Spice Temple is not just honouring, but wholly immersing itself in the Chinese tradition of welcoming propitious times with special feasts containing dishes of good omen, exclusively curated for the forthcoming Lunar New Year celebrations. The restaurant’s Executive Chef for Sydney and Melbourne locations, Andy Evans, along with Melbourne’s Head Chef Maggie Chan, have put together exceptional banquet menus in celebration of the Year of the Dragon, which begins on Saturday, 10th February, with traditional festivities continuing for up to 16 days.
These specially crafted Lunar New Year banquet menus, priced at $149 per person, are on offer from Monday 5th February to Sunday 18th February, for both lunch and dinner services at Spice Temple in Sydney and Melbourne. As Chef Andy explains, “We have included some of our most special dishes reserved for celebratory occasions, and have also developed completely new dishes that feature ingredients known to bring prosperity, happiness, peace, love, and other aspects of good fortune.”
In the Sydney location, the Chinese New Year banquet menu highlights purse-shaped pipis symbolising fortune, tea eggs for fertility, noodles for longevity, and red ingredients such as baby tomatoes for prosperity. The Melbourne menu, on the other hand, features golden bao buns and abalone representing wealth and power, along with classic dishes usually consumed during Lunar New Year feasts, such as the raw fish Yu Sheng salad, colloquially known as ‘Prosperity Toss’, which stands for good luck in the coming year.
“Diners are encouraged to toss the shredded ingredients of the salad high into the air; the higher they toss, the greater their good fortune in the year ahead,” says Chef Andy. In Melbourne, Chef Maggie has concocted unique dishes, like the Golden Bao Buns that signify wealth. Another special addition for the Lunar New Year feast is the Shanghai Shallot Oil Noodles, served with grilled Spencer Gulf prawns.
“We hand-make the noodles. As per traditional Chinese belief, noodles represent longevity. Although this is a humble dish cherished for its great flavour, we’ve elevated it at Spice Temple by adding beautiful prawns for a premium touch.” And to represent wealth, they’ve paired their Sichuan liang fen, a humble street food dish, with rich abalone in their limited-edition Chinese New Year menu.
Embark on this culinary journey and welcome the Year of the Dragon with Spice Temple’s feast of auspicious dishes. Here’s to good fortune, prosperity, happiness and a fantastic Lunar New Year!