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Chinese New Year - Washington, DC
Preparing for the Chinese New Year Parade in D.C., 2013.
Photo by Matt McClain for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Where to Ring in Lunar New Year With Food and Drinks in D.C.

The parade is canceled, but Year of the Tiger celebrations roar on

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Preparing for the Chinese New Year Parade in D.C., 2013.
| Photo by Matt McClain for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Sadly, the D.C. Chinese Lunar New Year Parade, the annual parade through Chinatown, sponsored by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, has once again been canceled.

Even without the parade, plenty of Year of the Tiger celebrations in D.C. are roaring on. From a three-course Korean dinner at Anju to a six-scoop ice cream flight at Ice Cream Jubilee, are all on offer to ring in the new year, which begins on February 1.

Meanwhile, the annual parade will be replaced with a three-day virtual program from February 1 through 3 this year.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Starting on February 1, chef James Wozniuk’s Malaysian restaurant in Columbia Heights will celebrate Lunar New Year with a line-up of specials inspired by Wozniuk’s passion for Malaysian cuisine. Dishes include yee sang (a “prosperity salad” made with cured salmon, vegetables, pomelo, peanut, and plum sauce) and Hainan chicken (an aromatic poached chicken served with chicken fat rice).

Ice Cream Jubilee

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The local ice cream chain known for its creative flavors has a six mini-scoop tasting flight ($19) for Lunar New Year. Flavors include red adzuki bean almond cookie made and citrus Sichuan peppercorn made with fresh oranges and ground Sichuan pepper. The flight is available at all three locations in D.C. and Virginia through February 13.

The team at Dupont’s modern Korean pub Anju (including chef Danny Lee’s mother, “Mama” Lee) joins forces with the team from Mandu (the Korean restaurant that preceded Anju in the same space before being destroyed by a fire) for a special Seollal 설날 Lunar New Year Dinner on February 1. The menu will celebrate and pay homage to traditional Korean New Year dishes, like samsaek namul made with seasoned watercress, fernbrake, and Korean radish. The event is priced at $100 per person, with an optional $40 beverage paring. Seatings at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Reservations here.

Lunar New Year at Anju
Lunar New Year at Anju
LeadingDC/Anju

Fred & Stilla

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From February 2 through 6, the multicultural restaurant located at the Ven Embassy Row hotel will feature a three-course menu ($40 per person) honoring the New Year. Dishes include barbecued jackfruit buns served with pickled radishes, kimchi and scallions, and a mango sticky rice dessert.

Fred & Stilla restaurant at the Ven Embassy Row Hotel
Fred & Stilla restaurant at the Ven Embassy Row Hotel
Fred & Stilla

The “fine-casual” Korean restaurant will serve a special three-course meal ($35 per person) inspired by the five blessings of the Lunar New Year (longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and timely death) across all four of its locations in the DMV. The menu, available dine-in or takeout, includes shrimp spring rolls served with a citrus soy dipping sauce, and wok stir-fried “Longevity Noodles.”

Tiger Fork

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The Blagden alley restaurant is celebrating two special occasions: Lunar New Year and Tiger Fork’s fifth anniversary from February 1 through 13. A special a la carte menu includes Cantonese dishes such as a whole steamed black bass with scallion and citrus soy, and bubble waffles adorned with a red bean cream and condensed milk.

Steamed Black Bass at Tiger Fork
Tiger Fork

CUT by Wolfgang Puck - DC

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The Wolfgang Puck restaurant will be celebrating the Lunar New Year with a three-course, family-style dinner ($155 per person) one night only on Thursday, February 3 from 5 to 9 p.m. Menu highlights include scallion pull-apart bread served with whipped, toasted chili butter; Maine lobster and black truffle cheung fun, wagyu beef and duck liver bao, and lotus root with black trumpet mushrooms.

Maketto

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Through February 12, chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s Cambodian and Taiwanese restaurant is offering a five-dish menu of sharable plates ($60) ranging from a crispy pork belly salad to a smoked fish spring roll. The night ends with a mochi donut funnel cake topped with kumquat glaze.

