With Lunar New Year on February 10, the Year of the Dragon is rapidly approaching. Arguably one of the best ways to celebrate is to eat some seriously good food. Luckily for us, Melbourne has plenty of incredible restaurants serving up massive banquets, sweet desserts and other special dishes for the Lunar New Year. Gather your friends and family and spend the festive season feasting on prosperous and delicious dishes. What will you try first?
1. Spice Temple
Spice Temple is celebrating the Year of the Dragon with a limited-edition banquet. Enjoy a feast of auspicious dishes, including purse-shaped pipis for fortune, tea eggs for fertility and longevity noodles. This feast costs $149 per person, and is available from February 5 to 18. More info here.
Crown, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank VIC 3006
2. Din Tai Fung
Head to Emporium Melbourne and welcome the Year of the Dragon with adorable, dragon-shaped buns. Loaded with chocolate lava and sea salt, these sweet treats will make your heart melt. Din Tai Fung also has other special Lunar New Year dishes, including Prosperity Toss Salad and black sesame mochi balls. The buns are available until February 24. Bookings are available now.
Level 4/287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
3. Old Beijing
Feast on a Lunar New Year banquet from Old Beijing, with festive dishes like Prosperity Yee Sang, Braised Supreme Abalone with Boletus Mushroom, Lotus Leaf Rice, Braised Pork Knuckles, King Island Lobster and more. Banquets start at $598 for four people. The special menu is available from February 9 to 11. There will also be lion dances in the evenings of February 9, 10 and 16. More info here.
31-37 Artemis Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
4. Piccolina x Lagoon Dining
Piccolina Gelateria has teamed up with Lagoon Dining to create special flavours for Lunar New Year. There will be six flavours total, delivered in two sets over three weeks at all Piccolina stores. These flavours were inspired by Lagoon Dining’s Chinese-Malaysian menu, and include options like jackfruit, grapefruit & lime sorbet with coconut milk jellies, or mango sorbet with lychee jellies. These flavours will be available from February 7 to 27.
There will also be a special event to celebrate the start of the Year of the Dragon. Head to the Piccolina Hardware Lane store on Saturday February 10, and feast on a savoury noodle dish from Lagoon, a scoop of Lunar New Year gelato, and a fruit soda. This event costs $35. Learn more here.
đź“Ť43 Hardware Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
5. Longrain
Celebrate Lunar New Year at Longrain with lion dance performances and celebratory dishes. There’s three festive items for you to try. Feast on spanner crab with X.O fried rice, whole steamed barramundi and dry aged duck breast. Pair it with a special Lunar New Year cocktail for an extra bit of fun. These dishes are available to try on February 9, 10 and 11. Meanwhile, lion dances will take place on February 9 at 6:30pm and 8:15pm. Find more info here.
📍​44 Little Bourke St, Melbourne VIC 3000
6. Tian38
Tian38 is offering an Abundance Banquet to help you welcome the Year of the Dragon. Feast on Yee Sang Prosperity Salad, Wok Tossed XO Lobster Tail, Hainan Chicken, Whole Steamed Barramundi and more. This banquet starts at $688 for four to six people.
If you’re not interested in the banquet, opt for their Lunar New Year specials, including 5-hour, slow-braised pork belly, pandan cheesecake and festive cocktails.
The Lunar New Year dishes are available from February 5 to 15. Bookings are essential.
đź“Ť350 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
7. Le Yeahllow
The whimsical team at Le Yeahllow transform desserts into edible works of art. This year, they’ve taken inspiration from the fine china art of Emperor Kang Xi’s Qing Dynasty to create the Fine Ceramic Apple Cake for Lunar New Year. This special cake symbolises a safe and peaceful year ahead. It has a pristine, red ceramic finish, with flavours of apple, vanilla and walnut within. There’s a 5-inch size for $85 or a 7-inch size for $115. Find out more here.
đź“Ť366 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000 and 14 Claremont St, South Yarra VIC 3141
8. Secret Kitchen
Secret Kitchen has multiple fest banquets to choose from at their Chinatown and Doncaster stores. Starting at $938 for 6 people, these banquets included dishes like lobster, suckling pig, lotus root soup, Chinese New Year rice cake and more. Their Chinatown store will also have a limited amount of special items for yum cha, like purple rice mixed nut steam bun and fried sesame prawn cake with seaweed Check out their menu here.
