Prosperity on a plate
Spice Temple ushers in the Lunar New Year with its much-loved banquet.
Renowned for a spice-laden menu that pays tribute to the flavours of six Chinese regions – Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Xinjiang – Melbourne and Sydney’s Spice Temple restaurants come into their own during Lunar New Year, a time of hope, renewal and plentiful feasting. “We like to keep special dishes just for the New Year banquet,” says executive chef Andy Evans, who creates the menu with Rockpool Dining Group brand ambassador Neil Perry. “It’s a chance to have some fun.” To welcome the Year of the Rat, they’ve devised a feast comprising dishes and ingredients that promote good fortune for the coming year. Here’s just a taste.
WEALTH
Red and orange are favourable colours for Lunar New Year, making pickled cherry tomatoes a potent symbol of wealth. The natural sweetness of Tom Thumb tomatoes – which are preserved over several days – combines with the complexity of dark soy and chilli oil and is finished with a scattering of sesame seeds. “The way they pop and explode in the mouth is really memorable,” says Evans.
LONGEVITY
While it’s bad luck to serve short noodles during Lunar New Year, long mung bean noodles are symbolic of a lengthy life. The clear, glutenfree noodles are often served with mud crab but Evans prefers to use Queensland spanner crab. “There’s less mucking about with it at the table,” he says of the crustacean, which he flavours with ginger, garlic, leek and garlic chives. “It’s superclean, tasty and sweet.”
FORTUNE
Evans describes his pippies with minced pork as “the most delicious dish under heaven”. Pork mince is stir-fried with white pepper and chicken stock before the shellfish are added with a livening splash of Shaoxing wine. “It’s really more-ish,” says Evans. “The pork gives that savoury deliciousness to the dish.”
PROSPERITY
The act of tossing yusheng, a Cantonese-style raw fish salad believed to have originated in Malaysia or Singapore, is a chance to have some fun with your food. “Everyone throws salad in the air using chopsticks,” explains Evans. “The higher it goes, the more auspicious it is.” Best of all, once it lands, you get to eat the salad of sashimi-grade tuna or salmon, shredded lettuce and cucumber in a spicy blackened chilli dressing.
The Chinese New Year banquet is available for lunch and dinner from 20 January to 9 February; $99 per person, with paired drinks for an additional $55. See the full banquet menu at spicetemple.com.au. Bligh Street, Sydney • Crown Towers, Melbourne