Spice Temple welcomes in Year of The Dragon with Feast of Dishes
Spice Temple is embracing the Chinese custom of ushering in fortuitous times with special feasts of auspicious dishes planned for the coming Lunar New Year celebrations.
In Chinese tradition, this fantastic feast of auspicious dishes is designed to usher in good luck and prosperity for the year ahead and is available throughout the 16-day celebratory period.
Executive Chef of Spice Temple Sydney and Melbourne Andy Evans and Melbourne Head Chef Maggie Chan have curated special banquet menus to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, which falls on Saturday 10th February with traditional celebrations lasting for up to 16 days.
The Lunar New Year banquet menus ($149 per person) are available from Monday 5th February to Sunday 18th February, for lunch and dinner at Spice Temple in Sydney and Melbourne.
Chef Andy explains:
“We have drawn on some of our most special dishes that we save for celebratory occasions and have also created entirely new dishes featuring ingredients that are said to promote prosperity, happiness, peace, love and other aspects of good fortune.”
In Sydney, the Chinese New Year banquet menu heroes purse-shaped pipis that represent fortune, tea eggs that signify fertility, noodles that stand for longevity, and red ingredients such at baby tomatoes that stand for prosperity.
In Melbourne, the menu showcases golden bao buns that represent wealth, abalone which symbolises wealth and power, as well as classic dishes eaten during Lunar New Year celebrations, such as raw fish Yu Sheng salad, otherwise known as ‘Prosperity Toss’, which symbolises good luck for the new year.
“Diners are encouraged to toss the shredded ingredients of the salad in the air; the higher they toss the ingredients the greater their good fortune in the year ahead,” Chef Andy says.
In Melbourne, Chef Maggie has created unique dishes, including Golden Bao Buns that represent wealth. Another special dish created for the Lunar New Year feast is Shanghai Shallot Oil Noodles served with grilled Spencer Gulf prawns.
“We make the noodles by hand. In traditional Chinese custom, noodles represent longevity. Traditionally, this is a humble dish that is loved for its great flavour, but at Spice Temple we’ve included beautiful prawns to give it a premium touch.”
“Our Sichuan liang fen is another humble dish, of street food origin. On our limited-edition Chinese New Year menu these delicious slippery jelly-like noodles are paired with rich abalone to represent wealth.”
Spice Temple Sydney Banquet Menu
运气 Luck
Pickled cucumbers with mint and garlic
Baby tomatoes with sweet soy and sesame
Roasted cashews with basil
繁荣 Prosperity
Raw tuna ‘Yu Sheng’
Tea eggs with smoked soy
財富 Wealth
Pork, prawn and garlic chive spring rolls
幸运 Fortune
Pipis with pork and Shaoxing wine
长寿 Longevity
Longevity noodles with superior broth and chicken dumplings
和谐 Peace
Steamed Coral Trout with King Brown mushrooms, rice noodles and ham
幸福 Happiness
Barbequed Pure Black beef fillet with Kampot pepper
丰产 Fertility
Stir-fried baby greens, young ginger
爱 Love
Vanilla chiffon cake with peaches and jasmine tea
Spice Temple Melbourne Banquet Menu
运气 Luck
Pickled lotus rootlet
Sichuan style pickled cucumber and shiitake
繁荣 Prosperity
‘Yu Sheng’ – raw Yellowfin tuna with daikon, hot and sour dressing, spiced orange oil
財富 Wealth
Sichuan liang fen with abalone in spicy sesame sauce
Golden bao – pork and leek
幸运 Fortune
Fried market fish with green chilli and coriander sauce
长寿 Longevity
Shanghai shallot oil noodles with grilled Spencer Gulf prawns
和谐 Peace
Roasted pork, Chinese mustard, pickles
幸福 Happiness
Stir-fried spicy minced Wagyu, sesame puff
丰产 Fertility
Stir-fried garlic chive flower with crispy dried shrimp and anchovy
爱 Love
Jasmin tea parfait with mandarin sauce
Spice Temple Reservations: www.spicetemple.com.au/make-a-booking.
