By Brendan Pang, Lunar New Year ambassador for Gong Grocer.
Lunar New Year is a time of renewal, abundance and gathering around the table with the people you love. For me, food is the most meaningful way to honour that tradition. Each dish served during the celebrations carries symbolism, intention and hope for the year ahead.
These eight dishes reflect the way I cook and eat today, blending traditional Chinese symbolism with my Mauritian roots, time living in Taiwan, and a modern Australian approach to cooking. They’re the foods I return to year after year, not just because of what they symbolise, but because they bring people together.
It all starts with good ingredients. In Sydney, I always recommend heading to a specialty Asian grocer like Gong Grocer, where you can find all your essentials, like noodles, dumpling wrappers, sauces, meat, seafood and aromatics that make these dishes sing.
Whole Steamed or Roasted Fish
Fish is one of the most important dishes on a Lunar New Year table. The Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for surplus, so serving it symbolises abundance and prosperity for the year ahead. Traditionally, the fish is served whole, with head and tail intact, to represent completeness and a good beginning and ending to the year.
Prawn Dumplings or Prawn Toast
Dumplings are shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots, making them a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Add prawns, and you bring in another layer of meaning. Prawns are associated with laughter, happiness and good fortune, thanks to their joyful “ha ha” sound in Cantonese.
Photo by Angela Roma
Longevity Noodles with Shallot Oil
Long noodles represent long life and good health, and they’re traditionally left uncut to avoid “cutting” good luck short. This dish is all about restraint and balance, chewy noodles tossed through fragrant shallot oil, perhaps finished with soy, vinegar and crisp fried shallots. It’s simple, comforting and deeply symbolic, the kind of dish that quietly anchors the meal.
Crispy Spring Rolls
With their golden, bar-shaped appearance, spring rolls resemble gold bars and are served as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. I recently learned a recipe from Linh, the matriarch of Gong Grocer Asian Supermarket, that is a Vietnamese/Chinese spring roll, where she incorporates flavours and techniques from both cultures, reflecting her family’s heritage and the way Lunar New Year is celebrated across generations. They’re also one of the most universally loved dishes.
Mauritian-Style Fried Noodles
This dish is a nod to migration, family heritage and the way traditions evolve. Fried noodles still carry the symbolism of longevity and continuity, but the flavours reflect my Mauritian background, a little bolder, a little spicier, and shaped by the way my family cooks.
Whole Chicken (Soy-Braised or Hainanese-Style)
A whole chicken symbolises family unity and togetherness. Served intact, it represents harmony, wholeness and shared prosperity.
Coconut Sticky Rice Cake or Nian Gao
Nian gao, or sticky rice cake, symbolises growth, progress and moving upward year after year. The word gao also means “high,” which is why this dish is often linked to career and personal advancement.
Pineapple Desserts or Pineapple Cakes
Pineapple is a powerful symbol of good fortune across Taiwanese and Southeast Asian cultures, as its name sounds like “prosperity arrives.” Pineapple cakes, tarts or caramelised pineapple desserts are a joyful way to finish the meal on a hopeful note. You don’t have to visit a bakery for these either, Asian grocers like Gong Grocer, stock both locally made and internationally imported traditional pineapple cakes to share for Lunar New Year.
Photo by Chen Te
Lunar New Year food is all about connection and the intention you bring to the table. Whether you’re cooking everything yourself or mixing homemade dishes with store-bought favourites, these dishes are a way of welcoming abundance, joy and good fortune into the year ahead – one dish at a time.
By Brendan Pang, Lunar New Year ambassador for Gong Grocer.
Lunar New Year is a time of renewal, abundance and gathering around the table with the people you love. For me, food is the most meaningful way to honour that tradition. Each dish served during the celebrations carries symbolism, intention and hope for the year ahead.
These eight dishes reflect the way I cook and eat today, blending traditional Chinese symbolism with my Mauritian roots, time living in Taiwan, and a modern Australian approach to cooking. They’re the foods I return to year after year, not just because of what they symbolise, but because they bring people together.
It all starts with good ingredients. In Sydney, I always recommend heading to a specialty Asian grocer like Gong Grocer, where you can find all your essentials, like noodles, dumpling wrappers, sauces, meat, seafood and aromatics that make these dishes sing.
Whole Steamed or Roasted Fish
Fish is one of the most important dishes on a Lunar New Year table. The Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for surplus, so serving it symbolises abundance and prosperity for the year ahead. Traditionally, the fish is served whole, with head and tail intact, to represent completeness and a good beginning and ending to the year.
Prawn Dumplings or Prawn Toast
Dumplings are shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots, making them a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Add prawns, and you bring in another layer of meaning. Prawns are associated with laughter, happiness and good fortune, thanks to their joyful “ha ha” sound in Cantonese.
Longevity Noodles with Shallot Oil
Long noodles represent long life and good health, and they’re traditionally left uncut to avoid “cutting” good luck short. This dish is all about restraint and balance, chewy noodles tossed through fragrant shallot oil, perhaps finished with soy, vinegar and crisp fried shallots. It’s simple, comforting and deeply symbolic, the kind of dish that quietly anchors the meal.
Crispy Spring Rolls
With their golden, bar-shaped appearance, spring rolls resemble gold bars and are served as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. I recently learned a recipe from Linh, the matriarch of Gong Grocer Asian Supermarket, that is a Vietnamese/Chinese spring roll, where she incorporates flavours and techniques from both cultures, reflecting her family’s heritage and the way Lunar New Year is celebrated across generations. They’re also one of the most universally loved dishes.
Mauritian-Style Fried Noodles
This dish is a nod to migration, family heritage and the way traditions evolve. Fried noodles still carry the symbolism of longevity and continuity, but the flavours reflect my Mauritian background, a little bolder, a little spicier, and shaped by the way my family cooks.
Whole Chicken (Soy-Braised or Hainanese-Style)
A whole chicken symbolises family unity and togetherness. Served intact, it represents harmony, wholeness and shared prosperity.
Coconut Sticky Rice Cake or Nian Gao
Nian gao, or sticky rice cake, symbolises growth, progress and moving upward year after year. The word gao also means “high,” which is why this dish is often linked to career and personal advancement.
Pineapple Desserts or Pineapple Cakes
Pineapple is a powerful symbol of good fortune across Taiwanese and Southeast Asian cultures, as its name sounds like “prosperity arrives.” Pineapple cakes, tarts or caramelised pineapple desserts are a joyful way to finish the meal on a hopeful note. You don’t have to visit a bakery for these either, Asian grocers like Gong Grocer, stock both locally made and internationally imported traditional pineapple cakes to share for Lunar New Year.
Lunar New Year food is all about connection and the intention you bring to the table. Whether you’re cooking everything yourself or mixing homemade dishes with store-bought favourites, these dishes are a way of welcoming abundance, joy and good fortune into the year ahead – one dish at a time.
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