A tasty start to new year
CELEBRATE LUNAR NEW YEAR AND THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT WITH SPECIAL MENUS, FUN FESTIVALS AND A PARADE
MARKED bythe cycles of the new moon, the Lunar New Year is celebrated across China, Tibet, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and other parts of Asia, and with plenty of fanfare right here in Los Angeles. This year’s festivities will begin today and can last up to two weeks, with celebrations that include gift-giving, parades and, of course, plenty of food.
“It’s a wonderful and joyous way to celebrate and remember my heritage,” says Alice Cherng, co-owner of L.A.-based Dear Bella Creamery. “I was born and raised in Taiwan until I immigrated to L.A. when I was 8 years old, so Chinese New Year was very much part of my childhood. On the other hand, my 3-year-old daughter is half Chinese and was born and raised in L.A. She has no idea that pineapple means luck and fortune and tang yuan means togetherness.” Cherng says her hope is to start conversations about the symbolism, history and culture of Lunar New Year as a way to continue tradition.
For chef Andrew Marco of Koreatown’s Open Market, the Lunar New Year is also an opportunity to create new traditions, ones that can only exist here in L.A. The neighborhood market is hosting its annual Lunar New Year dinner, which Marco describes as “an ode to two big immigrant populations in this city, Chinese and Mexican, and finding the intersections between the two.”
The Lunar New Year is a time to call in prosperity, health and good luck. Centered around family, food and celebration, here are the best festivals, limited dinner engagements and dessert specials across L.A. to help you ring in the Year of the Rabbit, a universal symbol of hope and renewal.
HOP WOO
Hop Woo is ringing in the Lunar New Year with several special menus to fit any budget, including traditional poon choy — a single-pot feast with a variety of meats and vegetables — for six people available with or without seafood ($168 without, $238 with); a roast suckling pig that feeds 12 to 18 ($268); a roast pig that can feed up to 40 ($318); plus smaller dinners such as braised dried oyster with fat choy ($48), a vegetable whose name is a homonym for part of the new year greeting “gong hei fat choy”; and braised pig feet with fat choy ($38).
The restaurant, a beloved fixture in Chinatown’s dining scene for 30 years, faced the unexpected loss in May 2022 of chef Lupe Liang, who joyfully ran Hop Woo alongside his wife Judy and dedicated staff. It has remained committed to the late chef ’s vision of Cantonese cuisine fused with subtle Baja California f lavors. Lunar New Year items, available through Jan. 25, require a 50% in-person deposit and two days’ advance notice.
● 11110 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 575-3668, hopwoo chinesefood.com
OPEN MARKET
The Koreatown sandwich and wine shop is celebrating the Lunar New Year on Jan. 26 with a menu that remixes holiday favorites to honor the city’s wide-ranging culinary identity. Tuck into the team’s take on Peking duck, including dryaged and cured duck breast with five-spice duck leg confit, served with duck fat fried rice, duck jus hoisin, fermented salsa, scallion salad, smashed cucumbers and tortillas from Mejorado, the tortilleria behind Burritos La Palma. Finish it off with a tres leches cake that’s layered with forbidden rice horchata and five-spice cake. Whole ducks run $130 each and half-ducks are $90 each with all the fixings, with preorders available on the website.
● 3339 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, openmarket.la
CRUSTACEAN BEVERLY HILLS
An early pioneer of Asian-European fusion cuisine, this gilded classic in Beverly Hills is celebrating Lunar New Year with an eight-course Heaven & Earth Prosperity Menu ($180 per person), available through Jan.
28. Each course honors a different aspect of the upcoming year, beginning with a caviar egg to symbolize unity and togetherness; building with a money bag dumpling that highlights this year’s chosen animal with rabbit, leeks and Dijon cream; and concluding with a rich and gooey butter cake with exotic fruit and coconut consommé. Select items from the Lunar New Year menu will be available a la carte and red envelopes representing good luck will be given to all diners through Jan. 28, with vouchers like complimentary cocktails, an entree of An’s famous garlic-roasted Dungeness crab or a discount on your final check.
● 468 N. Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 205-8990, crustacean bh.com
KATO
Claiming the No. 3 spot on our 101 Best Restaurants list is this Michelin-starred stunner that marries Taiwanese cuisine with L.A.’s seasonality in a spacious and sleek dining room. For the second year in a row, chef Jon Yao is celebrating Lunar New Year by offering a themed ninecourse dinner with wine pairings included ($325 per ticket). As with Kato’s regular tasting menu, the exact dishes are under wraps until you arrive, but you can expect a seafoodfocused journey that draws inspiration from Asian American and Taiwanese cooking. The dinners will take place from Jan. 24, through Jan. 28, with seatings at 5 and 8 p.m.
● 777 S. Alameda St., Building 1, Suite 114, Los Angeles, kato restaurant.com
MEROIS
Wolfgang Puck’s elegant rooftop restaurant at Pendry West Hollywood is celebrating Lunar New Year with a prix fixe menu that showcases the chef ’s signature pan-Asian bites and customer favorites like a king crab bao bun and star anisebraised short rib, plus specialty cocktails served alongside live entertainment — just in case 360-degree views of the glittering L.A. skyline aren’t enough of a show. The prix fixe Lunar New Year dinner is $165 per person and available Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28.
