15 February 2024
22 mins Read
Lunar New Year 2024 falls on 10 February when the Year of the Dragon begins. In Australia, many nationalities join in the festivities by heading out to restaurants to feast on ‘lucky food’ over the 16-day event. From dishes of jiaozi (dumplings) to signify wealth or tangyuan to promote family togetherness, we give you our guide on where to feast while ushering in the Year of the Dragon (more specifically the Wood Dragon) in 2024. Gong hei fat choy.
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Chef Dan Hong will be shaking up tradition at the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Mahjong Club event at Est. alongside the star of Crazy Rich Asians, Remy Hii.
Chef Dan Hong with Crazy Rich Asians actor, Remy Hii at the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Mahjong Club event.
In-between tile tournaments led by a mahjong master, guests will be treated to bite-sized dishes such as rock lobster bao and wagyu skewers paired with bespoke Johnny Walker Blue Label cocktails. The Lunar New Year 2024 event will be held for one day only on Saturday 17 February, between 1.30pm and 9pm.
Feast on bite-sized dishes such as rock lobster bao and wagyu skewers.
Address: Level 1/252 George St, Sydney
In Sydney, Lunar New Year is a multicultural event. Perhaps you’re craving a greater connection with your heritage. Or maybe you just want to get to know the city of Sydney by eating your way around its best restaurants.
Celebrate in the dimly lit Redbird Chinese restaurant. (Image: Nikki To)
The Lunar New Year 2024 banquet at the neighbourhood eatery ticks both boxes. Bec Lines and Hamish Ingham will draw on the legacy of the Lunar New Year for the special set lunch menu at Redbird Chinese in Redfern. It will also hero the eponymous, red-braised bird to welcome in the Year of the Dragon.
Taste your way around the menu at Redbird Chinese. (Image: Nikki To)
Address: 99 Redfern Street, Redfern
Take note of the message in your fortune cookie: ‘An exciting opportunity lies ahead of you’. Then brush your moustache and get yourself down to the Grain Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney.
Have a tipple at The Grain Bar.
The bar will be celebrating the Lunar New Year in Sydney with a collab with the international team from an award-winning bar in Guangzhou, China. The Grain Bar will also be the gateway to a good time with contemporary cocktails full of masterly flourishes. The two takeover sessions are scheduled for 9 and 10 February.
Welcome the Lunar New Year with a toast.
Address: 199 George St, Sydney
Those who bounced from spot to spot in Darling Square for 2023’s Year of the Rabbit will know how to navigate around the Asian eateries dotted around this buzzy precinct.
Darling Square is festooned with fairy lights and Chinese lanterns.
Feeling lucky? This year’s festivities will include a lantern giveaway with every visitor who spends $50 or more at a Darling Square retailer receiving a free lantern.
Darling Square is part of the Darling Harbour precinct, one of Sydney’s many revitalised hubs. Expect dragon boat races, lion dancing, live DJs, jet pack water shows and fireworks each weekend from 10 to 25 February.
Ring in the Lunar New Year at Darling Square.
Address: Tumbalong Blvd, Darling Square
Those born in the Year of the Rooster, Rat, Monkey, Dragon and Snake will be counting their blessings in 2024. According to Chinese horoscopes, these are the signs that will have the most luck and fortune in the coming year.
Uplift your spirits with new beginnings.
The traditional lion dance is central to the Lunar New Year celebrations at The Star. But it’s the bountiful spread at Harvest Buffet that will really make you feel fortunate. The options are endless but the most decadent of all the dishes is the steamed slipper lobster e-fu noodles.
Have your chopsticks at the ready to devour dumplings at Harvest Buffet.
Address: Level 1, 80 Pyrmont St, Sydney
The Lunar New Year lunch at Pearl Dining is steeped in rituals. The four-course exclusive banquet includes a yee sang salad of abalone, lobster and kingfish that diners toss for prosperity. Dragons are associated with assuring bountiful harvests in Chinese culture which Pearl Dining has taken full advantage of with its 10-course menu.
Lunar New Year goldfish dumplings at Pearl Dining.
Lean into the symbolism of Lunar New Year by watching the captivating Lion Dance Performance and going into the draw to receive random red envelopes. The $168 set menu is available for tables of four or more. It includes auspicious dishes such as wok-fried scallops, dry-aged double-roasted duck and a lucky chocolate box.
Scale up… and order the steamed fish at Pearl Dining.
Address: Young St, Quay Quarter Tower, 50 Bridge St
Lunar New Year attracts up to 1.3 million visitors to the nation’s capital according to the City of Sydney. Connect with this auspicious date on the cultural calendar by attending a dumpling master class at Luna Lu. Dumplings are traditionally eaten at Lunar New Year to draw in good luck as they’re shaped like ancient Chinese money.
