, Omnipork tofu meatballs, Unlimeat plant-based beef slices, a medley of mixed mushrooms, and more, this poon choi feast will have you feeling cosy, satisfied, and properly nourished.
If you are hankering for more vegan delights, Green Common is also launching an enticing selection of plant-based Chinese dishes at a few selected stores this season, with notable picks including the Omnicrab maw soup, sand ginger mushroom fen pi, and Unlimeat beef and turnip stew.
China Tang Landmark is pulling out all the stops this Chinese New Year with an exquisite ensemble of festive delicacies. Right on brand with its elegant surroundings and usual menu of classy Chinese offerings, the seasonal dishes meld together tradition and modern sophistication, with highlights such as the braised pork belly and taro with preserved vegetables and 30-year dried tangerine peel ($688); braised chicken with Yunnan black mushroom ($988); deep-fried sesame ball with seafood sauce, and steamed fish head and belly with chopped chilli and homemade rice sheets ($1,088). Remember to save room for dessert—the sublime deep-fried pudding with imperial bird’s nest and red bean paste ($188) is a worthy twist on the classic Chinese pudding.
China Tang Landmark, Shop 411–413, 4/F, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Central | (+852) 2522 2148
When: 15 January to 15 February
Set against the glittering backdrop of the Victoria Harbour in one of the most luxurious dining spaces in Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental’s renowned fine-dining Chinese restaurant Man Wah is terrific terrain to explore the culinary depths of classic Chinese New Year cuisine. Welcome the new year by enjoying an array of celebratory dim sum and Chinese New Year specialities carefully crafted by executive chef Wong Wing-keung.
Must-orders on the festive menu are the limited-edition aged tangerine peel turnip cake, crispy sea cucumber with abalone sauce, braised spotted grouper fillet, and stir-fried prawn with supreme broth—all of which bear auspicious well-wishes of prosperity and good fortune, according to tradition.
Man Wah, 25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central | (+852) 2825 4003
If poon choi is on the cards for your festive feasting this year, then Island Shangri-La’s acclaimed Summer Palace should be on your short-list. The prestige fortune poon choi ($6,888 for six) comes overflowing with premium seafood bounties like whole 32-head Yoshihama abalone, Kansari sea cucumber, Souya scallops, baked live prawns and more.
For a slightly more affordable option, the prosperity poon choi ($4,388 for six) is your best bet, loaded with braised whole three-head abalone, pan-fried stuffed fish, dried oysters, and Souya scallops. To seal the deal, both poon choi sets come with complimentary Chinese New Year puddings in the shape of koi fish to bring you good luck in the year to come.
Summer Palace, Level 5, Island Shangri-La, Supreme Court Road, Admiralty | (+852) 2820 8552
For a takeaway option, Dynasty Garden is piling up gourmet pots of carefully layered festive goodies to cater to families that want to indulge in a beautifully presented banquet feast in the comfort of their own homes. Available in sizes for two people ($388), six people ($888), and twelve people ($1,688), the takeaway poon choi set features everything from deluxe seafood like braised whole abalone, fish maw, dried scallops, oysters, and pan-fried prawn, to poultry favourites like roasted duck, goose web, and poached chicken. Advance order is required.
Dynasty Garden, Level 1, Goldin Financial Global Centre, 17 Kai Cheung Road, Kowloon Bay | (+852) 3188 2153
T’ang Court ensures that you’ll get a good dose of festive spirit with its vibrant Chinese New Year menus put together by chefs Kwong Wai-keung and Wong Chi-fai. Tuck into fortuitous speciality dishes like braised bird’s nest with egg white topped with Alaskan crab meat and roe; stir-fried sliced fresh lobster with water chestnut and crab roe; and pan-fried oysters filled with Chinese celery and coriander, accompanied by conpoy stuffed turnip.
Alternatively, stop by during lunchtime for their festive dim sum lunch menu, populated by the likes of steamed semi-dried oyster with shrimp paste, sea moss, and abalone sauce; fish maw and black dumplings; and steamed shrimp and Chinese celery dumpling with edible gold leaf. As if all that weren’t enough, T’ang Court is also offering various poon choi takeaway sets (starting from $2,888 for four) in the lead-up to Chinese New Year.
