2023 is the Year Of The Rabbit according to the Chinese calendar, and with the rabbit being the luckiest animal in the Chinese zodiac that means it is a particularly auspicious time. To augment all that lucky charm floating around, order the foods said to bring more of the good stuff into your world, such as fish for prosperity, dumplings for wealth and noodles for health and longevity. Here’s where to dine if you want a little more luck in your life.
The annual zodiac buns are back. This year, the pillowy soft, steamed rabbit buns are shaped like a bunny and come loaded with chocolate and crunchy biscoff biscuit crumbs. During Lunar New Year celebrations, you can also order the traditional prosperity toss salad and auspicious dishes such as fried whole barramundi with chilli sauce for abundance and seafood noodles for longevity. Available January 18-February 5.
Yum cha is always a winner and to celebrate Lunar New Year you can feast on an unlimited yum cha dinner, $62, including dumplings, pan-fried BBQ pork buns and white radish spring rolls. There’ll also be larger meals such as braised pork belly with pickled vegetables and steamed barramundi fillet with Shaoxing wine and salted plum. Lion dancers from 7.15pm. Available January 22.
These guys have reworked pineapple tarts, which are believed to bring prosperity, into a pineapple tart lamington. At $8.88 (can you spot a theme?) a vanilla sponge is filled with pineapple jam, dipped in white chocolate, coated with crushed pineapple cookie crumbs and topped with red sprinkles to reference those lucky red envelopes. Available from January 18.
While the official Lunar New Year celebration, complete with lion dancers at 6pm, is happening on January 22, you can enjoy the festive banquet, $140, all week long. Expect to see traditional dishes such as the Yee Sang Prosperity Salad, which symbolises abundance, prosperity and vigour. Available January 22-28.
Feast on auspicious dishes without the washing up. The regional Chinese banquet menu. $159, includes golden scallop dumplings, shaped like ingot, the ancient Chinese gold currency, to represent wealth and stir-fried egg noodles with blue swimmer crab and XO sauce to bring in longevity. You also get a rabbit cocktail on arrival. Available from January 17-February 29.
The flat-pack furniture behemoth is better known for Swedish meatballs than Asian flavours, but it’s making an exception for Lunar New Year. The three-course, $30 set menu at stores in Springvale and Richmond includes dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, hotpot and matcha pannacotta. Available from January 18 and 19.
Go for the epic banquet, $88, which includes lucky dishes such as XO rock lobster with Chinese doughnuts; crispy duck leg pancakes with orange plum sauce and scallop dumplings. Or there’s the à la carte option so you can pick and choose. A lucky fortune cookie giveaway is happening January 19-22, as are lion dancing performances. LNY menu available January 19-29.
As well as all your Thai favourites, enjoy special celebratory dishes such as steamed red coral trout, fermented green and red chillies, ginger and spring onion; tea smoked duck breast, smoked chilli nam jim, star fruit, roasted rice and spanner crab, X.O fried rice, typhoon shelter style. Lion dancers will be performing at 6.30pm and 8pm on January 22. Available January 22-24
These buttery, rabbit-shaped shortbread cookies, $6 for one or $35 for a seven-pack, are coated with white chocolate and have a fuzzy texture, reminiscent of bunny fur, thanks to a coconut crumb. The lucky rabbit also holds a gold coin, infused with strawberry and raspberry, to add an extra touch of good fortune. Available now until January 22.
As with all celebrations, Lunar New Year is associated with gift-giving so it makes sense this limited-edition range is encased in lucky red and gold packaging. As well as chocolate blocks and choc-coated macadamias, there’s a new dragon fruit ganache, a no-brainer this time of year. Available now in-store and at haighschocolates.com.au.