Treat your Valentine to Opera House views at Luna Lu.
The restaurant, which boasts Sydney Opera House views, is hosting a special set menu to welcome the Year of the Dragon 2024. It’s also bringing to the table its famed dumpling classes ($100 per person) run by celebrated chef Davide Maiuri who has worked in prestigious four-Michelin-starred venues around the world.
Enjoy Luna Lu’s famed dumpling classes.
Address: 5, 7-27 Circular Quay West, Campbells Cove, The Rocks
Aria executive chef Tom Gorring has designed a limited-edition Lunar New Year menu that will showcase some auspicious ingredients indeed.
The Peking duck consommé with abalone, shiitake and coriander and Southern rock lobster with XO sauce and handmade noodles will dazzle as much as those Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge views. Invite good fortune for the Year of the Dragon with each spoonful of the raspberry, lychee, white chocolate and coconut dessert. The seven-course tasting menu is available from 10 to 24 February.
Dine on a seven-course tasting menu at Aria. (Image: Steven Woodburn)
Address: 1 Macquarie St, Sydney
One of the best things about dining out in Sydney is to see how deeply our multicultural population has influenced the hospitality scene.
The Chatwood Year of the Dragon Festival leans into the Lunar New Year with a lantern parade, dancers, traditional costumes and music from 1 to 25 February. Head to Star Capital Seafood for xiao long bao or trawl through the LNY stalls that will line Victoria Avenue for the duration of the celebration.
Address: 399 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
The Lunar New Year is a great time to experience Lilymu at Parramatta Square where crowds converge for home-style meals with modern accents. Lunar New Year is for everyone at Lilymu, as the pan-Asian eatery sits at the intersection of culture, cuisine and tradition.
Indulge in an array of pan-Asian dishes at Lilymu. (Image: Jiwon Kim)
To celebrate this auspicious occasion, the Lilymu team has curated a menu of exclusive dishes for guests to enjoy such as the wagyu rib-eye on the bone. It’s elevated in this instance with Japanese hot mustard, yuzu nori and a ginger shallot relish. Fortify yourself with a few cocktails before enjoying these crowd favourites. Each guest receives a lucky red pocket with a $20 voucher redeemable at future reservations.
Celebrate this auspicious occasion at Lilymu. (Image: Nikki To)
Address: 3 Parramatta Square, 153 Macquarie St, Parramatta
Wish your loved ones a happy Lunar New Year with a special edition rice lager called ‘Hawke’s Lucky Lager’. Commit to a few tinnies and make the lazy Susan work by giving it a couple of solid spins to send the spicy ‘Dragon Wings’ your way. Born in the Year of the (Wood) Dragon? You’ll receive a $10 pint for being so auspicious.
Push the envelope for Lunar New Year at the Lucky Prawn in Marrickville. Credit: Nikki To
The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre is a venerable modern-day Marrickville institution. Hawke’s Brewing Co has partnered with the Lucky Prawn for the festivities, which will include a cymbal-clashing cameo from the Jin Wuk Koon Lion Dancers. The restaurant is a retro throwback to the Chinese restaurants from our childhood: think patterned carpet and paper chandeliers. Expect Hawke(r)-inspired dishes such as special fried rice, sweet and sour pork and other Cantonese classics.
Expect good fortune to be bestowed upon you at the Lucky Prawn. Credit: Nikki To
Address: 8-12 Sydney Road, Marrickville
Gold bao buns. Abalone. Tea eggs. Insider intel tells us these are just a few of the auspicious dishes that will be on offer at Spice Temple in Melbourne as part of its Lunar New Year 10-course banquet.
The menu curated by chef Andy Evans is a masterpiece, designed around celebratory dishes that “promote peace, prosperity, happiness, peace, love and other aspects of good fortune”. Those looking for love should save room for the Jasmin tea parfait with mandarin sauce.
Indulge in the menu curated by chef Andy Evans at Spice Temple.
Address: 8 Whiteman St, Southbank
The Year of the Wood Dragon symbolises longevity, wealth, prosperity and happiness. Make way for incoming luck this Lunar New Year by getting together with the extended family and following the unyielding scent of soy, garlic and ginger to Moonhouse.
Nab a spot at Moonhouse for your Lunar New Year celebration. (Image: Parker Blain)
The 110-seater restaurant dishes up classic Chinese yum cha dishes on Saturdays and Sundays and is a celebration of Melbourne’s colourful culinary fabric.
