The best Lunar New Year lunches and dinners in Sydney

Every dish in the LNY lunch or dinner banquet at Spice Temple has been named after a New Year wish. For $149 per person you can feast on pipis that represent fortune, fish that symbolises peace and prosperity, and hand-made noodles that represent longevity. Book here.

From Feb 5-18.

Feast on fresh seafood, plump dumplings and crisp roast duck this Lunar New Year at Circular Quay’s Cantonese restaurant, Peal. Plus, the flash diner will be giving away red envelopes holding vouchers up to $118 throughout the celebration to some lucky diners. Book here.

From Feb 5-25.

Silks at Crown Sydney is serving a fancy feast for Lunar New Year. The eight-course menu includes dishes like roast suckling pig and the 'yu sheng' salad, featuring Tasmanian ocean trout and braised abalone. It'll set you back $388 per person. Book here.

Feb 5-18.

This buzzy Cantonese bar on the Civic Hotel's rooftop will be offering a special Lunar New Year menu, including a kingfish, tuna, salmon and scallop sashimi platter; lap cheong steamed rice; and mango Ice cream pudding with coconut sago for dessert. $98 per person. Book here.

Jan 6 to Feb 17.

Located in the beautifully preserved Campbell's Cove in the Rocks, contemporary Asian restaurant Luna Lu is putting on a spread for Lunar New Year. Take in views of the Opera House while you enjoy a four-course shared banquet menu with a Moët Hennessy cocktail. It'll cost you $140 per person. Book here.

Feb 10-24.

Barangaroo’s waterfront seafood restaurant, Cirrus, is celebrating the Year of the Wood Dragon with a special feast menu including scallop dumplings with white pepper and tomato broth; spanner crab congee with shiitake mushrooms, shallot oil and chilli crunch; and salt and pepper flounder with condiments. All of the good stuff. $128 per person. Book here.

From Jan 31 to Feb 18.

In the upscale dining room at Aria you can enjoy a seven-course tasting menu for lunch or dinner (and ridiculously good views of Sydney Harbour) for $350 per person. The limited-edition menu showcases prestige ingredients, and honours traditional flavours while giving them an Aria twist. Think Peking duck consommé with abalone and shiitake; southern rock lobster with handmade noodles and XO sauce; and red braised Wagyu short rib with oxtail.

From Feb 10-24.

Even though it's the Year of the Wood Dragon, get around Redbird Chinese this Lunar New Year. The chic Redfern restaurant will be pumping out a seriously delicious Chinese banquet. Think: pickles with Sichuan crisp chicken skin; southern calamari with century egg sauce; WA marron mapo tofu; and a cracking red bird with rosella and blood plum sauce. $128 per person. Book here. 

Feb 9-10.

Wok-fried longevity noodles with Singaporean prawns, white pepper sauce and black garlic oil; salt and pepper whole baby barramundi with sambal; and golden sand mudcrab with crisp curry leaves. These are some of the dishes on Easy Tiger's Lunar New Year menu. And at $88 per person, it's one of the more affordable options available. Book here.

Fri 9-10. 

Everyone’s favourite eighties-inspired neighbourhood pub-turned-Chinese-eatery is celebrating the Lunar New Year in a manner its namesake would be proud of – offering $10 pints of limited edition “Lucky Lager” to drinkers born in the Year of the Dragon. On the food front, the sprawling Marrickville venue is serving up their monthly yum cha from 11am until 3pm on Sunday, February 11, and a sumptuous Chinese feast on Saturday, February 10. To keep you entertained while you’re tucking into sizzling plates of sweet and sour pork, the brewery/ pub/ den of 1980’s nostalgia will be playing host to live dance and drumming performances from the Jin Wu Koon Lion Dancers. Book here.

Feb 10-11.

Lana's executive chef Alex Wong has created a prosperity menu available for two days only. Come for tasty numbers like the eastern rock lobster spaghetti with black pepper butter and shio kombu; steamed murray cod with ginger, shallot and shaved abalone; and chicken wing “siu mai” with scallop butter and caviar. $188 per person. Book here.

Feb 9-10.

Pan-Asian restaurant Lilymu in Parramatta is offering three Lunar New Year specials. Order ahead to get your hands (and mouth) on the mudcrab with turmeric, ginger and betel leaf; steamed lobster with ginger, leek and soy; and 1kg rib eye on the bone served with Japanese hot mustard, yuzu nori and a ginger shallot relish. Book here.

Feb 1-11.

Ring in the Year of the Wood Dragon at new-ish Circular Quay restaurant, Penelope’s. Chef and owner Cuong Nguyen has come up with a selection of dishes with prosperity and luck in mind, including eastern rock lobster tagliolini with XO butter; whole flounder with Champagne and triple caviar sauce; and crispy taro puffs. Plus, if you snag a seat outside you’ll be rewarded with views of the Harbour Bridge. Book here. 

Feb 5-10.

The rooftop of this neighbourhood pub and Chinese eatery will host a very festive Lunar New Year celebration to ring in the year of the Wood Dragon on Saturday, February 10. An $89 ticket will score you a Cantonese feast, free-flowing drinks and hours of entertainment from live DJs. The event runs from 5pm until late. Book here.

Feb 10.

Mr Wong executive chef Dan Hong, along with Crazy Rich Asians star Remy Hii, will together host a Mahjong Club soirée to celebrate Lunar New Year. For one-day-only, guests will be able to try their luck at mahjong while getting stuck into a feast cooked by Hong, accompanied by Johnnie Walker Blue Label-infused cocktails. At $175 a pop, it's not a cheap Saturday, but there's no telling the good fortune that your newfound mahjong skills will score you. Book here.

Feb 17.

This fast-casual Japanese eatery is slinging Lunar New Year specials with spicy karaage skewers for $8 and a spicy karaage don for $18. If you’re keen to start the year of the Wood Dragon with a healthier bank balance, add Dopa to your lunch list.

Feb 5- Mar 3.

Welcome the year of the Wood Dragon at Botanic House, located in the Royal Botanic Garden. The dishes from the multi-course LNY degustation are made from recipes handed down to chef Luke Nguyen from his Chinese grandfather. So you know they're going to be made with love. $105 per person. Book here.

From Feb 9-13.