Lunar New Year is coming up this week and with such a wealth of delicious dining you'd be forgiven for not knowing where to choose for a bite.
Over in Spitalfields, our favourite East London dumpling spot Xi Home Dumplings Bay has created a special selection of the most beautiful steamed buns to celebrate Chinese New Year. As well as their usual stellar menu of delicious dumplings, hadmade on site, the set of four buns - decorated as intricate dragon faces - are available in store or to order online. Flavours include custard egg yolk, sweet ube and taro, truffle chocolate and custard matcha with each individually hand-crafted from scratch and meticulously decorated by XI Home’s expert chefs, creating a truly special offering. £12 each or £46 for the full set. www.xihomestore.com
Over in Covent Garden, Din Tai Fung’s special menu - available until 9th February - consisting of “Lion’s Head” Pork Meatball Soup paired with a ‘Golden Twist’ cocktail includes dishes inspired by the culinary traditions from Huaiyang and Taiwanese cuisines. We love the sound of the Fish Jiao Zi, steamed fish dumplings, "Lion’s Head” Pork Meatball Soup (a steamed pork meatball soup with Chinese cabbage) Courgette & Prawn Xiao Long Bao and Prawn & Egg Fried Rice with XO Sauce. Customers can also enjoy two new cocktails created for the occasion. The Golden Twist features rum, champagne, and a hint of Laphroaig while the Silk Garden Mocktail is a blend of Everleaf’s Forest aperitif, strawberry, and coconut. Din Tai Fung are also giving away 100 free baskets of their award-winning Xiao Long Baosoup dumplings to those who discover a hidden golden “Snake Charm” inside their dumpling basket. For your chance to win, simply pair any New Year drinks with your Xiao Long Bao order. www.dintaifung-uk.com
Tooting's Daddy Bao is celebrating on the 27th with a ‘Year of the Snake’ seafood feast. The one-off tasting menu will centre around traditions, such as the seven coloured fish salad that will be tossed together for luck and prosperity, and long noodles that represent a long and prosperous life – but with a Daddy Bao twist. The menu features a welcome cocktail and snack, followed by seven coloured fish salad, BBQ prawn bao with pickled mooli, spring onion mayo, pickled red chilli and crispy wonton skins, vegetable and mushroom XO spring roll, garlic and ginger dipping sauce, brown shrimp taro puff, smoked eel and cod siu mai, butterflied whole sea bass, superior soy sauce, longevity noodles, shiitake and garlic chives and eight treasure rice pudding. Tickets are available online here.
Chinatown favourite Bun House also has a limited edition bun in town, this time in the shape of a goldfish. The 'Lucky Yu' custard bun - Yu being the Chineese work for fish - is avaialble now with a limited run every day, alongside their other LNY specials of prosperity tossed mushrooms, prawn toast, confit orange duck, clay pot mussels and mango sago. The full menu is available at their Bun House Disco space on Bethnal Green Road. Book online here.
Malaysian spot Med Salleh is celebrating with dishes such as their Lucky Lousheng; shredded carrots, mooli, yellow radish, cucumber, pickled ginger, pickled onion, pomelo, crispy yam, crispy wanton pastry, and crispy vermicelli topped with roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, tuna and salmon sashimi, caviar, and edible gold leaf (from £68 for 6 people). Join them this week for the Prosperity Toss - a celebration of abundance, good luck, and togetherness! www.medsalleh.co.uk