Don’t miss out on their special roast chicken.
Address: 282 Carlisle St, Balaclava, Melbourne
This 228-seater former Dracula theatre restaurant roared back to life when it was rebooted as the first Australian iteration of China’s Panda Hot Pot chain. The fact it has a 1.5-tonne steel dragon presiding over the two-storey dining room means it’s retained a sense of drama.
Spice up your cravings at Panda Hot Pot.
But instead of vampire-themed cabaret, the theatrics now involve live cultural performances year-round. It’s like stepping through a door into ancient China. The spicy Sichuan hot pot is served with a floating dragon which seems suitably auspicious.
A giant dragon statue welcomes you upon entering Panda Hot Pot.
Address: 1056-1060 Dandenong Road, Carnegie
Brush up on the art of eating xiao long bao without losing the encased soup before booking a romantic night out at Din Tai Fung Emporium for the Lunar New Year. That way you can dig in to devouring as many dumplings as you can handle which will ensure you have good luck in 2024.
You can see the chefs demonstrating the art of bao jiaozi (wrap dumplings) in the glass-walled kitchen. They pleat, you eat. And then repeat.
Address: Level 4/287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Tết Nguyên Đán is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. And this wood-fired Vietnamese restaurant in Prahran will be running a special Tết menu to celebrate the ‘Festival of the First Morning of the First Day’.
Dine on the special Tết menu at Firebird.
Firebird is the sister venue to Moonhouse and the Lunar New Year is the time to splurge for Melbourne’s Vietnamese-Australian community. Request a table by the kitchen so you can watch the chefs playing with fire and preparing your extravagant feast.
Fill your tummy with delicious Vietnamese specialties at Firebird. (Image: Leah Traecey)
Address: 223 High St, Prahran
Kingfisher Bay Resort on K’gari is hosting a special Lunar New Year event that includes accommodation and a Chinese buffet banquet. This is good news for anyone who loves kung pao chicken and Moreton Bay bugs, which in this instance are stir-fried with ginger, shallots and soy chilli sauce.
In addition to these two dishes, there will be another 10 courses on the banquet menu. There will also be traditional dragon dancers and percussionists at the resort’s ballroom.
Address: Kingfisher Bay, K’gari
Donna Chang is doling out a lot of daji dali (good luck and prosperity) during Lunar New Year. Dig into dishes such as red-braised pork ribs, duck wontons and lo bak go with chilli, all of which signify abundance and plenty. Brisbane has a mind-bogglingly diverse multicultural food scene and Donna Chang is one of the best of them.
Reserve a spot at Donna Chang’s.
Seinfeld fans will recognise the restaurant’s name from The Chinese Woman episode; the fortune cookies even contain classic one-liners from the cult series. There’s not a panini in sight but the lazy dragon roll makes a guest appearance on the banquet menu on offer 9 and 10 February.
Try Donna Chang’s special dim sum.
Address: Adina Hotel, 171 George St, Brisbane
Expect the atmosphere at Madame Wu to be lively for the Lunar New Year festivities. The riverfront restaurant’s Year of the Dragon menu includes yu sheng (the celebratory prosperity salad of Ora salmon and raw vegetables) and a whole steamed fish (in this case North Queensland coral trout) with handmade and aged soy sauce.
The Lunar New Year menu at Madame Wu, on offer from 5 to 11 February, has all the classic pan-Asian dishes we crave. Sit out on the terrace and watch the current of humanity float past by and toast to your good fortune.
Dine classic pan-Asian dishes at Madam Wu.
Address: Upper Plaza Level, 71 Eagle St, Brisbane
Chef Louis Tikaram has curated a diverse menu of Cantonese dishes to enjoy at Stanley over Lunar New Year. The culinary offerings run the gamut from grilled baby abalone with black bean, garlic and chilli to XO pipis with crispy noodles, coriander, shallots and truffle and spanner crab egg fried rice with caviar.
The Lunar New Year set menu will be held over lunch and dinner from 9 to 13 February with traditional lion dancers on select nights. It will be offered in addition to the signature banquet and a la carte menus.
Dine at Stanley’s and catch traditional lion dancers.
Address: 5 Boundary St, Brisbane
Diners at Southside will have good luck, happiness and good fortune bestowed upon them while observing the lion dance. The troupe will be performing as part of the restaurant’s Lunar New Year celebrations from 7.30pm every Friday and Saturday evening between 5 and 11 February.
Witness the spectacular celebration at Southside. (Image: Markus Ravik)
A special banquet has also been designed to mark the occasion. It features prized delicacies such as pork belly with sweet and sour Davidson plum and smacked cucumber with salted chilli. A Southside Dumpling Festival will also be held on 4 February. It’s part of BrisAsia.
