Lunar New Year gives you a second chance to start over because (let’s face it) January is always a write-off. Our favourite part of this celebration? Banquets are aplenty and overeating isn’t just acceptable, but even encouraged.
The Terrace Bar at The Emporium | Saturday, February 10
Flying in the clouds at The Emporium, Terrace Bar is welcoming the Year of the Dragon with a three-hour food and beverage package, featuring delectable bites like crispy squid and coconut crumbed prawns, an unlimited dim sum station, and specialty sips. There’ll be a live dragon dance too, so grab the family and start the year with good fortune and full tums.
Southside, Fish Lane | February 5 to 11
Southside is starting the Lunar New Year strong by filling bellies with a bangin’ banquet, including new dishes from Head Chef Benny Lam, and grilled WA rock lobster and 8+ wagyu baby tomahawk specials. While you dine amongst the lush greenery of Fish Lane Town Square on select nights, the festivities will come alive with lion dance performances.
Sunnybank Plaza & Sunny Park | Saturday, February 10
Buckle up, because this program is absolutely stacked. To commemorate the Year of the Dragon, Sunnybank Plaza and Sunny Park are bringing the community together with five days of Chinese calligraphy, silk embroidery, dragon dance performances, kids workshops and food discovery tours. It’s no secret that Sunnybank’s Asian foodie scene is pumping, so there’s plenty of ways to get your Lunar New Year fill!
BrisAsia Festival | Till February 18
Brisbane City Council’s annual celebration of the city’s diverse Asian communities is hosting loads of unique events, with a couple featuring edible highlights. There’ll be mini festivals dedicated to everything from dumplings to tea, plus family-friendly experiences like ImaginAsia or live performances from BrisAsia Dance. Get scaly and go check out the full program!
Donna Chang | February 5 to 11
Donna might not have been Chinese, but this Lunar New Year celebration certainly is! Available all week, Donna Chang’s specially crafted banquet is $138pp, fuelling the dragon inside with duck wontons, steamed blue spotted grouper, dragonfruit, coconut and lychee dacquoise, and much more. Live dragon performances will also add some extra fire to your dinner on February 9 and 10, heating up your weekend quite nicely.
Stanley Restaurant, Howard Smith Wharves | February 9 to 13
Ring in the Chinese New Year with curated Cantonese specials from Head Chef Louis Tikaram by the river at Stanley Restaurant. Think garlic butter mud crab, five-spice roast duck, crispy fried whole QLD coral trout and more – are you drooling already? You also won’t want to miss the traditional lion dancers on February 9 and 10.
Fat Noodle at Treasury Brisbane | Till February 29
A yearly hub for Lunar New Year festivities, Fat Noodle is celebrating with intimate banquets for two for just $88 per couple, with sumptuous scallop dumplings and two select drinks on the house. Sounds like the perfect Valentine’s date to us! And if you want to keep the good times going, sip into the night with Lunar New Year themed cocktails at Fat Noodle, Mei Wei, or Ryan’s On The Park at Treasury Brisbane.
Brisbane Phoenix at Brisbane Quarter | February 9 to 23
Two weeks of celebrations? We can totally get on board with that. Brisbane Phoenix is serving its Year of the Dragon special menu, with highlights including steamed coral trout with ginger and shallots, flaming lobster (a fitting pick for fire-breathing dragons), braised abalone and beluga caviar. For larger groups of six or ten, opt for the mighty Dragon Banquet which includes ten luxurious dishes.
Lions and dragons and banquets, oh my!
