NYCGuide

11 NYC Restaurants With Lunar New Year Specials

Celebrate the year of the Ox while supporting some of NYC’s small businesses.
11 NYC Restaurants With Lunar New Year Specials image

photo credit: Little Alley

This year, Lunar New Year starts Friday, February 12th. And even though the annual parade in Chinatown is postponed (probably until late Spring 2021), you can still boot up Flushing Town Hall’s virtual Lunar New Year Bazaar and celebrate the year of the Ox with an amazing meal from one of these restaurants. Whether you’re looking for a takeout feast on your couch, an outdoor crafting party, or a special dinner out, here’s what’s available this year.

Want some more LNY ideas? An Indonesian pop-up restaurant from Boston is serving takeout at Hunky Dory in Crown Heights, and it looks incredible. You can also find a great restaurant to support in Sunset Park, Koreatown, Elmhurst, Chinatown, and Jackson Heights - or use our guides to order mapo tofu, a crunchy bánh mì, sashimi galore, and more.


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$$$$Perfect For:Casual Weeknight DinnerGluten-Free OptionsLunchOutdoor/Patio SituationQuick EatsVegans
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Remember offices? Well, when you return to one, we hope that it’s as close to Milu as possible. This Gramercy spot opened in October 2020, serving Chinese fast-casual bowls and platters like Mandarin duck in hoisin sauce and Sichuan-spiced cauliflower. For Lunar New Year, Milu is offering at-home dinners for two or four people (which cost $118 and $218 respectively), available for pickup on Thursday, February 11th, and Friday, February 12th. Each one comes with a whole salt-baked black bass, spicy sesame noodles, wontons, long beans with crispy pork belly, blood orange buns, and more. Don’t wait too long to commit, since the deadline for ordering is Sunday, February 7th.


Picture yourself under a heat lamp on East Broadway, surrounded by glistening baby bok choy, crispy Beijing duck, and tiger shrimp with a spicy ginger sauce. In case that sounds pleasing to you (why wouldn’t it?), check out Hwa Yuan’s in-person LNY special. This Szechuan restaurant serves some of our favorite Chinese food anywhere in NYC, including the best mapo tofu for (plural) miles. Their $150 set menu feeds two people, and there are still a bunch of time slots available on Saturday, February 13th and Friday, February 14th. Make a reservation here.


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The Best Restaurants In Sunset Park

If you’re looking to send some LNY luck and love to your family or friends outside of NYC, know that Jing Fong is shipping their dim sum kit nationwide on Goldbelly. Each box comes with things like har gow, mushroom longevity noodles, wontons, siu mai, and lucky red envelopes. Plus, a portion of each purchase supports Welcome To Chinatown’s Longevity Fund, which provides financial assistance to the neighborhood’s small businesses during the pandemic. If you’re excited about Jing Fong’s kit and live in NYC, it’s also available for pickup.


Nom Wah Tea Parlor has been a dim sum staple on Doyers Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown for over 100 years. This year for Lunar New Year, they’re selling set menus for 2 and 4 people ($88 and $158 respectively) so you can recreate a dim sum celebration at home with dishes like soy sauce chicken, garlic-drenched string beans, pan fried noodles, red bean buns, and more. It’s available for pick-up at their Nolita location on Wednesday, February 10th and Thursday, February 11th - or you can opt for delivery on Friday, February 12th. Email catering@nomwah.com before 5pm on Sunday, February 7th if you’re interested. Oh, and one more thing, Nom Wah’s LNY kit comes with prosecco.


Where To Eat Dim Sum Outside In Chinatown image

NYC Guide

Where To Eat Dim Sum Outside In Chinatown

MáLà Project is one of our favorite restaurants, regardless of whether there’s an official holiday or simply a celebration in your mind. If you’re near their East Village or Bryant Park locations, know that they’re serving Lunar New Year specials for takeout, delivery, or heated outdoor dining on February 11th and 12th. Expect everything from a fried ham hock, shrimp dumplings, and crispy fish to bring you an auspicious start to the year.


If you order takeout or delivery from Junzi Kitchen during the beginning of Lunar New Year, you’ll get a year of the Ox red envelope with a gift inside (either a gift card, a tea pack, or voucher for a free dish next time you order). They only have 3000 of them, and ordering starts February 12th - so get on it. In case you’re looking to send a gift to anyone who isn’t in NYC, Junzi Kitchen ships their chili oils and gift boxes nationwide.


Soogil in the East Village mixes Korean and French flavors and techniques to serve the kind of tasting menu you’d want to impress a date with. Their current $85 menu includes things like a skewer with scallops and leeks, and foie gras with poached peach. For LNY, Soogil is giving complimentary Tteokguk to everyone who stops by for outdoor dining on Thursday February, 11th and Friday, February 12th. If the idea of downing a bowl of hot beef broth with chewy rice cakes, eggs, and beef doesn’t sound enticing, maybe we shouldn’t be friends after all.


Win Son in Williamsburg is offering a special LNY takeout dinner for two in collaboration with Main Street Imperial Taiwanese Gourmet in Flushing. Each dinner comes with soup with pork knuckle and noodles, golden egg with cabbage, stir fried rice balls, and shortbread cookies with roasted pineapple jam. Plus, you’ll get a tote with gifts and more ideas for how to celebrate. It’s running from Friday, February 12th to Sunday, February 14th, and you can place your order and find all the details on their $88 at-home meal here.


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Pearl River Mart Foods

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In addition to selling prepared food like bao, kimbap, and milk tea, this Chelsea Market Asian grocery store is celebrating Lunar New Year by hosting an outdoor crafting party. If you’re in the area, you can stop by the outdoor space on the lower level of Chelsea Market on Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm and make Lunar New Year decorations like lanterns, firecrackers, fans, red envelopes for good luck, and origami oxen. It’s completely free, and runs from February 10th until February 21st.


Little Alley is a Shanghainese place in Murray Hill, and it’s one of the better dinner options in the area (especially if you order their soup dumplings). If you’re celebrating at home, and want something special and seafood-leaning, try their Dungeness crab with salted duck egg or the grilled whole fish with chopped chile. Little Alley’s Lunar New Year specials are available for delivery between February 8th and February 14th.


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NYC Guide

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Welcome To Chinatown isn’t a restaurant - it’s an organization raising money to support Chinatown’s small businesses and doing incredible work to shed light on the neighborhood’s long-standing gems. For Lunar New Year, they’re collaborating with Wing on Wo’s the W.O.W. Project and Abrons Arts Center on a 12-month calendar that highlights Chinatown restaurants and small businesses. If you spend $20 at any of the participating businesses (listed below), you’ll get a free Lunar New Year calendar (they’ll be available for sale online as well). But wait, there’s more. Welcome To Chinatown put together a helpful Lunar New Year gift guide to Chinatown with curated tips on exactly what to order at each place.


Where to Spend $20 & Pick Up Welcome to Chinatown’s Calendar

  • Bangkok Center Grocery

  • Bok Lei Po Trading Inc.

  • Go Believe Bakery

  • Golden Unicorn

  • Grand Century Market Inc.

  • Grand Tea Imports

  • Hop Lee

  • Jungs Dried Beef Inc.

  • Kelly Hair Salon

  • KK Discount

  • Lucky King Bakery

  • Manhattan Florist

  • Mott Street Optical

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