A special banquet has also been designed to mark the occasion. (Image: Markus Ravik)
Address: 63 Melbourne St, South Brisbane
Those who have booked the light banquet luncheon on offer at The Ville can also participate in workshops designed to prepare punters for what’s in store for ’24. While you’re feasting like there’s no tomorrow, there will be dance troupes weaving in and around the tables at The Ville, which is one the best places to stay in Townsville.
Chow down at The Ville.
The resort, revitalised after a $43 million redevelopment, overlooks Cleveland Bay and Magnetic Island. The banquet will be held from 20 January to 5 February in Miss Songs Asian Kitchen.
The Lunar New Year banquet will be held from 20 January to 5 February. (Image: Simon Shiff)
Address: Sir Leslie Thiess Drive, Townsville
Lunar New Year is a time when families spend time together. Spend the Saturday morning of 17 February checking out The Chinese Zodiac calligraphy exhibition of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar at the Tanks Art Centre.
Dine on a 12-course feast at Golden Boat Seafood Restaurant.
Then push the boat out by enjoying a lavish Lunar New Year Banquet on offer at the Golden Boat Seafood Restaurant. Dress to the nines to enjoy this 12-course feast with options such as Peking pork loin, roast duck and crispy pork.
Enjoy festive entertainment while you dine.
Address: 34-40 Lake St, Cairns
Expect the good-natured staff at NNQ Vietnamese to cock their head and offer a chúc mừng năm mới as you enter. The local families pouring through the door look like they are part of a procession stepping into a temple.
Enjoy your five-course dinner with real-deal lion dances. (Image: Jon Wah)
The Vietnamese Lunar New Year is celebrated at NNQ in style. From real-deal lion dances to a five-course menu with glass of sparkling on arrival and prizes for the best traditional ao dai or ao ba ba on the night. Ring in the Year of the Dragon on 11 February.
Celebrate Vietnamese Lunar New Year in style at NNQ.
Address: 65 Woodville Road, Woodville
Get in the queue for Lunar New Year at Mrs Q. Set in Adelaide’s historic Loft Wine Bar, a former ballroom that attracted the city’s bigwigs, the modern Asian restaurant and bar promises to transport diners to ‘a night in Bangkok’.
The edges will start to blur between Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese cuisine when you sit down for prawn dumplings, soft-shell crab, pork belly and Peking duck pancakes. Keep checking the restaurant’s website for updates on the Lunar New Year event.
Address: 1/128 Gouger St, Adelaide
Work up an appetite at the Lunar New Year festivities in Hobart which are held on the grounds of Parliament House Lawns. The Chinese Community Association of Tasmania has curated a range of colourful events such as Lion Dance, Dragon Dance and lighting of a three-metre firecracker. Get amongst it and then mooch over to Mr Good Guy for a hawker-style Asian banquet around a table bountiful with (lucky) mandarins and hidden red envelopes.
Mooch over to Mr Good Guy for a hawker-style Asian banquet.
Mr Good Guy is named in honour of a Chinese term that refers to ‘a know-it-all tour guide’. The colourful restaurant on the ground floor of ibis Styles Hobart roars into being for Lunar New Year in Tasmania for 2024. Arrange a family reunion for this firecracker of an event to invite good luck, prosperity and a healthy long life. Expect playful props such as quirky chopstick rests, carefully placed maneki-nekos (beckoning cats) and a ceiling decorated with paper umbrellas.
Ring in the Lunar New Year with a toast. (Image: Olivia Claire Media)
Address: 173 Macquarie Street, Hobart
Bao wow! The braised pork bao with pickled mustard, peanut powder, cucumber and chilli on a charcoal bun at HQ Bar + Kitchen is a must-eat. The Lunar New Year celebrations mark the end of the Year of the Rabbit (or Cat for Vietnamese Australians).
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with your family at HQ Bar + Kitchen.
Frock up in red to ward off evil spirits and reunite with the family over dishes such as prawn bar gow, crispy school prawns, and prawn har gow. Use the money your family members gave you to buy your own luck with dinner here on the 10th floor of Quay Perth. The rooftop bar looks out over Elizabeth Quay.
Kick of your meal with braised pork bao.
Address: Level 10, 18 The Esplanade, Perth
Walk through the pagoda into Perth’s Chinatown to find Fortune Five Chinese Restaurant, which serves the kind of food that has been shaped by generations of Chinese chefs.
