Are you ready to ring in the Year of the Ox? While many Asian cultures celebrate Lunar New Year, no country honours the special 15-day festival quite like China.
Officially the most important celebration of the year, the Lunar New Year sees China transform into a colourful, luminous festival, with days and nights filled with firecrackers, lion dances, reunion dinners with family and the honouring of deities and ancestors. But what is the best part of the new year? Undoubtedly, it is delving into delectable and traditional Chinese cuisine.
Chef and Sunnybank insider Tony Ching said Lunar New Year period is a time where many gather with family and eat traditional Chinese dishes.
“A big part of the new year celebrations is food,” Tony said. “And certain dishes are eaten during the Lunar New Year period as it is believed to help bring wealth and good health for the forthcoming year.”
To maximise their good luck, many eat delicacies like fried dumplings, long noodles, whole fish, rice balls in sweet soup and oranges and tangerines. And many restaurants prepare exclusive Lunar New Year menus filled with traditional Chinese dishes to help diners bring prosperity to their year.
So, get your chopsticks ready, Brisbane – you can enjoy a delicious and auspicious start to the new year with a Chinese banquet at these top foodie hotspots.
Want to explore a myriad of authentic Chinese flavours? In celebration of Lunar New Year, Landmark Restaurant has released a series of special banquet menus to mark the arrival of the new year. Known for its excellent Cantonese fare and boasting 20 years of history, Landmark is one of Brisbane’s best spots to celebrate with a Chinese feast.
Running for four days, the restaurant has four different banquet menus to celebrate the ancient festival.
On the table, diners can indulge in at least nine different dishes featuring braised lobster with ginger and shallots and e-fu noodles, braised pig trotter with seafood, dried oysters and hair moss and seasonal vegetables in broth with wild berries.
At the banquet you can also eat your way to good luck by delving into their whole steamed coral trout and their steamed whole free range chicken. According to tradition, eating these dishes will bring prosperity and wealth to your 2021.
Landmark Restaurant, Shop 101, Sunnybank Plaza. P: 3344 3288
View RestaurantWelcome in the new lunar year by filling your belly at Parkland – a restaurant that has gathered a loyal following with its classic Chinese cooking.
Parkland’s chefs are preparing four different new year banquets, with each special menu featuring traditional Cantonese fare that’s perfect for sharing. The multiple-course menus feature highlights such as fillet steak with king oyster mushrooms and broccoli, four treasure BBQ plate, braised lobster with ginger and shallots and e-fu noodles and steamed baby abalone in XO sauce with vermicelli noodles.
Each of the restaurant’s new year banquets include Parkland’s signature steamed whole chicken, steamed coral trout with ginger and shallots, eco shark fin and seafood soup and their enoki mushrooms with seasonal vegetables. If you want to delve into authentic Chinese eats to celebrate the new year, there’s plenty for your tastebuds to discover at this restaurant.
Parkland, Shop 38 Sunnypark, Sunnybank. P: 3345 4588
View RestaurantYou’ll find a range of activities and entertainment on offer throughout Sunnybank Plaza & Sunny Park from Wednesday 10 – Sunday 14 February, to herald in the Year of the Ox!