Celebrating Lunar New Year in Wellington

January 31, 2022

The first of February marks the year of the Tiger, and the beginning of Lunar New Year celebrations which traditionally run through until 15 February. A big part of the celebrations involves catching up with friends and relatives, which involves plenty of glorious food!

Embrace the year of the Tiger and take yourself on a delicious tour around some of our favourite Asian eateries to mark Lunar New Year in Wellington.

Hot Sauce

For Jiwon Do, Executive Chef of Hippopotamus and Hot Sauce, his approach is all about evoking a sense of nostalgia and telling stories with food.

Lunar New Year in the Do household features a traditional Korean dish from his childhood celebrations, Ddeok Guk, which is a rice cake soup. The rice cake is thinly sliced, and the soup broth is clear. “The clean colouring symbolises purity for the new year, and the rice cake has a chewy texture, reminding us that we need to be persistent (and chew hard!) for a successful life,” he adds.

In the New Year spirit of giving and sharing, this February at Hot Sauce, all guests will be treated to hongbao red packets.

Dragonfly

88 TIGERS cocktail

Tania from Dragonfly has shared that guests booked in on February 1 and 2 will be treated to fortune cookies. Plus, they’ve created a special cocktail to celebrate the new year.

Head in to try 88 TIGERS featuring Black Doris plum, dragonfly gin, drambuie, soda. Long and refreshing, perfect for this tropical summer we are having.

Taste Of Home

On New Year’s Day it’s considered auspicious to eat noodles for long life. Take yourself to Taste of Home for the ultimate Yo Po Mian noodles. Remember, the longer the noodle, the longer your life!

Dragons

Stewed Pork Belly Braised – Lunar New Year Special

Timeless Yum Cha spot, Dragons, is offering a special Chinese New Year menu, there are limited spaces left so book in quick. Eric Kong, Dragons Event Organiser and Assistant CEO, says their must have dish is Lo Hei (Yusheng) - a traditional noodle dish with raw fish, shredded vegetables and sauces - make sure to give it a good toss!

Majestic Cuisine

Majestic Cuisine has a long history of serving up Yum Cha and authentic Cantonese cuisine. Manager Lewis Kong says they are running a special banquet menu for the year of the Tiger which is available for dine in only, so get booking.

Mr Go's

Don’t want to be too fancy? Keep it casual and head to everybody’s favourite asian eatery Mr Go’s. There are cool Lunar New Year events on from February 9, get in touch with them to book in.