Southside, South Brisbane: This Fish Lane favourite is once again gearing up to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and this year the festivities are shaping up to be truly sensational. Southside will offer a lavish Lunar New Year banquet from January 16–22, with 12 dishes including salmon sashimi with lemon aspen and white fungus, lobster har gow with caviar, pan-fried pork and chive gyoza with spiced sweet vinegar, and steamed market fish with salted black bean and spring onion. A Lion Dance troupe will also be performing on Friday, Saturday and Sundays, bringing some scintillating energy to Southside’s tropical outdoor dining area. This feast is available for $108 per person – tickets are available now via the Southside website.

Sunnybank Plaza, Sunnybank: If you’re seeking some family-friendly entertainment for Lunary New Year, head to Sunnybank Plaza. The epicentre of the vibrant food precinct will be offering range of activities and entertainment from January 18–22, including Lion Dance performances at the food court at 11:00 am on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and also at Sunny Park restaurants from 8:00 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The team from the Taiwan Women’s League will be displaying and demonstrating a range of traditional arts and crafts, while master artist Jenny Gao, founder of the Xiu Zhen Ge Centre of Embroidery, will be demonstrating the ancient art of Chinese Embroidery. AusOriental Orchestra will be performing throughout the week, chef Carmel Carmichael will host a series of Asian cooking demonstrations, while the Worlds Arts & Multiculture Inc. team will be hosting free origami classes for kids. Head to the Experience Sunnybank website for more info on the week’s festivities.

Donna Chang, Brisbane City: The plush surrounds of Donna Chang will also play host to some high-energy revelry for the Lunary New Year, with the inner-city eatery hosting special celebrations from January 20–22. Guests will receive a Peddlers Gin cocktail (or a mocktail, if preferred) on arrival before sitting down to a deluxe drool-worthy banquet crafted by head chef Lyndon Tyers, with morsels including the likes of thinly sliced beef shin ‘Fuqi Feipian’, rock lobster crystal dumplings, Chinese roast duck with plum sauce, and Coral Coast barramundi with ginger and shallots. An exclusive Chinese dragon dance performance will be taking place on Sunday night – just be sure to book at a time prior to 8:00 pm! Speaking of bookings, you can secure your spot for the banquet (priced at $128 per person with the option to add matched drinks for an additional $50 per person) via Donna Chang’s website.

Emily Yeoh Restaurant, Paddington: Suburban gem Emily Yeoh Restaurant will be running a week’s worth of Lunar New Year festivities from January 20–28, with two special banquet menus available to dine-in customers. The first is $128 per person and is reminiscent of a family gathering. It includes crowd favourites like lobster and prawn dumplings, lamb bao buns, lemon myrtle and kaffir lime-cured salmon on calamari toast, and live Western Australian lobster with Singapore chilli. Emily’s Huat Ah banquet menu is a special lunchtime offering available to members of the Malaysians In Brisbane Group (though if you’d like to try the menu it’s available to everyone from 11:30 am on Saturday January 28). This offering includes morsels like Singapore chilli tiger prawn, Peking duck, steamed toothfish and house-made bak kwa (barbecue pork jerky) and kuih. If you’re lucky enough to dine around 7:00 pm on Saturday January 28, you’ll also be able to take in a special lion dance performance. Don’t have time to dine out this year? No sweat, Emily has created a Lunar New Year Family Pack, which has everything you need to enjoy a feast at home. The pack comes with everything you need to whip up Peking duck, Mumma’s Hainan chicken, Ah Ma roast pork belly, and Queensland Mud Crab with your choice of Singapore chilli, Singapore curry black pepper or XO sauce. Each dish also comes with a jar of Emily’s Signature sauces, including her Prosperous Peking Duck Sauce, Eat at Your Own Risk chilli jam and EY sambal sauce.  Email [email protected] or call 07 3368 3868 to make a booking or order the take-home feast!

Landmark Restaurant, Sunnybank and Chermside: This Sunnybank institution will naturally be getting in on the Lunar New Year action, with Landmark assembling banquet packages for groups of four to six, eight to ten and ten to 12 guests. From Monday January 16, groups can gather for some sensational fare, including deluxe barbecue platters, steamed barramundi, sitr-fried diced beef with black pepper sauce, braised lobster and braised pig’s trotters. Lion dancer performances will also be taking place on January 21 and 22 – call 0412 666 848 to reserve a table.

