Lunar New Year 2017: Where to celebrate Chinese New Year in Melbourne

Cock-a-doodle-do! The early bird gets the worm, but here's where to book your last-minute year of the rooster feast.

Crown

The riverside promenade at Crown Casino will transform into a hawkers' bazaar, with street food stalls, cooking demos, dragon and lion dancers, and Saturday night fireworks; 11am-11pm, January 27-29 and February 3-5; Crown Riverwalk, Southbank, see crownmelbourne.com.au/lunar-new-year

If you strike it lucky this Lunar New Year, the casino's swanky Chinese restaurant Silks is serving a range of whole-table banquet menus priced from $888 (for six people), $2888 (for 10), to a splash-out $5888 (per table of 10) - with luxe ingredients such as braised whole abalone and wok-fried lobster.

David's

Lion dancers will dart around the designer fitout while diners enjoy a "prosperity banquet" including blue swimmer crab salad, dumpling duo, char siu-style toothfish and eggwhite fried rice; $98 including welcome drink, 6.30-8pm, Saturday, January 28, lion dancing at 7pm.

4 Cecil Place, Prahran, (03) 9529 5199, davidsrestaurant.com.au

Din Tai Fung

The dumpling chain will be steaming these adorable rooster bao filled with blueberry cheesecake until February 20; $4.20 each or $11.80 for three. DTF also has three shared banquet menus available, priced between $30 and $45 (minimum eight diners).

Level 4, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale Street (enter via Caledonian Lane), dintaifung.com.au

Eureka 89

For a lofty Lunar New Year, Eureka Tower restaurant Eureka 89 is hosting a three-course New Year Asian fusion dinner with canapes and shared entrees and an appearance from TV chef Elizabeth Chong; $175 including drinks, 6.30-10.30pm, Wednesday, February 8.

Level 89, Eureka Tower, 7 Riverside Quay, Southbank, (03) 9693 8889, eureka89.com.au

Hu Tong (and Man Tong Kitchen)

Hu Tong Peking Duck and Dumpling's banquet comes in at $1688 for eight to 10 guests, with the multi-dish menu featuring abalone in oyster sauce, signatures dim sum platter and Peking duck, plus red bean pancakes for dessert. (The CBD Hu Tong outpost will host nightly lion dancing this weekend.)

Sister restaurant Man Tong Kitchen at Crown Casino's banquets are priced at $1888 or $2888 per table with more than 10 courses of specialties such as steamed oysters, deep-fried king prawn with salted egg yolk, and special fried rice with black truffle, see mantongkitchen.com.au

Hu Tong Prahran, 162 Commercial Road, Prahran, (03) 9098 1188, hutong.com.au

KitKat

Melbourne's KitKat bar will be dipping two festive flavours: pretty pink red bean and toasted coconut; and citrus creme brulee with toffee chips ($6 for four-fingers, gift box $68); available until February 4.

Level one, Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, corner LaTrobe and Swanston streets, Melbourne, kitkat.com.au

Lee Ho Fook

Chef Victor Liong's $88 banquet menu includes a mod-Oz version of "yee sang" salad (aka prosperity salad) with raw ocean trout, finger lime and plum sauce, plus scampi spring rolls, white-cut chicken, steamed barramundi and kampot pepper steak.

11-15 Duckboard Place, Melbourne VIC, (03) 9077 6261, leehofook.com.au

New Shanghai

New Shanghai's dim sum masters have worked with Chinese sauce specialists to create symbolic dishes including a marinated tofu salad, a truffle oil-infused chicken stir-fry, slow-braised pork and special Lee Kum Kee red date pudding for a celebration menu on January 28.

Emporium Melbourne and Chadstone shopping centres, see newshanghai.com.au

Pho Nom

Jerry Mai's Vietnamese eatery Pho Nom will host a five-course Tet feast with shared dishes including sticky rice banh chung and colourful "prosperity salad" of julienned veg and salmon. The salad is served in the centre of the table, before guests mix and flick the elements into the air using their chopsticks - it's said that the higher it goes, the more luck you'll have in the year ahead; $60, 5.30pm, Thursday, February 2, lion dancing presentation included.

Lower ground, Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale Street, bookings: jerry@phonom.com.au

Pickett's Delicatessen

Estelle chef Scott Pickett's Vic Market rotisserie will be spinning suckling pig instead of roast chooks for one night only. Pickett's Chinese New Year banquet also includes blood pudding san choy bao, sweet and sour eggplant, tea-smoked trout, and cumquat tart and five-spice ice-cream to finish; $80, 7pm-10pm, Saturday, January 28.

Queen Victoria Market shoppers will be treated to Lunar New Year festivities and dancing on Saturday, January 28 (10am-2pm) - plus martial arts and cooking demos (hello again Elizabeth Chong!). The night market will feature similar entertainment and a few extra dumpling stalls (hello rainbow dumplings and Wonderbao!) on the evening of Wednesday, February 1.

507 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, (03) 9328 3213, pickettsdeli.com

Ricky and Pinky

Andrew McConnell's Chinese-restaurant-in-a-pub will be hosting its first Chinese New Year banquet. Chef ArChan Chan's feast includes her favourite festive dishes, the centrepiece being a platter laden with crispy pork, salted chicken and braised abalone. The price per head eschews the lucky 8 - it's $65 instead. Sip on Ruby the Rooster - a cocktail comprising gin, umeshu and pink grapefruit ($20), and order a house-made fortune cookie dessert to learn your fate; Saturday, January 28.

The Builders Arms, 211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, (03) 9417 7700, buildersarmshotel.com.au

Ruyi

CBD contemporary Chinese restaurant Ruyi will begin its banquets with Peking duck bao buns, and the set menu includes "numbing" beef, chicken wings, steamed barra, and luxe wagyu with truffle, 'shrooms and asparagus. A starter of flaming prawns hints at the firecrackers to come later; $75 (plus $45 for matched wines), two sittings per night 5.30pm-8pm and 8.15pm-late, Friday, January 27 and Saturday January 28, firecrackers and lion dancing at 8.45pm.

16 Liverpool Street, Melbourne, (03) 9090 7778, ruyi.com.au

Shortstop

Preorder a festive red and gold box filled with Shortstop's four Lunar New Year doughnut flavours: lychee and oolong tea; triple matcha; houjicha (roasted green tea) latte with milk crumb; and pork floss and sesame (sesame-glazed doughnut topped with pork floss, available January 27-29); $30 for six or $60 for 12; special doughnuts also available individually from January 27 to February 11, $5-$6.

12 Sutherland Street, Melbourne, short-stop.com.au

Spice Temple

Neil Perry's moody riverside Chinese restaurant Spice Temple offers a banquet with ingredients promoting health, wealth and prosperity in dishes such as lobster and pomelo salad with plum dressing, and steamed fish with ginger and shallot. $120 a person (optional wine match $55), until February 5.

See rockpool.com/spicetemplemelbourne

WITH MIRANDA TAY