Celebrating Chinese New Year in Southeast Asia
It’s been a long road back for Chinese tourism in Southeast Asia, and everyone from street vendors in Saigon to tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok will be hoping that this most special of years, the Year of the Dragon, brings back prosperity and good fortune. Here is a round-up of luxury resorts where you can join in the feast, the fireworks, and the fun for Chinese New Year.
Homage to the Sacred Naga in Krabi
The town of Krabi has a long and fabled relationship with dragons, or naga, as they are known in Thai mythology. For that reason, the naga is the symbol of Banyan Tree Krabi, and its serpentine image can be seen throughout the hotel, from the magnificent Naga Staircase that greets you as you arrive in the lobby, to the interior design, to the lush Naga Crest Mountain which overlooks the resort. On February 9th, the resort’s Naga Restaurant will host a sumptuous Chinese buffet featuring favorites such as Smoked Duck with Pomelo Salad, Chinese Drunken Chicken with Sichuan Cucumber Salad, and Chinese Five Spice Pork Terrine. A salad bar and vegetarian options will be available, as well as a Chinatown Chef Live Action Station where you can order an endless indulgence of everything from pork crackling to Spicy Tuna and Salmon Tartare to Hokkien Noodles with BBQ duck and wagyu beef. Dinner starts around sunset at 6:30pm and the price is just 2,990 THB per person, including a welcome drink.
For info and reservation, contact +66 075 811 888
A Mindful Way to Start the Year of the Dragon
The lunar new year program at TIA Wellness Resort in Vietnam is inspired by the dragon’s symbolism for strength, good fortune and transformation. Guests can pick and choose what they’d like to join over the three days of Tet celebrations. The festivities begin on Friday, February 9th with a creativity workshop “Reflection of the Year of the Rabbit” at 2:30pm. The evening brings a “Wishing Lantern Ceremony” at 7pm. On Saturday, February 10th the TIA team will host a 45-minute “Sunrise Beach Gratitude Meditation” at 6am followed by a traditional dragon dance performance at 9:30am. A range of festive feasts will be on offer each day including special menus in The Dining Room such as a Traditional Vietnamese Family Style Tet tasting menu with dishes including an abalone and sea ginseng soup, fish cakes on sugarcane with fresh herbs and pickles, and a rich beef stew served in a clay pot. Plant-based menus are also on offer.
Savor the Elements of Chinese New Year in Bali
At Tanah Gajah, a Resort by Hadiprana, ‘The Art of Lunar New Year’ feast on February 9th invites guests to savor the elements of the Chinese New Year. Each dish represents an element of the holiday with prosperity, wealth, health, longevity, and fortune being plated up. The menu features Balinese, Japanese and Chinese cuisine with dishes like hot and spicy szechuan crab soup, and crispy Balinese pork belly. The evening also features a traditional Chinese lion dance and a welcome cocktail in the Tempayan courtyard. Prices start at IDR 888,000 ++ per person.
Lion Dances & Mongolian BBQ on Koh Samui Beachfront
Guests enjoying breakfast at Banyan Tree Samui are in for a surprise on the morning of February 10th when a Chinese lion dance procession sweeps through The Edge restaurant, marking the beginning of the Lunar New Year at 10:30am. That same evening, at 7pm, the normally placid private beach in front of the resort will explode into a fiery fiesta, when the hotel launches a Lunar New Year Party. The nightlife entertainment will include live music and a fire show on the resort’s private beach, with exquisite dining at beachfront Sands Restaurant which will host a Chinese Mongolian & International Buffet.
Sky-High Restaurant in Chiang Mai Hosts Prosperous Feast
Situated on Meliá Chiang Mai’s 21st floor with panoramic views of the city and famed Doi Suthep Temple on the mountaintop to the west, intimate fine dining restaurant MAI Restaurant and Bar will serve a delectable family-style dinner to wish guests ‘gong xi fa cai’. Served from February 9-11 from 6-10pm, and priced at THB 6000 net per set for four people, the feast’s highlights include a colourful salad featuring fresh salmon, shredded vegetables, pickled ginger and pomelo, as well as Chinese braised chicken with dried mushrooms and wolfberries, and steamed whole sea bass with warm lemon dressing. Other dishes include tender slow-cooked pork belly in soy sauce, wine, and spices, lotus leaf-wrapped artisan sausage fried rice, assorted seasonal greens with oyster sauce, and sesame dumplings in ginger broth. The dinner is accompanied by Chinese fine teas, fortune messages and a traditional red pocket containing a discount coupon for another visit.