● 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 433-1410, pendry .com/west-hollywood/dining /merois
PARADISE DYNASTY
The spacious Singaporean restaurant in South Coast Plaza’s Collage Culinary Experience Food Hall is well-suited to Lunar New Year celebrations with a year-round menu of dumplings and noodles — including its famed f lavored soup dumplings. This year, says Eldwin Chua, Paradise Dynasty CEO and founder, “We wanted to offer a special menu highlighting some of the most popular dishes that are typically eaten during the holiday, but with our own twists.” That means stir-fried lobster in XO sauce ($78.88), poached chicken in black truffle sauce ($38.88 half chicken; $77.76 whole chicken) and fish maw soup with dried scallop and crab meat ($22.88 for two to four and $38.88 for four to six people). The restaurant also plans to hand out about 3,500 lucky red envelopes with $10 vouchers for Paradise Dynasty and $5 vouchers for sister concept Le Shrimp Noodle Bar, through Feb. 12 or while supplies last.
● 3333 Bristol Street, BLM, 1 Bloomingdale’s, Costa Mesa, (714) 617-4630, paradisegp .com/USA
GOLDEN DRAGON PARADE
After a two-year hiatus, the popular Golden Dragon Parade returns to Chinatown on Saturday, Jan. 28, complete with lion dancing, live music and more from 1 to 5 p.m.
● 943 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, chinatownla.com
ALHAMBRA LUNAR NEW YEAR FESTIVAL
Alhambra’s Lunar New Year festival returns for its 29th year on Sunday, Jan. 29, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with two entertainment stages and 100 vendor booths offering family-friendly activities and giveaways. Stop by the main stage for cultural performances and demonstrations including lion dancing, a calligraphy workshop and live candy sculpting, plus the return of the Asian Arts Talent Foundation, which will host performances from China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other regions. This year’s festival will see the debut of a dedicated culinary stage with local chefs preparing their favorite Lunar New Year dishes, in addition to a new wellness pavilion where attendees can take advantage of free testing and health information. The Alhambra Farmers Market will be happening in conjunction with the festival, so you can pick up fresh produce or pantry items.
● 68 W. Main St., Alhambra, alhambralunarnewyear.com
SANTA MONICA PLACE
Santa Monica Place is bringing back its annual Lunar New Year celebrations on Jan. 28, from 2 to 5 p.m., after a two-year hiatus. Visit the Central Plaza to take in the hanging red and gold lanterns and performances that include traditional lion dancing and balloon artists. Red envelopes with deals from participating on-site restaurants will be given to those in attendance. Don’t forget to visit the cherry blossom Wishing Trees and leave a wish for health and prosperity in the new year. Tie a wish onto the trees or pick up a Lunar New Year craft kit for kids through Feb. 4. l 395 Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica, (310) 499-2928, santa monicaplace.com
DEAR BELLA CREAMERY
Taiwanese- and women-owned Dear Bella Creamery is ringing in the Lunar New Year with a special kit filled with everything you’ll need for a memorable at-home celebration. Each package comes with a pint of traditional Taiwanese square biscuit ice cream with crushed biscuits; an inspired rendition of tang yuan with sticky rice ice cream, slivers of black sesame paste and peanut powder; and Taiwanese pineapple cake, with chunks of twice-baked, glutenfree shortcake filled with butter-roasted pineapple jam. In addition to the ice cream, you’ll also get a jar of house-made sweet red bean sauce, seasonal Chinese candies and snacks, red envelopes for gifting family and friends, and an insulated Dear Bella bag. Orders must be placed at least two days in advance and can be picked up from the Hollywood location. The last day to order the Lunar New Year kit is Feb. 11 for pickup on Feb. 13.
● 1253 Vine St., #12, Los Angeles, (323) 848-4672, dearbella creamery.com/online-shop/p /cnykit
WANDERLUST CREAMERY
Travel-inspired scoop shop Wanderlust is celebrating Lunar New Year with the release of six bestselling and new ice cream f lavors available throughout the month of January. Returning to the menu are seasonal options like white rabbit, which went viral in 2019 for the nostalgic Shanghainese White Rabbit milk candy that features prominently in the recipe; oolong pineapple tart, which combines fragrant Taiwanese milk oolong tea with the pineapple jam-filled butter pastries that are popular gifts at Taiwanese Lunar New Year celebrations; Vietnamese rocky road, featuring Vietnamese coffee ice cream swirled with condensed milk marshmallows, caramelized cacao nibs and bits of French roast; and pandan tres leches, a Southeast Asian take on tres leches cake with chunks of house-made pandan sponge cake and stripes of condensed milk. New f lavors include lychee and almond cookie, inspired by Chinatowns across the globe, and creamy apricot almond osmanthus, a dairy-free creation with apricot and almond milk that’s infused with sweet osmanthus f lowers. Visit any of the six Los Angelesarea shops (in Fairfax, Pasadena, Tarzana, Venice and DTLA’s Sunday Smorgasburg, in addition to Atwater Village) to get the Lunar New Year f lavors by the scoop or place an order for the six-pint pack online.
● 3134 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, shop.wanderlust creamery.com
VALERIE CONFECTIONS
On the heels of opening its massive f lagship store in Glendale (with another location in Echo Park at 1665 Echo Park Ave.), Valerie Confections is celebrating Lunar New Year with two special chocolate assortments. One is a ninepiece assortment with gilded bittersweet chocolate truffles and crimson chocolates embossed with the Chinese character for “good luck.” The other features 15 pieces, including the “good luck” chocolates, gilded bittersweet truff les and liquid caramels. Both chocolate sets are available for online and in-store purchase through the first week of February.
● 1936 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale, valerieconfections.com