222 Exhibition St, Melbourne VIC 3000 and ShopL2-2003, 619 Doncaster Road, Doncaster VIC 3108
9. Oriental Teahouse
Enjoy yum cha either in the city and in South Yarra at Oriental Teahouse. Both locations will have interactive lion dance performances in the afternoon on Saturday February 10. Feast on yum cha during the day, or try some Lunar New Year specials for dinner. These specials will be available on February 9 and 10 at the Melbourne store, and from February 9 to 11 in South Yarra. More details here.
378 Little Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000 and 455 Chapel St, South Yarra VIC 3141
10. Black Star Pastry
Looking for dessert? Black Star Pastry is celebrating Chinese New Year with an awesome Golden Dragon Cake. The four-portion dessert is topped with a gold-dusted dragon, flying through dragonfruit ‘clouds’. The single-portion cake is topped with a gold chocolate coin, inscrubed with calligraphy for the word ‘dragon’. Underneath, you’ll find layers of pink and white dragonfruit, sponge, pineapple and vanilla cream, pomegranate jelly ripples and a biscuit crumb base.
The four-portion cake is available for pre-order from February 8 to 11. The single-portion size is available for pre-order and in-store from February 1 to 29. See more here.
Shop 4/8 Driver Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, 2C Acland St, St Kilda VIC 3182 or Kiosk 0105, Lower Level, 1342 Dandenong Road, Chadstone Shopping Centre.
11. Warabi
Are you feeling lucky? Manifest some good fortune with an Omakase experience at Warabi. Reservations made between February 10 and 24 will receive a red packet, filled with either an instant win, or an automatic draw for a stay at W Melbourne. Don’t forget to try their Japanese dragon-inspired cocktail while you’re there. See more here.
đź“Ť 408 Flinders Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000
12. David’s
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon on February 10 at David’s. They’ll mark the occasion with a Lunar New Year Yum Cha feast. There will be two yum cha sessions, serving up favourites like Xiao Long Bao and prawn dumplings. There will also be a lion dance performance at 3pm.
If you prefer something Ă la carte, there will Lunar New Year dishes available in the evening menu, and throughout the weekend. See more details here.
đź“Ť4 Cecil Pl, Prahran VIC 3181
13. Moonhouse
There’s two ways for you to celebrate Lunar New Year at Moonhouse. Opt for the set menu for $75 per person, and feast on dishes like Do Yee Sang, longevity noodles and duck pancakes. There are dishes that you can add on or swap out to make the menu a bit more personal. Or, you can choose your own culinary adventure with their Lunar New Year Ă la carte menu. All guests will receive a red envelope, containing vouchers ranging from $5 to $100. These vouchers can be used at Commune Group venues, including Moonhouse, Tokyo Tina and New Quarter.
Bookings are available from 6pm onwards from February 7 to 11. See more here.
​282 Carlisle St, Balaclava VIC 3183
14. Hawker Hall
Hawker Hall is going all out for Lunar New Year. Take part in thelucky fortune cookie giveaway, for the chance to get free cocktails, vouchers, and one major $888 voucher for Hawker Hall. Join them for dinner between February 9 and 11 to take part in the giveaways.
Then, enjoy a special Lunar New Year banquet, and feast on lucky dishes for $88 per person. You can also dine Ă la carte and indulge in some festive specials. The banquet and Lunar New Year specials are available until February 29.
Meanwhile, there will be traditional lion dance performances on February 9 and 10.
For more details and bookings, click here.
đź“Ť98 Chapel St, Windsor VIC 3181
15. Firebird
Celebrate Táşżt, or Vietnatmese New Year, with a seafood tower at Firebird. Available until sold out on February 10 and 11, diners can choose between towers for two or three people. There’s three delicious tiers to feast from, with items like lemongrass squid, oysters, vermicelli noodles and pineapple mignonette. Bookings can be made via their website.
đź“Ť223 High St, Prahran VIC 3181