Kick off your Lunar New Year with a belly full of great food and good fortune at these spots:
Man Ho Chinese Restaurant
Man Ho has a host of seasonal specials for the festivities, starting with dim sum such as baked dried abalone puff with wild mushrooms, steamed diced chicken dumplings with vegetables and sea moss and baked sea cucumber pastry with seaweed. Good-luck dishes at Man Ho include pan-fried dried oysters with osmanthus honey sauce, yusheng (prosperity toss) with abalone and Macau sole fillet with citrus sauce. They have one Chinese New Year pudding with gold leaf and mashed red dates ($288) as well as a turnip cake with dried tiger prawns ($288).
When: CNY menu available 25 January–8 February 2020; CNY puddings available 13–23 January
3/F, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, 2841 3727, book online
Ming Court
Michelin-starred Ming Court at Cordis has three pretty spectacular-looking Chinese New Year puddings to sink your teeth into this year. Executive Chef Li Yuet Faat has curated festive hampers ($1,288 and $1,988) full of premium goodies as well as the new kumquat and tangerine peel pu’er tea Chinese New Year pudding ($268), abalone, conpoy, air-dried preserved meat and turnip pudding ($298) and coconut Chinese New Year pudding ($248). Cordis is also offering its decadent CNY menu featuring whole abalone with fish maw, sea cucumber, shiitake mushroom, dried oyster, conpoy and lettuce braised in clay pot ($1,088), baked stuffed sea whelk with Parmesan cheese in Portuguese sauce ($188) and stir-fried fish maw and shrimp ($508).
When: CNY menu available 24 January–2 February 2020; CNY puddings available now until sold out
6/F, Cordis, Hong Kong, 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, 3552 3301, book online
The St. Regis Hong Kong
Recently awarded a Michelin star for both Rùn and L’Envol, The St. Regis Hong Kong is celebrating in style – with feasts and gifts of good fortune fit for a queen! Rùn’s special Lunar New Year menu features delectable à-la-carte dishes such as wok-fried lobster with crispy bean curd ($688), roasted suckling pig lo hei ($688) and pan-fried dried oyster with honey sauce ($268). Chef Hung Chi-Kwong has also created three types of traditional Chinese New Year puddings ($288–388). For an extra-special CNY gift, The St. Regis is offering a staycation package called Reach for the Stars – A Michelin Journey, in which guests will receive an $800 dining voucher for Rùn or L’Envol, a complimentary breakfast for two and 15% off spa treatments and retail items.
When: CNY menu available 25 January–8 February 2020; CNY puddings available now until 24 January; Reach for the Stars staycation package available until 31 March
1 Harbour Drive, Wanchai, 2138 6808, book online
Sugarfina
If you’re looking for a sweet hit that’ll wow your friends and fam, this is a pretty cute one. Sugarfina’s Mandarin Candy Bento Box ($888; $88/individual candy cube) is only available in Hong Kong and can be upcycled to use as a storage container. Decked out in traditional red and gold foil with 3D paper mandarins on top, inside you’ll find eight candy cubes containing different treats symbolising prosperity and good luck. You’ve got lotus-shaped lychee gummies, tangerine slice gummies, dark chocolate orange peels, milk chocolate droplets in gold sugar coating, rosette-shaped hard candies infused with rose water, Fuji apple with caramel drops, kumquats in dark chocolate with sugar shell and the luxury sweets boutique’s signature champagne-infused gummy bears.
When: 10–30 January 2020
Central: Shop 1023, 1/F, ifc mall, 8 Finance Stret, Central, 2868 5578
TST: Shop 3327, 3/F, Gateway Arcade, Harbour City, 3–27 Canton Road, 2116 4688
YUM CHA
Known for its quirky take on dim sum, YUM CHA has launched a menu with fun twists on traditional Lunar New Year faves, designed to deliver luck, good fortune and stunning food photographs. They’ve got a raw mini smoked salmon prosperity toss ($168) with shinrimei radish, white and purple shredded cabbage, chopped carrot and cucumber, fried taro, fried wonton skins, sliced lotus root, ground peanuts and sesame seeds in a dish you toss at the table, symbolising the blessing of good fortune this year. There are also deep-fried sticky rice dumplings with minced pork and shrimp ($38/3), made in the shape of Chinese ingots, the traditional eight-ingredient celebratory dish mini poon choi ($238), full of fish maw, abalone, sea cucumber, pigeon, fresh mushroom, lotus root, radish, bean curd skin and broccoli, and the eatery’s signature salted egg yolk layer cake ($38/3), crafted into miniature mahjong tiles. Let the delicious game begin!
When: until 3 February 2020
Branches in Causeway Bay, Central, Mongkok and TST; click here for locations and to book
Ho Lee Fook
SoHo modern Chinese favourite Ho Lee Fook ushers in new beginnings with the yee sang platter ($358), a colourful “prosperity toss” dish made with a sweet-and-sour yuzu and plum dressing drizzled on top of hamachi sashimi and a confetti of green daikon, beetroot, carrot, cucumber, green shallot, coriander, sesame seeds, peanuts and crispy wonton skins. Mixed by diners at the table, the higher you toss, the greater your luck. Large groups also have the option of two banquet menus: Golden Dragon ($538/person) and Double Happiness ($678/person).
