The Chinese Lunar New Year is known for bringing luck, prosperity, and even better, great food. Some of DC’s best Asian restaurants are ringing in the Year of the Monkey with holiday-inspired menus and events. Don’t miss the festivities at the Kennedy Center, which kick off February 5, and then head over to The Source, Maketto, and more to celebrate the New Year throughout the month of February.
Maketto at The Pierce School Penthouse
1375 Maryland Ave. NE
The Cambodian and Taiwanese-inspired restaurant is setting up shop in the Pierce School Penthouse for a Chinese New Year event on Saturday, February 6. An all-inclusive ticket for $99 gets you chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s dim sum, cocktails from drink masters at The Columbia Room, PX, and Buffalo & Bergen, an art show, and an opportunity to watch festive Chinese dragon dancers. All proceeds go to the non-profit Caring for Cambodia and Maketto’s culinary exchange program, which sends the restaurant’s chefs abroad.
575 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant is going all out for the New Year. On Thursday, February 11, treat yourself to an $85 three-course menu of jumbo prawns with smoked Chinese bacon, cumin-soy Wagyu steak, and monkey bread sticky cake with tangerine ice cream. While you’re eating, feast your eyes on a traditional lion dance starting at 6:30 p.m. Chef Drewno also created a special Chinese New Year tasting menu from Monday, February 8 to February 19 for $110 per person. That menu includes traditional (and lucky) ingredients like cauliflower, pork, and lobster dumplings, scallion flower rolls, and roasted chicken.
Muze at Mandarin Oriental Hotel
1330 Maryland Ave. SW
Muze celebrates the Year of the Monkey during the whole month of February with a daily dim sum menu from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Indulge in Chinese delicacies such as foie gras pot stickers and black truffle siu mai for $12 to $14. And if your birthday falls on the Year of the Monkey (years 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004), consider taking a stay-cation at the Mandarin Oriental hotel so you can get a free birthday dinner.
781 Seventh St. NW
Located in the heart of Chinatown, Zengo will host three dinner specials from February 5 to February 13. Dig into chef Jason Streiff’s duck steamed buns ($13), spring rolls ($9), and shrimp lo mein ($12)–the long noodles are supposed to bring longevity. Come back to Chinatown on Valentines Day to watch the Chinese New Year Parade from 2 to 5 pm.
900 Seventh St. NW
Chinese New Year at Ping Pong Dim Sum means dumplings galore. Each $16 order represents its own blessing: chive and seafood dumplings for prosperity and longevity; spiced beef and golden fish dumplings for abundance and fortune; and crispy lotus flower desserts for luck. The prixe-fixe menu will run from February 8 to 13.
Greta started as an editorial fellow in January 2016 and joined as a full-time staff member that August. She now works as a web producer and writer. She was previously an intern at Slate and National Geographic and graduated from the University of Missouri’s Journalism School. She lives in Adams Morgan.
