Celebrating Chinese New Year in London｜2023 Spring Festival Reunion Dinner, Michelin Chinese Restaurant Hakkasan Collaborates with Hennessy
The Chinese Spring Festival is coming! Spring Festival is a traditional New Year celebrated by Chinese people in China, Chinese communities, and around the world. Similar to Christmas in the West, Spring Festival is also a time for reuniting with family and friends. For overseas Chinese, this day is not only a festival to look forward to the new year with hopes, but also a symbol conveying longing for relatives and friends back home.
Every year during Spring Festival, Chinese people in the UK prepare various Chinese New Year celebrations, such as festive parade floats, dragon and lion dances, Chinese kung fu and cultural demonstrations, and more. In addition, having a reunion dinner with family and friends has become a tradition for overseas Chinese. Do you have any plans for the Rabbit Year Spring Festival reunion dinner?
With the upcoming Chinese lunar New Year, Hakkasan will launch a special Chinese New Year celebration to welcome the Year of the Rabbit and pay sincere tribute to the prosperity and beauty represented by ancient Chinese astrology and the twelve zodiac signs. From January 10 to February 7, 2023, Hakkasan will collaborate with Hennessy X.O to release a limited-edition menu and cocktail series. Additionally, Hakkasan's popular Wishing Tree will return once again, continuing to carry people's hopes and wishes for the new year ahead.
Founded in 2001, Hakkasan aims to present authentic Cantonese cuisine through modern cooking techniques. As a leader in the high-end dining industry, Hakkasan is recognized as one of the most influential Chinese restaurants globally. Its London restaurants on Hanway Place and in Mayfair have each earned a Michelin star for their high-end dining experiences.
Apart from the widely recommended exquisite Cantonese dim sum, the pipa duck, caviar Peking duck, and charcoal-grilled wagyu with black truffle paired with British sparkling wine or red wine are also worth trying. The authentic Cantonese flavors blended with Western elements, combined with Hakkasan's unique avant-garde concept, offer an ultimate enjoyment for the palate.
To welcome the Year of the Rabbit, both Hakkasan Hanway Place and Mayfair restaurants are offering a Chinese New Year limited-edition set menu priced at £128 per person. During Chinese New Year, it is an essential ritual for family and friends to gather for a reunion dinner, wishing each other health, happiness, and well-being in the coming year. The appetizer, "Fortune from All Directions" – Octopus Salad with Yuzu Plum Sauce and Garlic Chili Vinegar Dressing, will whet your appetite in winter.
In China, dim sum symbolizes a prosperous and bright future and is a must-have dish for the reunion dinner. "Three Joys Arriving" – Dim Sum Trio, is the snack in this set menu, which includes the Magnificent Seafood Dumpling, Supreme Siu Mai with XO Sauce, and Jade Rabbit Turnip Puff. These three dim sum items are perfect for sharing with family and friends. Notably, Hakkasan gives a playful twist to classic fried dim sum, wrapping the meat filling in carrot-shaped puff pastry to create this limited-edition Jade Rabbit Turnip Puff.
The main course is "A Bright Future” – Cherry Wood Smoked Roast Duck, accompanied by carrots and kumquat chili sauce; “Rise Step by Step” – Wagyu Fried Rice Cake, paired with white beech mushrooms and golden pumpkin.
“Abundance Year After Year” – Butter Soy Sauce Steamed Dover Sole, served with enoki mushrooms and okra. According to tradition, fish is a dish symbolizing wealth at New Year banquets. “Rabbit Brings Good Fortune” will be the dessert, featuring black sesame mousse, raspberry preserves, and sumac sorbet. All the above dishes can be found and enjoyed in Hakkasan's signature set menu and à la carte menu.
The wine selected for this New Year set menu is the limited-edition Chinese New Year cocktail "Silver Rabbit Celebration Tùzi Tail,” co-created with Hennessy X.O by Hakkasan Mayfair's head bartender Andrei Danila. The Tùzi Tail features Hennessy X.O cognac, carrot, lemongrass, and white chocolate foam. From appearance, aroma, visual creativity to the represented zodiac animal, Andrei aims to let guests experience the different layers of the cocktail comprehensively. This exquisite cocktail is composed of many meanings, symbolizing prosperity, good fortune, and unity, which aligns with the philosophy embodied by Hennessy X.O. Tùzi means rabbit in Chinese. This cocktail, with its subtle herbal notes, is designed to be fun and looks as cute as a rabbit's fluffy white tail.
In addition, Hakkasan has carefully prepared a customized Wishing Tree designed by Lucas Studio to celebrate the Chinese lunar New Year. At the Hanway Place restaurant, a radiant tree from inside out will illuminate the path forward, with customized rabbit motifs, Chinese elements, and New Year wishes adorning the center of the trunk. At Hanway Place, you can also immerse yourself in a customized rabbit-shaped light art installation, experiencing the expectations for the Year of the Rabbit.
At the Hakkasan Mayfair restaurant, the Wishing Tree will be woven from intertwining branches that climb along the staircase to form an archway, decorated with specially customized Chinese lanterns. Guests can write their wishes on the Wishing Trees in both restaurants using red or gold pigments, and these blessings and wishes will become the beautiful branches and leaves of the trees. Over time, both Wishing Trees will bloom with flowers on January 22, the first day of the Chinese New Year.
On January 22 (the first day of the new year) at 2:00 PM, Hakkasan Hanway Place will host a traditional Chinese lion dance event. Hakkasan Mayfair will hold a lion dance performance on January 25 (the fourth day of the new year) at 6:00 PM, aiming to ward off bad luck and bring auspicious blessings.