When: 24–31 January 2020
3–5 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central, 2810 0860, book online
Hutong
Always a great family-friendly option, Hutong’s Feng Wei brunch ($468/person; +$100–480 for free-flow drink packages) is even more special this CNY long weekend, featuring arts and crafts, sweet fried dumpling (yau gok) making and a dragon and lion dance puppet show to keep the littles entertained. The menu is a
whopping 18 courses of appetisers, dim sum, northern Chinese mains and desserts, and the best bit: it’s priced at only $98 for kids! To really up your lucky ante, order up a Rising Dragon cocktail ($148), made with Monkey Shoulder whisky, yuzu wine, pineapple, pomegranate and egg white and served with a lucky dragon made of rice paper.
When: 12–3pm, 25–28 January 2020
28/F, One Peking, 1 Peking Road, TST, 3428 8342, book online
Ribs‘n’Baos CNY pop-up at Rummin’ Tings
A new delivery-only Southeast Asian concept by 8 creATEive, Ribs‘n’Baos will be popping up at Caribbean bar and restaurant Rummin’ Tings during the Lunar New Year. Dig into pork baos with kecap manis, sriracha and pickled daikon ($80), smoked ribs with Indonesian long pepper and fish palm ($150), tempura chicken wings with sriracha, coriander and fish sauce ($90), chicken or pork momos ($110) and a select few more flavour-packed dishes. If you can’t make it there during CNY, Ribs‘n’Baos is set to pop up at Rummin’ Tings every Tuesday going forward.
When: 21–28 January 2020
28 Hollywood Road, Central, 2523 7070
John Anthony
Cool-cat sustainable Chinese restaurant John Anthony’s Chinese New Year 11-course set dinner menu ($688/person; 4-person minimum) by Executive Chef Saito Chau places a spotlight on sustainably sourced ingredients and festive dim sum like steamed prawn dumplings with Korean yuzu shaped like mini tangerines and yellow croaker dumplings with crab roe crafted to look like traditional Chinese firecrackers. Served family style, we particularly like the sounds of the pan-seared Australian scallops with e-fu noodles and sakura shrimp sauce, rose-tea-smoked crispy free-range chicken and plum mousse with cherry-glazed plums and cookie crumble.
When: 20 January–8 February 2020
Basement, Lee Garden Three, 1 Sunning Road, Causeway Bay, 2898 3788, reservations@johnanthony.hk
Yan Toh Heen
Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Yan Toh Heen at InterContinental Hong Kong is offering an indulgent five-course Fat Choy set menu ($1,888/person) to welcome the Year of the Rat. Each dish by Executive Chef Lau Yiu Fai – from the appetiser trio of BBQ suckling pig, golden sun-dried oyster and crispy lobster with spicy salt to the auspicious dish of Buddha Jumping Over the Wall (double-boiled whole abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, conpoy, morchella, bamboo piths, mushrooms, black chicken and sea moss in soup) – is sure to be a knockout. Or order à la carte and go for the CNY speciality dish of lo hei ($1,088), packed with jellyfish, abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, roast duck and lots off veg, and start tossing! Handmade Chinese New Year puddings (Kagoshima thick-cut daikon for $428 and Tokachi red bean pudding with Okinawa black sugar syrup for $408) can be ordered online.
When: until 9 February 2020
Lower Level, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, TST, 2313 2323, book online
Black Garlic
Black Garlic, a new healthy Asian meal-box delivery concept by the team behind Bread & Beast, have cooked up some creatively packaged CNY puddings in partnership with local sweets boutique Jouer. These include turnip cake ($228), gold leaf pudding ($228) and Hokkaido black sugar cane and fig pudding ($248). Or go off-piste and order a jar of Black Sugar’s potent anchovy XO sauce ($148).
When: order cut-off 20 January 2020; pick-up by 23 January at Black Garlic (Wong Chuk Hang) or Jouer
(Wanchai)
Email hello@blackgarlic.hk for orders and enquiries
New Spicy Way
New fish-focused hotpot hotspot New Spicy Way has a CNY special on that makes for a nice change from meat-heavy mains and heavy puds. Grab some hotpot-loving mates and head there for the very reasonably priced New Year Giant Grouper Fish Pot Set ($888 for 4), which includes giant grouper in New Spicy Way’s signature spicy soup base, local fish products, beef and pork, a meatball trio, cold dishes, vegetables, Chinese yam noodles and special drinks. Dip away!
When: until 2 February 2020
G/F and 1/F, Ashley Mansion, 14 Ashley Road, TST, 3164 1390
Café Malacca
A Malaysian twist to CNY eats is on offer at Café Malacca, with the favourite lo hei ($298 for 4) done in the most traditional way, which includes chives, lime leaves and dried orange peel mixed with just the right amount of shallot oil, plum sauce and five spices. Café Malacca is also offering an eight-course Chinese New Year menu ($1,388 for 4) that includes slow-cooked ham hock, a traditional Malaysian soup made with pickled vegetables, duck and lo hei.
When: 25 January–10 February 2020
2/F, Hotel Jen by Shangri-La, Shek Tong Tsui, 2213 6613, contactus@cafe-malacca.com
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