Where To Celebrate Chinese New Year In London
Where To Celebrate Chinese New Year In London

Where To Celebrate Chinese New Year In London

Chinese New Year falls on Sunday 22nd January. To mark the occasion – and the year of the rabbit – we’ve rounded up the best places to celebrate in London, from Chinatown favourites to fine dining spots in Mayfair.
By Sherri Andrew
/
Image: DADDY BAO
Carousel x Poon's Steamboat Dinner
Carousel x Poon's Steamboat Dinner

FOR DINNER & DJS:

The Tent (at the End of the Universe)

Chef John Javier made a name for himself staging at the likes of Noma and cooking at some of the capital’s best pop-ups. Now, his newest members restaurant, The Tent (at the End of the Universe), is open to the general public, offering Middle Eastern food while DJs set the vibe. For Chinese New Year, the restaurant is hosting an all-you-can-eat menu of small Chinese plates on Sunday 22nd of January while DJ Harri Pepper will play soul, disco and house music. If you can’t make it on the night, there’s a separate Chinese New Year menu available for dinner bookings next week.  

17 Little Portland Street, Soho, W1W 8BP

Visit Little-Portland.com 

FOR TABLESIDE COOKING:

Carousel x Poon's Steamboat Dinner

Tonight, Carousel is teaming up with Chinese condiment brand Poon's for a Chinese New Year dinner (£55pp). The team is hosting a Cantonese steamboat feast where diners can gather around a pot of simmering stock to gently poach a selection of fresh seafood, marinated meats, home-made meatballs, Chinese veg, tofu and glass noodles, all seasoned with Poon’s umami-rich sauces. For dessert there’s a traditional nian gao.

19-23 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 1RW

Visit Carousel-London.com 

FOR FINE DINING:

Hakkasan Mayfair

Michelin-starred Hakkasan is offering a Chinese New Year menu (from £128pp) at its Mayfair restaurant until Tuesday 7th February. Dishes include cherrywood smoked roasted duck, stir-fried wagyu beef with shimeji mushrooms, and steamed john dory with brown butter black bean sauce. Finish the meal with the black sesame mousse with raspberry compote and sorbet, and one of the restaurant’s signature cocktails like the ‘Sea of Clouds’, made with Cîroc vodka, passion fruit, miso and Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2012 reduction.

17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, W1J 6QB

Visit Hakkasan.com 

Hakkasan
Hakkasan

FOR GREAT TAKEAWAY BUNS:

Bun House

Cantonese-style steamed bun specialist Bun House in Chinatown is celebrating the year of the rabbit with a Lunar New Year bun trio and traditional Cantonese dessert, nian gou. Available for collection and delivery, choose from the ‘Lunar Bunny’ filled with White Rabbit Candy Creams – a cult Cantonese childhood sweet; the ‘Faat Choi’ bun, oozing with black sesame sauce; and the ‘Dai Gut’ bun of luck with a dark chocolate and mandarin filling. Then the nian gou is a moreish brown sugar and coconut cake. 

26-27 Lisle Street, Chinatown, WC2H 7BA 

Visit BunsAndWuns.shop 

FOR GLITZ & GLAMOUR:

Park Chinois

Park Chinois is serving a special lunar menu (£168pp) until Sunday 29th January. Diners can sit in the Salon de Chine restaurant to try new dishes like a ‘prosperity-toss’ salad, dried scallop bamboo soup, grilled wild seabass with plum sauce, Cantonese roasted duck and a whole roasted suckling pig stuffed with sticky rice (available to pre-order 48 hours in advance). For dessert, there’s a bunny custard bao, plus three bespoke Hennessy XO cocktails. In typical Park Chinois style, diners will also be treated to immersive entertainment including music from Chinese drummers and a string quartet, as well as a lion dance across the restaurant. 

17 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, W1J 8EA

Visit ParkChinois.com

FOR STREET FOOD FLAVOURS:

Daddy Bao 

Tooting’s Taiwanese restaurant Daddy Bao is celebrating Lunar New Year on Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th January with an eight-course tasting menu inspired by Chinese street food favourites (£50pp). Highlights include mushroom broth with a crispy noodle cracker; pork jiaozi with dipping sauce; grilled scallop with umami butter and seaweed; fish bao; and white rabbit caramels. There’s also a separate menu for vegans and vegetarians. 

113 Mitcham Road, Tooting, SW17 9PE

Visit DaddyBao.co.uk

FOR PRIVATE DINING:

Bao

From Friday 20th January to Sunday 5th February, bun expert Bao is inviting groups of six or more to book the private dining rooms at its King’s Cross and Shoreditch restaurants to enjoy a themed set menu (£39pp). You’ll start with boiled cull yaw dumplings, soy-glazed aubergine and Taiwanese fried chicken before moving onto mains of scarlet cha shao gammon, roasted pumpkin with tofu and chives, and plenty of pork bao buns. Then, it’s sweet buns shaped into rabbits for dessert to celebrate this year’s animal. 

Unit 2, 4 Pancras Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4DP; 1 Redchurch Street, Shoreditch, E1 6JJ

Visit BaoLondon.com

Daddy Bao
Daddy Bao

FOR DELICIOUS DUMPLINGS:

Hutong at The Shard

Hutong at The Shard will serve a five-course tasting menu (£138pp) on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd January. Dishes include seafood dumplings with Sichuan chilli sauce, slow-cooked rack of lamb, roasted Peking duck, spicy fried rice with prawns and chilli oil, and sweet dumplings for dessert. There will also be traditional Chinese festivities throughout the weekend, including a Chinese calligrapher from 7pm-9pm on Saturday followed by a lion dance. 

33 St Thomas Street, London Bridge, SE1 9RY

Visit Hutong.co.uk

FOR BEAUTIFUL DECORATIONS:

MiMi Mei Fair

MiMi Mei Fair has brought in award-winning florist Lucy Vail to transform the restaurant with a beautiful floral display for Chinese New Year. Diners can sit under a canopy decorated in the lucky colours of the year of the rabbit, while tucking into a traditional Chinese New Year feast – think dim sum baskets, roast chicken with crispy garlic, crispy pork with pineapple and red chilli, and dried scallop braised noodles. 

55 Curzon Street, Mayfair, W1J 8PG

Visit MimiMeifair.com

FOR UNUSUAL FLAVOURS:

Straits Kitchen at Pan Pacific

South-east Asian restaurant Straits Kitchen at Pan Pacific hotel is hosting two nights of Chinese New Year feasting on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd January. Diners can enjoy a four-course sharing dinner (£138pp) comprising dishes like rainbow yu sheng salad, braised abalone (sea snails) served with shiitake mushrooms, steamed seabass with XO sauce, and lobster and scallops with stir fried rice. On Sunday, there’s also the option to choose the sharing roast menu which includes crispy pork belly, duck, barbeque pork or roast Hainanese chicken, followed by special desserts created by pastry chef Cherish Finden.

80 Houndsditch, Liverpool Street, EC3A 7AB

Visit PanPacificLondon.com 

MiMi Mei Fair
MiMi Mei Fair
Hutong
Hutong

FREDDY H CREATOR

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