BWW Preview: CHINESE NEW YEAR 2016 Eat and Celebrate

Chinese New Year 2016 is officially celebrated for seven days from February 7th to February 13th and this is the Year of the Monkey. Here are two wonderful options where celebrants can put the annual festival and their meal in cultural context by exploring the extensive collections of Chinese art and artifacts at two of New York City's most distinguished museums, The Asia Society and The Brooklyn Museum.

At Manhattan's Garden Court Café in The Asia Society, their new Chef de Cuisine Litesh Hosabettu will present a series of well-wishing bento box meal specials featuring foods considered to bring good luck when eaten at Chinese New Year celebrations. Each of the three bento boxes is outlined below, with the lucky dishes annotated what they are meant to bring to the new year table.

February 2nd and 3rd - $22

Sichuan Roasted Chicken

Vegetable Spring Rolls - communicate a wish for prosperity because of their resemblance to gold bars

Longevity Noodles - represent long life

February 4th and 5th - $23

Steamed Catfish with Pickled Cabbage and Black Vinegar Sauce - catfish stands for surplus

Chinese Pork Dumplings - dumplings or "jiaozi" symbolize wealth because they are shaped like ancient Chinese silver ingots

Sticky Rice Cakes - sticky rice signals prosperous business and general life improvement

February 6th and 7th - $23

Five Spice Pork Wrapped in Bean Curd

Turnip Cake - associated with good fortune

Tea Leaf Egg Salad

The Chinese New Year Bento Boxes will be available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Garden Court Café, 725 Park Avenue, (bet. 70th & 71st), New York, NY. Visit: http://asiasociety.org/new-york/garden-court-café.

At the Brooklyn Museum's BMK Bowl, which is all about seasonal dishes presented in its namesake vessel, Year of the Monkey celebrants can scoop into the 48th Street rendition (the name honoring the intersection of 45th St. and 8th Ave. as the epicenter Brooklyn's Chinatown) - Dan Dan Noodles, Spicy Beef, Scallions, Cilantro, Pickled Mustard Greens, Beef Broth. Available Feb. 9th to the 13th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $12. They are located at 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238. Visit: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/hours_admission/dining.

Photo Credit: Garden Court Café Courtesy of The Asia Society

To post a comment, you must register and login.