A Year Of Hope And Lots Of Food!

Top Spots To Ring In The Chinese Lunar Year

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Editor's Corner

According to Chinese astrology, 2023, aka the Year of the Water Rabbit, is all about prosperity, longevity, peace and hope. This year’s Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, Jan. 22 and ends on Feb. 5 with the Lantern Festival. We’ve rounded up top restaurants around South Florida serving favorites like dim sum, dumplings, spring rolls and Peking duck. After all, you really want to embrace any possibility of good fortune this year, especially if it means filling up on food! Happy New Year, or rather, “Gong Xi Fa Cai!”

Blackbird

This modern-Asian cuisine is hosting a New Year’s celebration filled with food, music and dancing. Start your evening by revealing hidden prophecies from the Lunar New Year’s fortune cards, followed by a specialty Lucky Rabbit Martini. For the menu, attendees can enjoy Tim Nickey’s Lobster Cantonese (noodles and ginger-scallion Chinese black bean sauce), short rib and bone marrow dumplings. Dessert is equally memorable: Rabbit Bomb (chunks of chocolate cake, salted peanut brittle ice cream, caramelized bananas, strawberries, edible flowers and a rabbit mold melted tableside into a decadent dark chocolate sauce). Live entertainment from DJ Peachy Grooves and drum, dragon and lion dance by Master Li Siu Hung ensure the party keeps going.  

Where: 1511 N. Old Dixie Hwy, Jupiter

For more information, click here.

Hutong Miami

This sophisticated restaurant highlighting Northern Chinese cuisine knows how to welcome the new year: fire artists, lion dancers and a DJ, are just some of the things you’ll find to celebrate the Lunar Year. Pair that with signature dishes like the Dimsum Platter (Chef’s selection of dumplings) and Crispy Chilean Sea Bass. Diners can also enjoy a curated menu featuring Lunar Bao (king oyster mushrooms and truffle), Mala Beef (wok-fried short ribs with exotic chilis) as well as a Lunar Special for dessert. There’s also a limited-edition cocktail in honor of the Rabbit Year called the He Ping made with house wines infused with cherry, Bombay Sapphire, clarified basil cordial and Kwai Feh Lychee liqueur.  

Where: 600 Brickell Avenue, Miami

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Hakkasan

You can find Hakkasan nestled inside the fabled Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach. The acclaimed Chinese restaurant is bringing back its famous Dim Sum Brunch for the Chinese New Year, featuring main dishes like the Cherrywood Smoked Roasted Duck, Stir-fried Wagyu Beef and Steamed Snapper; Treasure Poon Choi and Cornish Handpicked Crab for sides and The Lucky Rabbit (a black sesame mousse with raspberry compote and raspberry sumac sorbet) for dessert.

Where: 4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach

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Kapow Noodle Bar

A mix of Asian cuisine and South Florida’s vibrant lifestyle, there’s always something going on in Kapow, and the Lunar Year, is no exception. Welcome the Rabbit Year with draft beers, craft cocktails, Chinese Dragon dancers and Asian-inspired dishes: Wok Charred Edamame, Wagyu Tartare Crispy Rice, Mushroom and Carrot Dumplings.

Where: 402 Plaza Real, Boca Raton

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La Mar by Gastón Acurio

Chef Diego Oka has curated a special menu to celebrate the Rabbit Year. We’re talking about a Lunar Year brunch that, in addition to offering signature ceviches, causas, tiraditos, sushi and salads, also includes the Chaufa Aeropuerto (a classic Peruvian stir fry of Chinese sausage, roasted pork, fried rice, shrimp egg omelet, quinoa, egg noodles and picked vegetables) and assorted desserts to share. The brunch also includes cocktails, wine, beer and champagne, paired with a spectacular view of Miami’s Biscayne Bay.

Where: 500 Brickell Key Drive

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Echo

The Breakers Luxury Resort at Palm Beach has represented elegance and excellence since opening its doors in 1896. Today, the resort is home to 13 different restaurants, including Echo, the refined pan-Asian eatery celebrating the New Chinese Year. Gather in the garden, front terrace or dining room to enjoy the Dim Sum selection (Crispy Lobster, Kung Pao Chicken Shumai and Steamed Shrimp Dumplings, to name a few), Peking Duck (made with housemade Mandarin Pancakes, cucumber, scallions and hoisin sauce) and Asian Stir Fry. Wrap up the festivities on a sweet note with Molten Chocolate Lava Cake or Echo Sundae.

Where: One South Country Road, Palm Beach

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Novikov

Its high-end décor, interactive dining experience and open kitchen, make this restaurant a favorite destination for those craving an Asian-inspired meal. For the Lunar Year, Novikov has created a special brunch menu that includes more than 30 of the restaurant’s favorite dishes. Enjoy appetizers such as the Spicy Edamame Cucumber Tataki, Salmon Toro Nigiri and Dim Sum selections; entrees like Robata Grilled Branzino and Roasted Peking Duck and all-you-can-drink Champagne, mimosas and cocktails like the Wasabi Martini and Agave Picante. Sit indoors to admire the textured wood walls and columns reimagined as graceful tree trunks or outdoors in the expansive patio.

Where: 300 S Biscayne Blvd, Miami

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Komodo

This long-time Miami favorite is offering an à la carte menu to ring in the Chinese New Year. Menu items include its signature Peking Duck with scallion pancakes, Wagyu Skirt Steak, Money Bag Dim Sum and Daring Plan Based Kung Pao Chicken.

Where: 801 Brickell Avenue, Miami

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Tanuki

Located in the heart of South Beach, this fun spot will welcome the Lunar New Year with a special Wagyu Bao (steamed bun filled with wagyu beef, scallions, spicy hoisin and shiitake) along with traditional red envelopes with surprise gifts. Its name (a Japanese racoon dog, sign of good luck) and interior décor say it all; it’s impossible not to have good fortune after welcoming the year in Tanuki.

Where: 1080 Alton Road, Miami Beach

For more information, click here.

1-800 Lucky

Wynwood’s Asian-inspired food hall boasts two bars and a karaoke lounge and is celebrating the Chinese New Year with a menu of seven “lucky foods” like Longevity Noodles, Coconut Jelly Rabbit Dumpling and Good Fortune Fruit with ice cream for those with a sweet tooth. Also on the menu, the specialty Rabbit’s Foot Cocktail with vodka, Baijiu, Campari and lemon.

Where: 143 NW. 23rd St, Miami

For more information, click here.