T’ang Court, 1/F & 2/F, The Langham Hong Kong, 8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 2132 7898
When: 1 to 7 February (Chinese New Year menus); 18 to 31 January (poon choi takeaway sets)
Looking for an unconventional way to enjoy your Chinese New Year feast? Head over to Radical Chic for Italian haute cuisine with an auspicious Chinese twist! You heard right—in celebration of Chinese New Year, the avant-garde fine-dining Italian restaurant is rolling out a radical Chinese New Year menu ($1,880) that navigates two distinct culinary cultures to bring forth a creative gastronomic journey unlike any other.
Start your meal with appetisers like the ice lettuce and mustard dressing with crispy rice, black ear mushroom, and chilli dusk and chickpea soup with guanciale wrapped scampi skewer, before diving into pasta courses and mains like the Sichuan pepper pigeon paired with potato galette and spinach or the poached grouper fillet with braised cabbage and goji berry. To cap it all off, dessert comes in the form of an Asian spices-infused sorbet and a zingy tangerine tart. For those inclined to a boozy celebration, an exclusive preview of the festive menu with six wine pairings ($3,380) is offered as part of a collaboration with celebrity sommelier Bernice Liu.
Radical Chic, International Commerce Centre (ICC), Shop B1, Level 101, 1 Austin Road West, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 3618 7880
When: 25 January to 6 February (Chinese New Year menu); 11 to 18 January (festive menu)
Cantonese fine-dining stalwart Ming Court always cooks up something special to greet the Lunar New Year. This year, executive chef Li Yuet-faat and his team have gone above and beyond to present a slew of festive delicacies ranging from dim sum and à la carte specials to festive set menus for two to four people.
Tantalise your palate with morsels of mouth-watering dim sum like lobster and scallop steamed dumplings with crab roe and egg white ($98) and deep-fried shrimp spring roll with shredded chicken ($88), available for lunch from 1 to 10 February. Wander over to the à la carte specialities menu to find unmissable culinary creations including pan-fried Yunnan ham, dried oyster, and bacon with honey osmanthus sauce ($428) and stir-fried dried oyster, cured duck liver sausage and carrot served with lettuce wrap ($388), which are available for lunch and dinner from 1 to 10 February.
Stumped by what dishes to order? The Chinese New Year set menu ($4,888 for four) will have you set and sorted with a pre-arranged feast of auspicious eats, as will the four-person Chinese New Year festive casserole ($1,388), which features luxurious ingredients like whole abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, dried oyster, and more! Takeaway option for the casserole set is available as well.
Ming Court, Level 6, Cordis, Hong Kong, 555 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok | (+852) 3552 3300
When: 1 to 10 February (Dim sum, à la carte, and Chinese New Year Set menu); 28 January to 6 February (Chinese New Year festive casserole)
A treasure trove of Chinese New Year delights awaits at The Legacy House, where head chef Li Chi-wai is paying homage to long-standing festive culinary traditions using the finest and most prized ingredients of Cantonese cuisine. Designed for sharing, the fu gui chicken ($1,688 for up to 10) and prosperity poon choi ($4,888) will make for showstopping additions to your Lunar New Year feasting.
Meanwhile, the eight-course Chinese New Year Delights menu ($2,380 per person) is an exuberant way to kick off the new year with a bang, with well-rounded dishes like steamed spotted grouper fillet with matsutake mushroom, braised whole abalone with pork knuckle and pomelo pith, and braised porcini noodles with fish maw putting the Michelin-recommended establishment’s culinary finesse on full display.
The Legacy House, 5/F, Rosewood Hong Kong, Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 3891 8732
When: 1 to 10 February
Mix up your Chinese New Year feast with Sexy Crab’s delectable poon choi dishes featuring premium crabs as the hero ingredient! The crab roe big bowl feast with fish maw and abalone ($2,888 for six) comes glamorously layered with 12 fresh hairy crabs, in addition to coveted ingredients like soy-braised pork knuckle, black moss, Hokkaido scallops, braised goose webs, tiger prawns, steamed farm chicken, and braised pork belly.
