The best places to celebrate Lunar New Year in London
Next Tuesday will see celebrations across the world for the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year. Each year is represented by an animal, with 2022 being a year of the tiger – specifically a water tiger, said to represent strength and bravery. Most importantly, it’s an excuse for a nice party, with venues across London creating special food and drink menus to celebrate the tiger’s arrival. Here are some of our favourites.
Park Chinois
Mayfair’s Park Chinois is serving a decadent eight-course menu and partnering with Hennessy XO on a range of paired cocktails. There will also be an “immersive show” with a traditional lion dance and live drummer. Available from 28 January to 6 February, the menu will cost £125 per person and will also be available for delivery. A whole suckling pig stuffed with rice, shrimp, chestnut, mushroom, shallot, salted egg and red date can be preordered 48 hours in advance for £328.
Hakkasan Hanway Place and Hakkasan Mayfair
Hakkasan will celebrate with a special set menu and a ‘King of Fuijan’ cocktail. Dishes have been chosen to bring luck and happiness into the new year, and celebrity stylist Bay Garnett has sourced a variety of vintage and pre-loved Tiger-inspired clothing to dress the Hakkasan team (which will be auctioned off for charity).
Yauatcha Soho and Yauatcha City
Yauatcha Soho and Yauatcha City will welcome the Lunar New Year with a themed set menu and a new cocktail, as well as pineapple pastries available from Yauatcha’s patisseries (available for delivery nationwide via Slerp). The pastries are a take on the traditional pineapple tart, filled with diced golden pineapple and topped with a tiger printed into red chocolate.
Poon’s at Mortimer House, Fitzrovia
Renowned Chinese restaurant family Poon’s will take over Maslow’s Mortimer House on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 February as part of its Guest Chef Series. The first night will be centred around the steamboat – a Chinese hot pot – with guests encouraged to gather around and cook their favourite combination of ingredients at the table. The second night will offer a five-course tasting menu showcasing Poon’s most iconic, time-honoured dishes, including pork and bamboo shoot wontons with crack sauce, braised beef flank with star anise and Chinese radish and drunken chicken, finishing with tofu pudding.
Mao Chow Express, Boxpark Shoreditch
Mao Chow Express promises “perfectly choreographed chaos, loud colours, energy, party vibes and in-your-face flavours” at Boxpark Shoreditch. Chefs Julian Denis and Harry Fox will celebrate their passion for takeaway classics with dishes including prawn toast, kung pao chicken and char siu bao. What’s more, it’s all vegan, with the bold flavours, hints of spice and carefully balanced textures proving you can do veganuary in style.
Fatt Pundit, Covent Garden
Fatt Pundit draws upon the influence of India’s Chinese community and culture from Tangra in Kolkata. Seeped in history, Indo-Chinese culture was created by those who emigrated from Canton and Guangdong, with their rich gastronomic culture, and settled in Kolkata and Mumbai, where they began incorporating Indian spices into their Chinese dishes. As well as Fatt Pundit’s signature Momos dumpling, you can expect dishes such as Malabar monkfish curry, shredded chilli venison, and honey chilli duck.
The Gantry
New East London hotel The Gantry will be hosting a special Lunar New Year dinner and offering diners a complimentary overnight stay. Dishes on the bespoke menu have been devised to pair with Eight Immortals, a range of exclusive teas from the Guangdong province in China from luxury sparkling tea brand Saicho. Available from 7pm-9pm, the menu will feature dishes including pork meatballs and ginger scallion seabass.
BAO, various locations
From 28 January to 13 February, BAO will be giving out red envelopes filled with prizes to everyone who orders a classic or daikon BAO, with one customer winning a year of daily BAOs on the house. To usher in the year of the tiger, BAO has also created striped Tiger Paw BBGs, filled with molten chocolate, and Lunar New Year DIY kits to cook at home.