Overview
With the Year of the Snake officially kicking off soon, Melbourne's Lunar New Year festivities are popping up right across the city. You can join huge street parties in Chinatown, indulge in special banquets with lion dances and prizes, and buy some extra-special treats made just for the occasion.
However hard you want to go this year when celebrating Lunar New Year — whether you decide to stay in or go all out with a luxe night out on the town — this guide will have you sorted with heaps of the best bits. Check it all out here.
Recommended reads:
The Best Things to Do This Weekend in Melbourne
The Best Chinese Restaurants in Melbourne
The Best Thai Restaurants in Melbourne
The Best Japanese Restaurants in Melbourne
Chinatown Lunar New Year Festival
Chinatown is going big this Lunar New Year, closing off Little Bourke Street (between Swanston Street and Exhibition Street) on Sunday, February 2 for a massive street party. During the day, you can expect to find plenty of food stalls, restaurant dining deals, a dragon parade, live music and a pop-up beer garden. The official party lasts from 10am–8pm, but the street will be closed to cars until 2am.
You can easily keep the party going by hitting up these late-night dining spots, dumpling houses, ramen joints, and Melbourne CBD diners.
Yum Sing House Banquet and Yee Sang Special
Celebrate LNY with karaoke and a big-ass banquet that includes the traditional Yee Sang (prosperity seafood salad)? Yes, please. That's exactly what's on offer over at Yum Sing House for Lunar New Year. Those just after the salad, can drop by and try it from Tuesday, January 28–Friday, January 31, while the special banquet is only available on Friday, January 31. Priced at $108 per person, it features dishes like yee sang with Ora king salmon and Hokkaido scallops, braised oxtail money bag and steamed grouper with aged soy.
And when can you karaoke? Any damn time you like, as this spot is always hosting parties in its special booths — helping make it one of the best Melbourne restaurants for group bookings no matter what time of year you visit.
Lagoon Dining Set Menu
Lygon Street's Lagoon Dining is one of the very best restaurants in Melbourne, championing contemporary Chinese cuisine with plenty of other Asian influences. And for this Lunar New Year, the team has put together a special Reunion Feast, which is running on Chinese New Year's Eve — viewed by many as one of the most important meals of the year.
Book a table on the evening of Tuesday, January 28, and you'll be treated to a huge eight-dish feast that'll only set you back $88 per person. Get around scallop crudo with shellfish vinaigrette, salted cucumber and poppy seeds; pork wontons with chilli oil and chilli sesame dressing; chow meain with nduja gravy and prawns; humpty doo barramundi with white soy and sesame; and a soy milk pudding with goji berry syrup and longan. This is a must-try for anyone looking for a feed the night before LNY.
QV Snakes and Ladders
QV is adding a little fun to Chinese New Year shopping this year by setting up a huge interactive snakes and ladders experience in QV Square. From Tuesday, January 28–Sunday, February 9, you can play for free — simply using a dice on your phone (found via a QR code).
Then over the Lunar New Year festival weekend from 1-2 February, QV Melbourne visitors who spend $50 at a participating store or restaurant can present their receipt at the snakes and ladders gameboard for a chance to win a share of $10,000 worth of lucky red packet giveaways. Lion dances, dragon dances and martial arts performances will also be popping up across these two days.
Le Yeahllow's Limited-Edition Sweet Treats
Le Yeahllow always takes Lunar New Year very seriously, creating a stack of limited-edition cakes just for the occasion. And this year is no different, as the crew has dreamy up two new cakes as well as a cookie set. First off, there's the ornately decorated Blooming Blossom cake, which blends delicate oolong tea with the refreshing sweetness of white peach and a smooth vanilla and creamy mascarpone.
The Genamicha Tea Cake is also a winner, while the cookies are made for gifting — including golden mandarin cookies, pinenut shortbread, coconut cookies and caramelized pecan Florentines. Le yellow is one of the top cake stores in Melbourne, and you can never go wrong when purchasing one of their absolutely beautiful cakes.
Quang Minh Tet Festival
Quang Minh Temple is an important spiritual centre in Melbourne's West. And it's annual Tet Festival provides a really brilliant opportunity for the local community, Vietnamese, Chinese Buddhists and non-Buddhists to come together and explore and experience the beauty and richness of Lunar and Buddhist traditional celebrations.
This year's Quang Minh Tet Festival includes cultural performances and firecrackers, displays, rides, chanting, vegetarian food and midnight fireworks which mark the beginning of the new lunar year. It's running from 6pm–1am on Tuesday, January 28, and is a truly special Melbourne Lunar New Year event
Dorsett Melbourne's Lunar New Year High Tea
Plenty of folks prefer to skip the Melborune yum cha lunches on Lunar New Year, preferring to treat themselves to a high tea experience instead. And Dorsett Melbounre has leaned right into this tradition by creating a Year of the Snake high tea experience in collaboration with T6 Patisserie.
Highlights include the mandarin and jasmine mousse, Cantonese-style mango pudding, yuzu milk chocolate tart, raspberry macaron, pork char siu on milk bun, roasted Peking duck wrap, sesame garlic chive prawn toast, and freshly baked scones — including oolong and mandarin scones. They've gone all out with this one, which is available on Thursday, February 1, Friday, February 2, Thursday, February 8 and Friday, February 9. They cost $80 per person, coming with pots of tea and cold drinks.
Sunshine Lunar New Year Festival
You don't have to run into the CBD for Lunar New Year celebrations this year, with plenty of local councils running their own festivities. And one that always goes off, is that found over in Sunshine. It's running from 12–10 pm on Sunday, January 26,
This year's festival is similar to previous years, featuring live entertainment, red pocket giveaways, street performers, face-painting, lion and dragon dancing, fireworks, indoor and outdoor dining options, kids' rides and plenty of market stalls. They're going out all year, closing off Hampshire Road for the whole day.
Get Lucky in Warabi
Warabi — home to one of Melbourne's best omakase experiences — isn't going all out this LNY with special menus and drinks, but the crew has put together a little deal for guests who drop by from Tuesday, January 28–Saturday, February 1. Each guest that visits during this period will receive a red envelope with a lucky prize. Inside each envelope will be a special surprise, ranging from a free hand-crafted cocktail to a complimentary omakase experience.
To get the special Lunar New Year offering, you'll need to book in for a Sushi Omakase experience from Tuesday–Thursday or head over to sample the Natsu no Yoi summer menu on Friday or Saturday.
Vietnamese TET Lunar New Year Festival
The Vietnamese Community in Australia (Victoria Chapter)'s TET festival returns to Footscray Park this February with a free two-day program packed with performances, exhibits, food, fireworks and activities for all ages. You'll find most of the fun over at Footscray Park on Saturday, February 15 and Sunday, February 16, running from 11am–9pm each day.
Top image: Yum Sing House.