Lunar New Year is typically a time for huge family banquets. Restaurants would see multi-generational tables, lai see or hong bao passed to children, auspicious foods ordered, and lots of laughter. Lots of food.
Like so many other aspects of life during this pandemic, we’re planning more isolated, home-based events. Here are 8 great ideas for making your Lunar New Year as festive and delicious as possible, while staying safe at home.
- Order takeaway from your favorite spots. All or part of the lucky menu can be ordered, from dumplings, to whole fish, to longevity noodles.
- Decorate your home with red paper cutouts, couplets, paper lanterns, and bowls of gold coins (candies). Essex Corner (50 Essex St.) has an excellent selection! Also, check out Delight Corner on Oxford St. (under Taiwan Café, behind China King.)
- Place a bowl or plate of mandarins, tangerines on your table. The color and name sound like gold and the leaves symbolize new growth/opportunity. Some children find a beautiful mandarin at their bedside in the morning.
- Jade Garden (Tyler St.) has excellent Cantonese seafood, a whole steamed fish or Lobster with ginger and scallion, which would both bring luck.
- If you’d rather cook at home: check out Happy Family Seafood Market on Hudson St. Beautiful fresh seafood in this small, family-owned shop.
- Don’t forget to pick up your 福(fu) symbol to hang on your door. (hung upside down in Mandarin speaking households because “upside down” and “arrive” are homophones. Cantonese speaking households hang right side up.
- 年糕 (Nian Gao) – is a glutinous rice cake most popular at this time of year. Many like it best when slices are pan-fried. Ho Yuen (Beach St.) has reopened and sells lovely small ones about the size of a bagel or cupcake.
- On New Year’s Day itself, vegetarian dishes are eaten (no ‘taking a life’ on that most important day) My Thai Vegan (Beach St. above Pho Pasteur) has many options.
Jacqueline Church is the owner of Boston Chinatown Tours, a freelance writer, and an advocate for Chinatown. See her articles in Edible Boston, Food & Wine, and more. Look for her contributions to the acclaimed Coronavirus: Chinatown Stories.
To read this article in Chinese (Traditional), please click here.