Chinese New Year: Who's celebrating?

Chinese New Year, is tomorrow on the 19th February and with the year it being the goat comes a chance to party and celebrate the New Year again. Here is a rundown of some of the places celebrating Chinese New Year and what you can find at each. 

Royal China

Start off the Year of the Sheep/Goat at Royal China restaurants, where each table in all six restaurants will receive a red envelope, called a ‘lei see’, each of which will have a fortune message inside. One lucky table in each restaurant will also find a voucher for a complimentary meal up to the value of £100 in their ‘lei see’.

Red envelopes are usually presented at social events such as weddings and the Lunar New Year. The red colour of the envelope symbolises good luck and is said to ward off evil spirits.

The Royal China restaurants are based in London, with restaurants in Bayswater, Fulham, Harrow-on-the-hill, Canary Wharf and on Baker Street.

The group is well known for its Dim Sum, which is served daily from noon until 5pm and includes steamed seafood dumplings with spicy sauce and pan-fried fillet of duck breast rolls.

Cha Cha Moon

Staff at the Cha Cha Moon are seeing in the Chinese New Year with acts of kindness. Being devoted and kind-hearted are traits of those born in the Year of the Sheep, so on the 19th February Cha Cha Moon will be inspired by these qualities.

Customers may be surprised with acts of thoughtfulness from staff, ranging from tasters of dishes to random free items on the bill.

Based in Soho, just of Carnaby Street, Cha Cha Moon offers authentic Chinese cuisine as well as other dishes from across Asia, spanning from street food to classic dishes.

The sharing platters are an ideal meal for the New Year, with the menu including the Cha Cha Moon platter, seafood platter, and steamed bun platter, among others.

Shangri-La Hotel

With its distinctly Asian heritage, the Shangri-La Hotel at the Shard has prepared a wide range of ceremonial treats to welcome the Year of the Goat and celebrate its first Chinese New Year in London.

TING Lounge on level 35 will serve a Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea, prepared with TING’s signature Asian twist. Priced at £54 or £62 with a glass of champagne, traditional Chinese New Year dumplings and vanilla-infused rice pudding with a rose, raspberry and lychee fruit compote will be featured alongside Shangri-La’s signature Asian tea savouries, cakes and authentic Chinese teas.

Always popular on Chinese New Year are prawns and shrimps, so wok-fried Kam Heong-Style King Prawns will be on offer for £24 and include fragrant dried shrimps, curry powder, shallots and garlic. Both this dish and the Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea will be available from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd February 2015.

Following the success of the recent Festive Hampers, LANG, the hotel’s artisan deli and cake shop, will create special Chinese New Year varieties filled with traditional Chinese treats. Custom-made, they will be available from 20 January to 20 February 2015 and include a unique selection of Chinese New Year pudding, red bean cheese cake, Oolong tea, fortune cookies and the popular, spicy XO sauce. It is £50 per hamper, and you can also include rare Chinese delicacies such as abalone (hamper cost £106), a bottle of Chairman’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from top Chinese winemakers, Grace Vineyard (hamper cost £87) – or both at £142 per hamper.

GONG, London’s highest destination bar on level 52, will mix a specially created Lucky Goat cocktail. Featuring China’s Shui Jing Fang white spirit - also known as baijiu, China’s most popular and traditional drink for celebrations – the drink will be paired with British favourite Tanqueray gin, lychee and lemon juice and Prucia Umesha plum wine. Garnished with an edible flower on a curved bamboo stick, it will be available from Friday 13th until Sunday 22nd February 2015 and will cost £17.

Mr Fogg’s of Mayfair

The cocktail bar inspired by Phileas Fogg’s journey around the world is celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time this year.

There will be dragon dancers, imported decorations, authentic Chinese musicians from Peking, traditional Chinese bells at midnight and ‘lei see’ red envelopes.

Once seated each guest will receive a complementary cocktail and Chinese delicacies.

Staff will be swapping their traditional Gieves and Hawkes military uniforms for a range of ‘hanfu’ style outfits and robes.

Located at 15 Bruton Lane, Mayfair, you can turn up on the night or make reservations through their website or telephone number.

Bart’s

The speakeasy located on Sloane Avenue, Chelsea, will be having ‘one night in China Town’ this Chinese New Year.

Decorated with red Chinese lanterns, paper cuttings, peonies, door couplets and more, Barts will also have Chinese dancers in attendance. The barman will be in traditional Chinese attire and serve cocktails in tea cups.

The drinks menu will be inspired by elements of the Orient, and there will also be an assortment of canapés. There will be fortune cookies all round at midnight, filled with words of wisdom.

By Samantha Wright

 Are you going anywhere to celebrate the year of the goat?