Lucky Danger

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Chef Tim Ma is honoring the Chinese New Year with a multi-course menu ($65) for two available for pickup only at the Arlington restaurant on February 6. There are two variations of the menu: “Meat OK!!” comes with pan-friend pork dumplings, steamed chicken with ginger scallion oil, and more. “Veggie OK!!” includes vegetarian dishes such as fried tofu with black pepper sauce and veggie lo mein. Both menus come with an almond jello dessert served with fruit cocktail.

Makan

Starting on February 1, chef James Wozniuk’s Malaysian restaurant in Columbia Heights will celebrate Lunar New Year with a line-up of specials inspired by Wozniuk’s passion for Malaysian cuisine. Dishes include yee sang (a “prosperity salad” made with cured salmon, vegetables, pomelo, peanut, and plum sauce) and Hainan chicken (an aromatic poached chicken served with chicken fat rice).

Ice Cream Jubilee

The local ice cream chain known for its creative flavors has a six mini-scoop tasting flight ($19) for Lunar New Year. Flavors include red adzuki bean almond cookie made and citrus Sichuan peppercorn made with fresh oranges and ground Sichuan pepper. The flight is available at all three locations in D.C. and Virginia through February 13.

Anju

The team at Dupont’s modern Korean pub Anju (including chef Danny Lee’s mother, “Mama” Lee) joins forces with the team from Mandu (the Korean restaurant that preceded Anju in the same space before being destroyed by a fire) for a special Seollal 설날 Lunar New Year Dinner on February 1. The menu will celebrate and pay homage to traditional Korean New Year dishes, like samsaek namul made with seasoned watercress, fernbrake, and Korean radish. The event is priced at $100 per person, with an optional $40 beverage paring. Seatings at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Reservations here.

Lunar New Year at Anju
Lunar New Year at Anju
LeadingDC/Anju

Fred & Stilla

From February 2 through 6, the multicultural restaurant located at the Ven Embassy Row hotel will feature a three-course menu ($40 per person) honoring the New Year. Dishes include barbecued jackfruit buns served with pickled radishes, kimchi and scallions, and a mango sticky rice dessert.

Fred & Stilla restaurant at the Ven Embassy Row Hotel
Fred & Stilla restaurant at the Ven Embassy Row Hotel
Fred & Stilla

CHIKO

The “fine-casual” Korean restaurant will serve a special three-course meal ($35 per person) inspired by the five blessings of the Lunar New Year (longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and timely death) across all four of its locations in the DMV. The menu, available dine-in or takeout, includes shrimp spring rolls served with a citrus soy dipping sauce, and wok stir-fried “Longevity Noodles.”

Tiger Fork

The Blagden alley restaurant is celebrating two special occasions: Lunar New Year and Tiger Fork’s fifth anniversary from February 1 through 13. A special a la carte menu includes Cantonese dishes such as a whole steamed black bass with scallion and citrus soy, and bubble waffles adorned with a red bean cream and condensed milk.

Steamed Black Bass at Tiger Fork
Tiger Fork

CUT by Wolfgang Puck - DC

The Wolfgang Puck restaurant will be celebrating the Lunar New Year with a three-course, family-style dinner ($155 per person) one night only on Thursday, February 3 from 5 to 9 p.m. Menu highlights include scallion pull-apart bread served with whipped, toasted chili butter; Maine lobster and black truffle cheung fun, wagyu beef and duck liver bao, and lotus root with black trumpet mushrooms.

Maketto

Through February 12, chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s Cambodian and Taiwanese restaurant is offering a five-dish menu of sharable plates ($60) ranging from a crispy pork belly salad to a smoked fish spring roll. The night ends with a mochi donut funnel cake topped with kumquat glaze.

Lucky Danger

Chef Tim Ma is honoring the Chinese New Year with a multi-course menu ($65) for two available for pickup only at the Arlington restaurant on February 6. There are two variations of the menu: “Meat OK!!” comes with pan-friend pork dumplings, steamed chicken with ginger scallion oil, and more. “Veggie OK!!” includes vegetarian dishes such as fried tofu with black pepper sauce and veggie lo mein. Both menus come with an almond jello dessert served with fruit cocktail.

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