Chinese New Year is a time of celebration and feasts. It marks the beginning of the new year as it is traditionally followed on the lunar calendar. Also known as the Spring Festival to some, it is the part of the year where we celebrate and gather with family and friends and share in the joys of breaking bread together and sharing a meal. This is the time for a gathering of all the aunties, uncles, nieces, and nephews from far and wide to honorably, albeit a bit bashfully, exchange Chinese phrases and proverbs in order to give and receive red envelopes as blessings for another prosperous and auspicious year. To us, Chinese New Year exists to highlight new beginnings and to cherish the blessings of the previous year.
Food is an integral part of the new year celebration and is consumed with the utmost seriousness in order to ensure another year of fortune and prosperity. As with many longstanding traditions, certain dishes can almost always be found at the dinner table during Chinese New Year reunions. Common to every table, you will find a generous spread of dumplings ranging in flavors, preparation, and styles. Dumplings serve to symbolize prosperity in the coming year and as such, must be made available in a significant amount at the dinner table. Fish is also a vital staple to the meal. The fish in its entirety: from the mouth, to the fins, and to the tail are kept at one entity and are often served with a big flourish to symbolize abundance in the new year. Another lucky food found on the dinner table is longevity noodles, or long noodles that are eaten uncut and unsevered to symbolize wishing longevity and happiness to the consumer for the upcoming year. And a meal can never be complete with some balance with a vegetable. Vegetables signify renewal and spring energy to the upcoming year. Pick between gai lan (Chinese broccoli), boy choy, or even lettuce for balance in your table spread. For dessert, sweet rice balls or tang yuan are commonly favored to signify togetherness as a family or reunion. The glutinous rice balls are typically filled with sweet fillings such as red bean paste, black sesame paste, or peanut paste and served in a sweet and warm ginger-based broth. Following every Chinese meal, fresh fruit is a dinner staple that signifies the end of the course of dishes. For Chinese New Year, the fruit of choice is typically round in shape, such as oranges and tangerines, due to their shape and color to symbolize ushering in good fortune and fullness for the new year.
As we look towards Chinese New Year fast approaching, here is a list of restaurants around Columbus that can help serve as a guide to celebrating the holiday with family and friends.
Chuan Jiang Hao Zi | Photo by Angela Lee
Chuan Jiang Hao Zi
From the owners of the old Fortune Chinese Restaurant comes Chuan Hiang Hao Zi. Boasting flavors hailing from the Sichuan province of China, this spot specializes in the spiced and flavorful dishes commonly found in Sichuan cuisine. Don’t let the bright red colors of the dishes deter you from a visit. The makings of the perfect Chinese New Year menu can be found here in addition to a wide selection of freshly brewed teas to pair delectably with your meal. Order some steamed dumplings and wontons to start your meal and then feast on the boiled fish fillets with pickled cabbage (or the boiled fish fillets in hot chili oil for those who desire some spice). Pair the mains with some lo mein with your choice of protein and balance with some braised Shanghai greens or stir-fried broccoli. Add in a freshly brewed tea from Chuan Jiang Hao Zi’s tea series and your meal is complete. As you await your meal, ready yourself for a spread of abundance and prosperity.
NE Chinese Restaurant
A mom and pop shop local to the neighborhood of Clintonville is NE Chinese Restaurant. This family owned and operated spot provides a more intimate and cozy gathering of your family and friends as you gather for the new year. Featuring Dongbei dishes more commonly found in the northeastern region of China, this restaurant boasts flavors that are not typically found in your Chinese American dishes. Expand your knowledge of Chinese food, your palate, and your stomach and order up a northeastern iteration of a dumpling spread and pair it with their fern root noodles. Add in an order of the spicy twice cooked fish and garlic bok choy and your Chinese New Year meal is set. You might find yourself wanting to come back again and again to sample the whole menu. You might just become a regular yourself.
Xia Xia Chinese Cuisine | Photo by Angela Lee
Xi Xia Chinese Cuisine
Located off Kenny Rd is Xi Xia Chinese Cuisine, a restaurant that focuses on the flavors of the western region of China. Chief to this region are dishes that heartedly help you stave off the winter chill such as cozy lamb-based entrees, freshly hand-pulled noodle soups, and an assortment of rich stews. For your Chinese New Year menu, you will find that you are in no short supply of a variety of noodle dishes. Ranging from beef noodle stew to pork rib tip noodles to dapanji stirred noodles and to tomato and egg stirred noodles, Xi Xia is the place to visit to get your noodles for longevity. And of course, an order of the bok choy and broccoli with house garlic sauce must be added to the table spread. This is the restaurant you bring mom and dad to show off your expertly rushed Chinese skills that you have been meticulously practicing with the staff because you are now considered a regular. Then, and only then, will your parents nod their approval and hand you that long awaited red envelope.