Here, you can pay homage to the Lunar New Year over a plate of stewed pig trotters: it’s the kind of traditional ‘lucky’ dish that sets this place apart. Eating here is like a trip to the heart of Shanghai. It’s big. It’s noisy. The service is suitably abrupt. The yum cha nirvana.
Address: 108A James St, Northbridge
There are a plethora of great places to eat and drink in Perth. But celebrating the Lunar New Year in the Western Australia capital is about levelling up.
Raise a glass at Silks for a good year ahead.
The Cantonese cuisine at Silks is a curated roster of dishes served with a contemporary spin. Twice-roasted crispy pork belly or the lobster ginger and spring onion roll are designed to tempt. And there’s an extravaganza of decadent desserts, too. Save space for the green tea mango cake or fried beetroot sesame ball.
Golden garlic signifies wealth.
Address: Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood
Lunar New Year is as much a thing in Darwin as New Year’s Eve thanks to the multicultural fabric of the Northern Territory capital. Surely dining at Darwin’s Dragon Court in the actual Year of the Dragon is bound to bring good luck for the coming year.
Expect traditional Lunar New Year foods chosen with care. And be prepared to joust chopsticks when the food arrives. Dragon Court is not billed as the best Chinese restaurant in Darwin for nothing.
Dining at Dragon Court in the actual Year of the Dragon is bound to bring good luck.
Address: Gilruth Avenue, The Gardens, Mindil Beach
The Chung Wah Society is behind the carefully curated program for the 2024 Chinese New Year Festival. The NT capital has a proud history as a group that promotes peace and harmony and seeks to organise events for the city’s multicultural population.
There will be tai chi demos, lion dancing, a street parade and singing as well as food stalls selling ‘lucky’ Lunar New Year dishes. Take a Walk Darwin tour to hear the Chinese migrant story and then wander around the event held at the Sitzler Netball Centre.
Address: 235 Abala Road, Marrara
Book yum cha brunch at Lazy Susan’s Eating House on a Sunday for a special occasion celebration. Expect a parade of dishes during the lavish feast. You can also go for a la carte and immerse yourself in the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in at this cheery Chinese diner known for its dumplings and delicacies such as the sensational siu mei (roasted meats). After giving the lazy Susan a few spins, have a crack at karaoke.
Address: 21 Cavenagh St, Darwin
For Canberran families talking about doing the festivities up deluxe, Tiger Lane is a must. It’s one of the best places to dine in Canberra.
The plentiful pan-Asian dishes on offer here are as playful and bold as the neon signage and graffiti-clad interiors of the hawker-style eat street. Expect lion and dragon dances throughout the entire Lunar New Year, live cooking demonstrations and drumming performances designed to dispel any evil spirits.
Attract good luck and fortune at Tiger Lane. (Image: Ben Calvert)
Address: Bunda St, Canberra
CBD Dumpling House is a great spot to take the family for Lunar New Year in Canberra. The eatery also has a rota of great dumplings that will be Instagram gold for your foodie followers.
The more dumplings you eat, the more money you’ll make during Lunar New Year 2024. After taking your seat, a waiter will dispatch stacks of little bamboo steamers stuffed with savory and sweet dumplings to arrive at your table. Dig in.
CBD Dumpling House is a great spot to take the family for Lunar New Year.
Address: Canberra Centre, Bunda St, Canberra
Head to Wooley St, Dickson for dragon dancing, festive drumming, Chinese martial art workshops, musical performances and more as part of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Canberra for 2024.
After hitting the streets, it’s time to nosh on Chinese New Year dishes at the casual, upbeat Natural Nine restaurant in Canberra. The Chinese New Year banquet is on offer on 9 and 10 February, 13 and 14 February and 24 February. The ‘pop’ Chinese restaurant at Casino Canberra is an 18+ venue.
Address: 21 Binara St, Canberra
Vegetarians wondering where to dine to celebrate the Lunar New Year should plug Monster in the sat nav. Lunar New Year 2024 signals the transition from the Year of the Rabbit in 2023 to the Year of the (Wood) Dragon in 2024. And at the centre of the celebrations is food.
You’re only minutes away from a Monster good time when you stay at Ovolo Nishi.(Image: Zachary Griffith)
The Canberra restaurant is offering a special menu in honour of the Lunar New Year for $125 per person. Located within the Ovolo Nishi hotel, the feast will draw inspiration from Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures with a roster of vegetarian dishes. It’s one of the best Canberra restaurants for vegetarians.
There are many ‘wonder-full’ nooks to cosy up in at Monster Kitchen and Bar.
Address: NewActon precinct, 25 Edinburgh Avenue, Canberra
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