CELEBRATE THE CHINESE NEW YEAR WITH A MOUTH-WATERING SPICE TEMPLE FEAST

Usher in good luck and prosperity for the year ahead by celebrating the Year of the Dragon with a Chinese New Year feast at Spice Temple in Sydney and Melbourne.

Top restaurant Spice Temple embracing the Chinese custom of ushering in fortuitous times with special feasts of auspicious dishes planned for the coming Lunar New Year celebrations.

Executive Chef of Spice Temple Sydney and Melbourne, Andy Evans, and Melbourne Head Chef Maggie Chan have curated delicious special banquet menus to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, which falls on Saturday February 10 with traditional celebrations lasting for up to 16 days.

The Lunar New Year banquet menus ($149 per person) are available from Monday February 5 to Sunday February 18, for lunch and dinner at Spice Temple in Sydney and Melbourne.

Chef Andy said: “We have drawn on some of our most special dishes that we save for celebratory occasions and have also created entirely new dishes featuring ingredients that are said to promote prosperity, happiness, peace, love and other aspects of good fortune.”

In Sydney, the Chinese New Year banquet menu heroes purse-shaped pipis that represent fortune, tea eggs that signify fertility, noodles that stand for longevity, and red ingredients such at baby tomatoes that stand for prosperity.

In Melbourne, the menu showcases golden bao buns that represent wealth, abalone which symbolises wealth and power, as well as classic dishes eaten during Lunar New Year celebrations, such as raw fish Yu Sheng salad, otherwise known as ‘Prosperity Toss’, which symbolises good luck for the new year.

“Diners are encouraged to toss the shredded ingredients of the salad in the air; the higher they toss the ingredients the greater their good fortune in the year ahead,” Chef Andy said.

In Melbourne, Chef Maggie has created unique dishes, including Golden Bao Buns that represent wealth.

Another special dish created for the Lunar New Year feast is Shanghai Shallot Oil Noodles served with grilled Spencer Gulf prawns.

“We make the noodles by hand. In traditional Chinese custom, noodles represent longevity. Traditionally, this is a humble dish that is loved for its great flavour, but at Spice Temple we’ve included beautiful prawns to give it a premium touch," she said.

“Our Sichuan liang fen is another humble dish, of street food origin. On our limited-edition Chinese New Year menu these delicious slippery jelly-like noodles are paired with rich abalone to represent wealth.”

Spice Temple Sydney Banquet Menu

运气 Luck Pickled cucumbers with mint and garlic Baby tomatoes with sweet soy and sesame Roasted cashews with basil

繁荣 Prosperity Raw tuna ‘Yu Sheng’ Tea eggs with smoked soy

財富 Wealth Pork, prawn and garlic chive spring rolls

幸运 Fortune Pipis with pork and Shaoxing wine

长寿 Longevity Longevity noodles with superior broth and chicken dumplings

和谐 Peace Steamed Coral Trout with King Brown mushrooms, rice noodles and ham

幸福 Happiness Barbequed Pure Black beef fillet with Kampot pepper

丰产 Fertility Stir-fried baby greens, young ginger

爱 Love Vanilla chiffon cake with peaches and jasmine tea

Spice Temple Melbourne Banquet Menu

运气 Luck Pickled lotus rootletSichuan style pickled cucumber and shiitake