Lucky Foods to Eat for the Lunar New Year
Luck is an important theme during Lunar New Year–celebration and food traditions are geared towards not just welcoming in a new year but hoping for one that brings good fortune. Local chef, author and Chinatown advocate Grace Young shares some “lucky” Lunar New Year dishes with us –and where you can get them in NYC's Chinatown.
The dishes we discuss:
Crispy Fried Chicken with Garlic Sauce
chicken symbolizes wholeness of life on earth
Hop Lee
16 Mott St
Pan-fried oyster omlette (oh chien)
oysters is a homonym for good things
Kopitiam -Malaysian
151 East Broadway
Roast pork
represents purification, peace and bounty
Wu’s Wonton King
165 East Broadway
or Great NY Noodletown
28 Bowery
House Special Buddha’s Delight
Must eat a vegetarian dish the first day of the year.
Vegetarian Buddha Bodhai
5 Mott Street
Sweet and Sour Pork or Sweet and Sour Rib Ends
pork represents bounty
sour sounds like the word for grandchildren
Ping’s—22 Mott
Lobster Fried Rice
This is a dish only locals know to order —not on the menu
lobster is symbol of the dragon popular for new years
XO Taste
41 Elizabeth st
Clams with black bean sauce
represents wealth and prosperity.
Wo Hop —2nd oldest restaurant from 1938
17 Mott Street
Red Snapper Fried/Steamed with Lemongrass—
whole fish represents your wishes coming true
Pasteur Grill & Noodles -Vietnamese
Shanghai rice cake with shrimp
shrimp represents happiness; rice cakes growth and prosperity
Shanghai 21
21 Mott St