If you’ve got a big family of hungry mouths to feed, look no further than the luxurious hairy crab roe big bowl feast with fish maw and abalone ($3,888 for 10), which is served with 20 handpicked, Hokkaido hairy crabs alongside double portions of crab roe, premium Korean abalone, crafted Spanish Ibérico pork, New Zealand codfish maw, among other tasty treats.
Sexy Crab, Shop 401A, 4/F, K11 Musea, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 6655 7629
When: 28 January to 7 February
This Chinese New Year, take in harbour views and relish a symphony of fine flavours at one of the city’s most acclaimed Cantonese restaurants, Lung King Heen. Get ready to embark on an unforgettable culinary journey as you taste your way through Lung King Heen’s well-composed six-course Chinese New Year menu ($1,680 per person).
Tempt your taste buds with the Lung King Heen appetiser platter featuring the likes of deep-fried Japanese oyster and barbecued pork with honey sauce, before chowing down on favourites like abalone casserole with air-dried seafood and mushroom, simmered king prawn with spicy plum sauce, and fried rice with minced Wagyu beef. Ending the meal on a sweet note, the worthy finale is a light yet flavourful sweetened ginger soup with sweet potato and glutinous rice dumplings.
Lung King Heen, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central | (+852) 3196 8888
When: 28 January to 6 February
Whether you’re dining in or taking out this year, Ying Jee Club will not let you down. Available upon advance pre-order, the eight-course Chinese New Year set menu ($2,388 per person; $12,888 for 10) allows diners to indulge in exquisite Cantonese festive dishes like braised black mushroom with shrimp paste, scallop and crab roe, imperial bird’s nest broth with fish maw, and steamed leopard coral garoupa with ginger and spring onions.
Those who are celebrating at home are equally in for a treat. Ying Jee Club is bringing back their deluxe Fó Tiào Qiáng ($11,380 for four; $22,880 for eight), a Fujian-style stew jam-packed with nourishing and luxurious ingredients. Expect to dig into a meticulously arranged feast of Kanto sea cucumber, fish maw, dried Yoshihama abalone, sun-dried oyster, goose web, and more. Advance pre-ordering is required.
Ying Jee Club, Shop G05, 107 & 108, Nexxus Building, 41 Connaught Road Central, Central | (+852) 2801 6882
When: 1 to 7 February (Chinese New Year set menu); 24 January to 7 February (Fó Tiào Qiáng takeaway)
Enjoy your family reunion against the Victoria Harbour skyline at award-winning Chinese restaurant Above & Beyond and savour an extraordinary menu of fine Chinese specialities. Curated by Chinese executive chef Wong Chi-ki, the Chinese New Year menu presents a veritable cacophony of flavours, with standout dishes including the braised Japanese sea cucumber, South African abalone, and black mushroom with abalone sauce ($488); braised dried oyster with conpoy, and pork tongue ($368); wok-fried prawns with water chestnuts, asparagus, elm fungus, and gingko ($338); and braised pork knuckle with lettuce in red bean curd. Also keep an eye out for the bevvy of winter specials featured on the menu until 28 February.
Additionally, the restaurant is also offering poon choi takeaways this Lunar New Year to make your home celebration a truly memorable and auspicious one. Available in four-person ($1,888) and six-person ($2,688) servings from 19 to 7 February, the prosperity poon choi stars South African abalone, goose web, marinated chicken, prawns, dried oysters, mushrooms, conpoys, and more—all swimming in a luxuriously rich broth made with abalone, chicken, Chinese ham, and lean pork. Place your order three days in advance to ensure availability.
Above & Beyond, 28/F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 3400 1318
When: 1 to 15 February
What better way to please a whole family of appetites than to belly up to a buffet? Hotel Icon’s lauded buffet eatery The Market is serving up all sorts of traditional festive delicacies on rotation throughout the Lunar New Year, including dried oyster soup with lotus root and pork tongue, crispy fried chicken with shrimp crackers, stir-fried broccoli with crab roe sauce, braised giant garoupa with mushroom in oyster sauce, and pan-fried turnip cake. For three days only from 1 to 3 February, a colourful lo hei salad will also be available to usher in prosperity in the new year.
The Market, 2/F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 3400 1388
When: 1 to 13 February
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