Brisbane Phoenix, Brisbane City: We reckon one of the best ways to celebrate the start of the Year of the Rabbit is with friends and Brisbane Phoenix at Brisbane Quarter is one of the best spots to assemble the crew for this year’s Lunar New Year festivities. The restaurant is putting on a spread for its Lunar New Year celebrations, with three special banquets on offer from January 20–28. Groups of ten can gather for a gigantic 12-course feast featuring your choice of lobster or mud crab, as well as the likes of lamb cutlet with garlic black bean and chilli, broccoli with prawn balls and fish roe, and braised pork hock with truffle oil. The third banquet, perfect for groups of eight, features delicious delights like beef fillet cube with nuts in honey pepper sauce and steamed Hokkaido scallops in XO sauce. Fire up the group chat and book a table via Brisbane Phoenix’s website.

Stanley, Brisbane City: Howard Smith Wharves’ own neo-Chinese restaurant Stanley will be an in-demand destination over the Lunar New Year period. On January 21 and 22, the high-end restaurant will be celebrating Chinese New Year with two memorable evenings of epicurean delights and performances. Head chef Louis Tikaram will be preparing an exclusive menu of Cantonese dishes in addition to Stanley’s beloved a la carte and banquet menus. Traditional lion dancers will also keep guests entertained at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm both evenings. Click over to Stanley’s website to make a booking.

Super Bowl, Fortitude Valley: Popular Fortitude Valley eatery Super Bowl is double dipping for its Lunar New Year festivities, offering two different kinds of banquets from January 20–22. Groups of ten can sit down for a traditional Chinese New Year banquet, featuring dishes like fish maw and seafood soup, banana king prawn with Pekinese sauce, assorted barbecue platter, Shangdong crispy skin chicken and traditional fried rice. Groups of six can opt for the Western Chinese New Year banquet, which includes Chinese-style shredded duck salad, cumin lamb ribs, honey soy black-pepper beef and vegetables with cashew nuts. Lion dance performers will also be taking place over the weekend. Head to the Super Bowl website for menu details and reservations.

Longtime Dining, Brisbane City: Perched atop Queens Plaza, popular yum cha spot Longtime Dining is celebrating the Lunar New Year all month long with a special menu available throughout January. For $99 per person, guests can settle in for a substantial banquet feast featuring soy-glazed jumbo tiger prawns, wok-fried Angus beef with wasabi and asparagus, and special fried rice in lotus leaf with barbecued pork, lup cheong, prawn, egg and house-made abalone sauce. You can check out the full menu and make a booking via Longtime’s website.

Treasury Brisbane, Brisbane City: In the mood for a bountiful banquet which won’t break the bank? Treasury Brisbane has two options for you to enjoy this Lunar New Year. Asian-fusion slinger Fat Noodle is offering a special banquet for two featuring sumptuous scallops, Luke’s famous chicken salad, half-roasted duck, sour pork rib soup, traditional steamed layer cakes and more for just $88 for members of The Star Club. You can also feast on a whole crispy barramundi with soy vegetables and steamed rice at Mei Wei Dumplings for the special members price of just $15.90. The fun doesn’t stop there, as throughout the Lunar New Year there will be a wishing tree for you to place your wishes for 2023, plus roving lion dance performances from 7.30 pm on January 21, 22, 23, 25, 27 and February 5. To top the celebrations off, after enjoying a Lunar New Year dinner at Fat Noodle or Mei Wei you will be gifted your very own red packet with a special treat inside to take home.

Bakery Lane and California Lane, Fortitude Valley: The sound of revelry will echo up and down The Valley’s bustling laneways on Saturday January 21, as Bakery Lane and California Lane host some raucous Lunar New Year festivities. Chinese lion dancers will sway and gyrate to the sounds of drums and cymbals, while eateries like Fat Dumpling, Gung Ho Dumpling and Ramen and Jeon’s Kitchen offer special banquets and dishes throughout the day.

This article was written by Sara Weckerle from The Weekend Edition.