Celebrate the Lunar New Year with these Asian American-owned small businesses
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with Localish
The Lunar New Year, also known as The Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in Chinese culture. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger based on the Chinese Zodiac. Starting February 1, the holiday is traditionally a time to celebrate good fortune, family, and food.
From delicious dishes to thrilling dragon dances, here are ways you can celebrate and support local small businesses from around the country!
LOS ANGELES
At Menya Hanabi in Los Angeles, they're serving up a Taiwanese-inspired mazesoba, a dry ramen dish topped with an array of umami-rich ingredients, including an original soy sauce, dried seaweed, raw or poached egg, and minced, sweet-and-salty Nagoya-style pork.
Bugra Arkin, the owner of Dolans Uyghur Cuisine, is introducing diners to a type of food most people might not be familiar with. Uyghur cuisine originates from the Uyghur region in Central Asia called Xinjiang and is influenced by a melting pot of cultures including Indian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and Chinese.
The family-owned JTYH restaurant specializes in Sichuan-style food, but the restaurant cooks up a variety of tasty flavors from various cultures, including Taiwanese. They are famous for their knife-shaved noodles, as well as fresh-made soups and dumplings.
This restaurant is taking SoCal by storm with its bold new flavors! People wait in lines out the door just to get their hands on their specialty, rainbow soup dumplings, otherwise known as xiao long bao.
NEW YORK CITY
Owner Chef Kyungmin Kay Hyun's love for a wide spread of cultures and cuisine makes it hard to place her cooking in a specific category, but her concept of "New Korean" was a huge hit at her first restaurant in NYC's East Village.
Round K Cafe was inspired by Korean-style coffee shops and the owner, Ockhyeon Byeon, wants New Yorkers to slow down and experience what real, artisan coffee tastes like. From the Black Coffee, made with 98% Cocoa and coconut charcoal cream that will make your mouth black, to the smooth and delicate Egg Coffee with a real egg cooked inside, and the $50 Space Coffee, it's some of the best, most creative coffee you'll ever drink!
What's better than spicy Korean fried chicken? Korean fried chicken with a river of CHEESE! Dak-galbi, or spicy stir-fried chicken, is a popular Korean dish made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken with other ingredients. Good thing Hong Chun Cheon restaurant in NYC's Koreatown specializes in it, with a cheesy and delicious twist!
HYUN is the only upscale Korean BBQ restaurant in New York that specializes in Japanese A5 Wagyu, flown in from Japan, and provides a luxurious dining experience.
Taking inspiration from her roots in Fujian China, Kelly Zhou opened YAAAS Tea to provide the Long Island community with her authentic flavors and tasty bubble teas.
Owned by an Asian American woman and filled with the stories of minorities in America and first- and second-generation immigrants, Yu and Me Books has a curated selection of books that represent you and me.
CHICAGO
Inside Chiu Quon, the oldest bakery in Chicago's Chinatown, customers gush over the flavor and texture of their barbecue pork buns. The family-owned business has been making savory baked goods and traditional Hong Kong-style pastries since 1986.
Joy Yee made a splash with bubble tea in Chicago about 25 years ago and now they are blowing up again with Bubble Waffle Sundaes. The cold, creamy, and colorful concoctions are a hit with locals and visitors to Chicago's historic Chinatown neighborhood.
This restaurant in Chicago is known for its Macanese small plates and its bakery is creating magic, too! Their Chicago-style hot dog bun is a feast for the eyes and taste buds.
Check out this multi-course Peking Duck dinner that's making us hungry. The duck is carved up table-side and served with bao, plus vegetables for garnish and sauce.
Jianbing can trace its roots back over 2000 years but this Chinese street food has only now blown its way into the Windy City. Located as a stall in Chicago's French Market, Jian serves up traditional jianbing and western-influenced varieties like pulled pork and bacon-cheese avocado.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
Tamarine Restaurant and Gallery
There are so many different foods that Vietnamese families make to celebrate the Lunar New Year, known as Tet in Vietnamese culture. The chef at Tamarine Restaurant & Gallery shows us the symbolism behind each of these delicious dishes.
Leung's White Crane Lion and Dragon Dance School
In Chinese and other Asian cultures, Lion dance is traditionally performed to bring good luck and fortune. Dressed in bright-colored lion costumes, performers mimic a lion's movements to scare off evil spirits and welcome good ones. In America, the interest in learning this ancient performance art is waning with younger generations, but Leung's White Crane Lion and Dragon Dance School is one of the few remaining schools still active and dedicated to keeping the tradition alive.
Palette Tea House celebrates the Lunar New Year with a special 5-course tasting menu specifically designed to bring guests good luck and fortune. Palette Tea House always elevates the taste and quality of its dishes, but the Lunar New Year brings out something extra special.
If you love spicy food, then this dish is for you! At Z&Y Restaurant in San Francisco, they serve a dish called Chicken with Explosive Peppers that will set your mouth on fire with deliciousness!
Located in SF's Outer Richmond District, family-owned Hong Kong Lounge serves as a Bay Area staple for classic dim sum. This Lunar New Year, the restaurant is offering various specialty items for takeout, including a giant pot of celebratory foods known as Poon Choi. This traditional dish overflows with special meats, seafood, and vegetables that symbolize wealth and fortune.
HOUSTON
Down in Texas, crawfish season is always serious business! But there's a spicy craze spreading from Houston's Asiatown to cities across the country - Viet-Cajun crawfish. Chef Trong Nguyen perfected the popular hybrid dish, which involves boiling mudbugs and then tossing them in butter and both Vietnamese and Cajun seasonings.
Dance of Asian America Academy
DAA Academy, the professional school for the non-profit Dance of Asian America company, brings the beauty of Chinese culture to thousands each year through dozens of sensational city-wide performances.
The family-owned Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant has been around for several decades and serves delicious Chinese BBQ. From live seafood like king crab and spot prawns to juicy roast duck and crispy-skinned pork, this is a Houston staple you just have to experience for yourself.
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