As the Lunar New Year begins, we gather around tables filled with meaning—long noodles for longevity, dumplings for prosperity, whole fish for abundance.
This season is about more than just eating well; it’s about sharing stories, honoring traditions, and welcoming good fortune together. Here are a few tips to celebrate it in style.
Ding Dong Dim Sum Kit
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with Ding Dong Dim Sum, a brand that makes restaurant-quality dim sum easy to enjoy at home.
Delivering ready-to-cook dim sum boxes, complete with biodegradable steamers, Ding Dong Dim Sum takes the hassle out of cooking while keeping the experience social, fun and delicious.
Originating in 10th century Cantonese tea houses, dim sum has been bringing people together for generations. It’s easy to eat, comes in an endless variety of forms and are tiny flavour bombs.
Dim sum lovers in the UK might see dim sum is usually a restaurant-only treat, as supermarket versions don’t quite hit the mark and making it at home often feels difficult.
Each Ding Dong Dim Sum box is comes in a range of crowd-pleasing options: Classic, Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescatarian and “Just Meat” (because sometimes you know what you want).
Inside you’ll find a generous selection of dim sum, dipping sauces, sticky rice, edamame beans, Slaw Tang, and chopsticks.
Belly
Belly an independent restaurant in London, known for reworking classic French bistro cooking through a distinctly Filipino lens headed by Chef Omar Shah.
Omar Shah invites quests to dive into the Chinese New Year at Belly with an indulgent, limited-edition feast, celebrating duck in all its glory.
Traditionally symbolising prosperity, abundance, and good fortune, the menu is designed as a celebratory centrepiece for the Lunar New Year table.
Available for only five days (18-22nd February), the CNY Duck menu (£160), includes a whole roasted duck glazed with pink peppercorn and honey, served alongside bold dishes worthy of a new year – foie gras fried rice, duck lumpia, adobo offal ragu, BBQ plum with plum and beetroot XO, and calamansi-laced sauces.
With just four ducks available per day, pre-order is recommended.
Thai Square
Thai Square Covent Garden is the perfect spot to celebrate the Lunar New Year with a range of Chinese-inspired dishes and fortune cookies where prizes are to be won!
Available from Tuesday 17th February to Tuesday 3rd March, each table dining at Covent Garden will receive a cookie containing a unique message and exclusive offers, including: 15% off your food bill, 1 free Chang Beer and £5 off any noodle dish.
Guests are welcome to indulge in Thai Square’s selection of à la carte dishes, blending great flavours and traditional symbolism and storytelling:
- Ruby Duck (Roasted Duck in Red Sauce): A vibrant centrepiece symbolising abundance and harmony. The red sauce represents good fortune and career success for the year ahead.
- Seafood with Lemongrass: A premium selection representing completeness. In Chinese culture, seafood symbolises wealth flowing continuously into the home.
- Prawns with Glass Noodles: Prawns represent vitality and progress, while uncut glass noodles symbolise longevity and enduring relationships.
- Steamed / Chu Chi Sea Bass: A traditional must-have. The word for fish (yu) is a homophone for “surplus,” signifying abundance year after year.
- Golden / Red Curry: These “lucky” colours represent wealth and prosperity, while the rich curry base symbolises stability and strength.
Yauatcha, City and Soho
Both Yauatcha venues will be transformed with festive Chinese New Year décor, from red lanterns and decorative archways to ceiling installations and window vinyls, complemented by a striking horse sculpture at Yauatcha City.
To mark the Year of the Horse, Yauatcha City and Soho will host traditional lion dances, filling each location with vibrant colour, energy and a sense of good fortune on the following dates:
- 11 February: Broadgate Circle (outside), 6:30 PM
- 17 February: Yauatcha City, 7:00 PM
- 21 February: Yauatcha Soho, 3:00 PM
Yauatcha’s Chinese New Year menu (£98 per person) starts with a welcome cocktail for parties of two or more.
Featuring steamed dim sum, taro duck claypot, lotus root stir-fried with broccoli and clementine ember petit gâteau fr dessert.
Hakkasan, Mayfair
At Hakkasan, guests will be welcomed from 2nd February by textiles and drapes cascading through the iconic staircase, hand-painted with Chinese New Year messages and featuring an animated horse projected onto the space.
Lion dancers will perform on 18th February at 6:30 PM, animating the space with auspicious symbols of strength, wisdom and good fortune.
The Year of the Horse, representing progress and new horizons is celebrated across Hakkasan’s limited-edition menu, inviting guests to embrace a spirit of momentum and optimism.
Created in partnership with Johnnie Walker Blue Label and Champagne Billecart-Salmon, the experience is available for parties of two or more at £158 per person, including a welcome cocktail and runs alongside the à la carte and signature offerings. Each dish is designed to be shared and enjoyed as a moment of connection, marking the season.
ULI and HUŌ
Celebrate Chinese New Year at ULI and HUŌ with a limited-edition special menu inspired by the Year of the Horse, available alongside the a la carte menu.
Designed to symbolise prosperity, fortune, and fresh beginnings.
Highlights include a special Dim Sum Basket featuring Chicken Siu Mai with XO Sauce, Prawn and Truffle Har Gau, and Aubergine and Spinach Dumplings, alongside Crispy Duck Spring Rolls and Whole Dover Sole with soy, ginger, and scallions.
Available for lunch and dinner across all ULI and HUŌ locations from 17th February to 3rd March, the specials reflect the restaurants’ contemporary approach to Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisine.