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Tailored menus, desserts and gift boxes to hop into the Year of the Rabbit with.
With Lunar New Year just around the corner, families across various cultural backgrounds are busy preparing for one of the world’s most celebrated holidays. But whatever your heritage, there’s something all celebrations have in common: good food.
We’ve compiled a list of local spots carrying menu specials and gift boxes for the Year of the Rabbit. From savoury to sweet, these options add a fun twist to traditional Lunar New Year dishes.
Mott 32’s Year of the Rabbit menu features dishes like the whole lobster salad, Alaskan king crab meat E-Fu noodles, and fried arrowhead cake. These dishes are available from January 20 to February 5 for lunch and dinner, and can be ordered as a set menu or a la carte.
Price: TBD
Make a reservation on their website.
Notch8 is located inside Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, and for Lunar New Year they are offering a new themed afternoon tea menu. Try out sweet and savoury options with inspo taken from traditional Chinese foods, like the chilled char siu sablefish sandwich, White Rabbit lemon cake, and foie gras turnip cake. Available now through February 19, with three seatings available at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.
Price: $69 per person ($34.50 for children 12 and under)
For more details and to make reservations, visit their website.
If you’re feeling fancy, Holts Cafe inside Holt Renfrew is another option for Lunar New Year themed afternoon tea. This tea set offers bites such as the char siu slider and White Rabbit mini cupcake. For a mid-day boost, they also offer Lunar New Year specialty beverages (at an additional cost). You can try out this tea set from now until January 29.
Price: $65 per person
Check out their menu for more details.
The hip local restaurant known for its playful twist on Chinese dishes is offering a set menu for four. Dishes include prawn toast, salt baked chicken, and truffle siu mai. The full set of nine dishes is available for dine-in or takeout, from January 16 to 25.
Price: $118
Pre-orders and reservations can be made by calling the restaurant at 604-559-6058.
Prefer more traditional dishes? No problem. Empire Seafood Restaurant has multiple set menus available, all featuring traditional Chinese dishes meant to bring luck and prosperous energy into the new Lunar Year. The different set menus are meant to feed from four to 10 people and are available for dine-in and takeout.
Price: $248 – $1488
Preorder and reservations can be made over the phone at 604-249-0080.
This modern Chinese restaurant is launching a Lunar New Year and Dine Out menu mash-up, available January 18 to February 5. The four-course meal includes dishes like the Hunan spicy steak and lapchang sausage fried rice, perfect for those of you who want to explore more traditional Chinese flavours.
Price: $48 per person
More details about the menu is available on the Old Bird website.
This Southeast Asian restaurant is launching an eight course Year of the Rabbit takeout feast. Each dish represents a different part of Lunar New Year Traditions, including longevity noodles and the prosperity toss. This takeout menu can serve four to six people and is only available for pick-up on January 21 and 22.
Price: $288
Visit their website or Tock for more information and to pre-order.
If you’re looking for drinks to celebrate the Lunar New Year, Smitty’s Oyster House Main Street has a cocktail feature available over the new year weekend (January 20 to January 22). This drink is a combination of Aperol, elderflower, and bubbly, and is served with a red envelope – Cheers, anyone?
Price: $14
Visit their website to make a reservation.
Another spot for celebratory drinks is The Victor, which is releasing two special cocktails – one is a concoction of hibiscus infused baijiu, lychee liqueur, and sake; and the other is a combination of tequila, baijiu, jasmine tea, and yuzu juice. Both drinks are available from January 20 to January 27.
Price: $21
Visit their website to book a table ahead of your visit.
If you like old fashioned drinks with a twist, Straight and Marrow will be featuring a White Rabbit Negroni served in a teacup. How cute is that? This drink is only available January 20 to January 22.
Check out their other cocktail options and make reservations on their website.
Looking to spend a cozy night in for the Lunar New Year? Fresh Prep has some exclusive take-home options for you—specifically, a collab with “bib gourmand” Vietnamese hot spot Anh and Chi. The make-at-home meal kits include the lemongrass chicken vermicelli bowl and the lemongrass tofu vermicelli bowl, which are available from January 1 to April 1.
Price: Subscription based, starting from $13.50 per week
For more information on pricing, check out their subscription plans.
Wondering what you can give to family and friends for the Lunar New Year? A.Bento is offering a selection of take-home gift boxes. The three options include: Gift Box A with Asian sauces, Gift Box B with sauces, fortune cookies and meringue, and finally Gift Box C with the full spread of vacuum packed frozen traditional Chinese dishes. Gift boxes are available now through January 23.
Price: Rabbit Gift Box A ($68), Rabbit Gift Box B ($68), Rabbit Gift Box C ($158)
Order on their website for pick up or delivery.
We’ve explored plenty of savory options: now onto the sweets. French patisserie Ladurée is launching new red and gold macaron boxes and a limited edition ‘Evidence’ cake to celebrate the Lunar New Year. If you’re feeling a little extra, you can add a rabbit design ($1.50 per side) or gold leaf detailing ($3.30 per side) to your macarons. The special offerings are available now until January 22.
Price: $43.00 for eight macarons
Macarons and the ‘Evidence’ cake is available for purchase at all Vancouver locations.
This local bakery is releasing a Lucky Rabbit Collection, with options like the foie gras croissant, oolong peach tiramisu, and gift boxes filled with rabbit motif baked goods. The collection is available to pre-order now for pick up on January 20 to January 22.
Price: $8.88 – $68.88
More information on this collection is available on their website.
End off your Lunar New Year dinner with a homemade jelly cake from Qing’s Cake. This dessert shop operates off Instagram and has a selection of Year of the Rabbit themed cakes ranging from three inches to six inches.
Price: $46 – $86
Cakes are available for ordering through DM on their Instagram page.
Ending on a sweet note, Wild Sweets has many gift set options to celebrate the holiday. Ranging from Lunar New Year themed chocolates to traditional Chinese snacks like sesame seed balls and Eight Treasure rice, Wild Sweets has a little something for everyone.
Price: $6.99 – $51.99
Desserts are available through their website and storefront.