Ming Flower Chinese Restaurant
Featuring a traditional Chinese hall, Ming Flower Chinese Restaurant is the spot to visit to resurrect nostalgic moments of dining with your family during childhood on the weekends following a piano lesson or sporting event. It is here that you gather as one for your large family reunions and sit with knee-bouncing anticipation as you politely listen to uncle regale the family with his tales of his youthful adventures and watch as the rest of your family nod and mumble appreciatively. It is also here that auntie piles dish after dish onto your already full plate as you try to mumble your fullness around the bite that is already in your mouth. But the biggest memory that is cherished here comes at the end of the meal, as you watch the adults muster up the strength of their youth and barrel their way to the counter to fight for the claim as the victor of paying for the meal. Little do they know, you too, are an adult now. And you already secretly paid for the meal upfront. But you can’t help but smile that little knowing smile.
Fiery Sky Asian Kitchen | Photo by Angela Lee
Fiery Sky Asian Kitchen
From the original owner (Lu Sha) of Xi Xia Chinese Cuisine comes Fiery Sky Asian Kitchen. Located off Bethel Rd, this restaurant features an amalgamation of Chinese flavors ranging from Sichuan, to Hunan, to Ningxia (Sha’s roots). For those who are spicy adverse, don’t let the word fiery deter you from a visit. The extensive menu offered at Fiery Sky Asian Kitchen caters to any and all palates and you can be sure to curate your perfect Chinese New Year menu here. To build your auspicious dinner spread, start your meal with the Sichuan spicy wontons and pan-fried dumplings. For your main dishes, order some signature beef stirred noodles and Sichuan beef brisket noodles for longevity and some salt and pepper fish fillets or dry pot fried fish fillets for abundance. For balance, add in some bok choy with black mushrooms and bok choy or broccoli in garlic sauce. With such a large menu boasting mouthwatering dishes, you might find yourself at the doors of Fiery Sky after Chinese New Year celebrations to sample the rest of the menu. Perhaps a large spread boasting the di guo beef brisket (a one-pot dish featuring naan-like flatbread soaked in the rich umami broth of the meats and vegetables), stir-fried beef shank with chili, or stir-fried hand-shredded cabbage.
Jiu Thai Asian Cafe
Located off Bethel Rd, Jiu Thai Asian Cafe has become a staple to the hearts and stomachs of the residents of Columbus. Known for their handmade noodles, this restaurant is a cozy favorite for a heartwarming meal. Visit Jiu Thai for an order of the lamb and onion steamed dumplings, the pork and pickled cabbage steamed stumbling, and red oil lamb hand-stretch noodles, and of course the popular biang biang noodles. Grab your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and dog walkers and head over to Jiu Thai for a Chinese New Year meal that will sure to impress. You might end up adding this spot to your weekly dine-out spots to visit.
Dim Sum Asian Bistro | Photo by Angela Lee
Dim Sum Asian Bistro
Debuting as a new restaurant from the owners of Ty Ginger Asian Bistro is Dim Sum Asian Bistro located on Yard St in Grandview Heights. Dim sum lovers can rejoice at the prospect of another restaurant featuring Cantonese cuisine being made available to the city. But do not let the words “dim sum” fool you. This restaurant offers an entree spread outside of the dim sum menu that can help you celebrate and usher in Chinese New Year. From dishes such as the beef chow fun, to the wonton noodle soup, to the seafood pan fried noodles, and to the steamed flounder fish, you can be sure to curate an auspicious table spread that will bring in an abundance of prosperity and good fortune to you. With large tables featuring lazy susans, this is a restaurant you will want to bring auntie and uncle to impress them with your knowledge of Chinese in order to receive a red envelope.
Helen’s Asian Kitchen
Helen’s Asian Kitchen has been a mainstay in Columbus and that continues to be true during the festivities of Chinese New Year. Just off Dublin Granville road, Helen’s serves up classic dishes such as steamed pork dumplings, crispy salt and pepper fish, stir-fried cauliflower, lo mein, and Cantonese pan-fried noodles. It is here that you ready yourself for a loud and boisterous night with aunties and uncles regaling you and your family with tales of their youth and how a single bite of the dishes set before you reignites a core memory of their life’s tale. You nod and smile along with the recited politeness instilled into you at a young age and fill your elders’ half empty teacups with freshly poured hot tea and wish them all a happy Chinese New Year.
