Stir Pairing: Vancouver celebrates Lunar New Year through the arts, food, cocktails, and the return of the Chinatown parade

Year of the Rabbit events range from an audio play to takeout feasts

By Gail Johnson

Vancouver Lunar New Year Parade. Photo by Jorden

Every week, Stir Pairing suggests locally available food and/or drink to go with a local arts event.

The event

Lunar New Year 2023

The lowdown

LUNAR NEW YEAR 2023 falls on January 22, kicking off the Year of the Rabbit. Marked in China, Japan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and beyond, the celebration typically lasts for 16 days, from Lunar New Year’s Eve to the Lantern Festival.

Vancouver has tons on offer to celebrate, from an audio play to Chinatown’s signature parade, along with so much food and drink.

2023 Lunar New Year Chinatown Parade

The 48th annual Spring Festival Parade returns to Vancouver’s Chinatown after a few quiet years on January 22, with organizers expecting more than 100,000 spectators. Co-presented by S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and the Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver, the Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association, the Chinese Freemasons Vancouver Branch and the Shon Yee Benevolent Association of Canada, the event features more than 60 cultural groups taking part. The parade starts at 11 am at Millennium Gate on Pender Street and makes its way to the intersection of Keefer and Abbott Streets, wrapping up about two-and-a-half hours later.

Jasmine Chen is among the artists who make up Five Blessings Collective. Photo by Dahlia Katz

Gateway Theatre’s A Year of Blessings

The free audio-play series celebrates Chinese festivals, launching on January 21 with Episode #1 – A Year of Blessings: 繽紛新年 Bun Fun New Year. Here’s the storyline: In the midst of preparing for the Lunar New Year family feast, twin bunnies Bunnifer and Bunnithy learn the true meaning of the festivities and a couple of interesting recipes along the way. (Episode #2 - A Year of Blessings: 蝦仔 Little Shrimp will be released on April 5, in time with Qing Ming, the tomb-sweeping holiday; Episode #3 comes out on June 22 in conjunction with the Dragon Boat Festival.) A Year of Blessings is created by Five Blessings Collective, a team of Asian-Canadian artists that includes Nancy Tam, Derek Chan, Jasmine Chen, Howard Dai, and Amanda Sum.

Plus, as part of the Lunar New Year festivities in Richmond, Gateway Theatre will be hosting a Family Fun Lunar New Year Celebration on January 21 to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit and officially launch of A Year of Blessings. With two time slots (10 to 11:30 am and 1 to 2:30 pm), there will be a live reading of Bun Fun New Year as well as craft activities for all ages.

Chinatown Storytelling Centre

Several happenings are taking place here to celebrate. There’s The Power of Animation with Trevor Lai on January 21 from 4 to 5 pm features the author, illustrator, and creative director of UP Studios, who has directed more than 200 episodes of the hit animated series Super BOOMi. Then there’s the family-friendly Year of the Rabbit Paint Event on January 22 from 11 am to 3 pm—the same day as the Lunar New Year Parade—and Year of the Rabbit Heritage Food Tasting + Cantopop/K-pop night on January 28 from 6 to 8:30 pm, with live music and food by neighbourhood eateries such as Chinatown BBQ, Kam Wai Dim Sum, DD Mau, Kouign Cafe, and Pink Pearl Restaurant.

Arts-Umbrella, *The Forest of My Dreams.* Photo via Lantern City

LunarFest Vancouver and Lantern City

LunarFest Vancouver claims to be the largest Lunar New Year celebration in Canada, the multi-week, multidisciplinary event taking place at various sites throughout the city. Running January 20 to February 20, it includes Lantern City, which will offer various activities at Granville Island, Jack Poole Plaza, šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (North of Vancouver Art Gallery), and the Orpheum Theatre and in the West End.

Look for Arts Umbrella in The Cycle of Life display at Granville Island: Young artists from the School of Art & Design participated in a three-week drawing and painting Summer intensive to produce three works Lantern City. Students in the 13- to 15-year-old cohort were led by facilitating artist Manjot Kaur and assistant artist Brooke Belasic to produce The Forest of my Dreams, while those in the 15-to 19-year-old group were led by facilitating artist Emily Nguyen and assistant artist Owen Caddell to produce Abstract Shapes and Rabbits.

Three established artists are also featured in The Cycle of Life, all influenced by family elders. They are Rachel Smith, a Kwakwaka’wakw/Oweekeno artist with a multi-racial background; Richard Hunt, a renowned First Nations carver and a member of the Order of British Columbia and Order of Canada; and muralist and designer Jessie Sohpaul, creative director of The Punjabi Market Collective.

The food

Notch8 at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver has a long-standing tradition of serving Afternoon Tea, and Notch8’s newest iteration, its Lunar New Year service, led by head chef Danai Hongwanishkul, celebrates the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit. Running to February 19 with three seatings Thursdays through Sundays, the menu includes raisin and almond-cookie scones; tea sandwiches (chilled “char siu” sablefish on milk bread, typhoon shelter prawn toast, pork dumpling, and Hainan chicken steamed bao, among others); and sweet bites like red-bean macaron, White Rabbit lemon cake, fresh fruit tart with pastry cream, egg custard tart, and a red envelope with chocolate coins. Eight of the red envelopes given out throughout the run contain a golden ticket for a prize like an overnight stay at the hotel or complimentary tea for two.

Heritage Asian Eatery

Running to January 25 at the Pender Street location, Heritage Asian Eatery’s Lunar New Year special set menu, for dine in or takeout, feeds four, with dishes ranging from spring rolls (with prawn, barbecued pork, shiitake, chives, and Chinese cabbage) to prawn toast, truffle siu mai, chili wontons, salt-baked chicken, gai lan, jasmine rice, black sesame ball, and more.

Potluck Hawker Eatery

The Southeast Asian restaurant is back with its eight-course takeout Lunar New Year feast by chefs Justin Cheung and Ernest Lee. Gado gado, oyster mushroom wings, truffled Hainanese chicken, whole lobster pad Thai, and coconut panna cotta are among the menu items.

A.BENTO

Taiwanese eatery A.BENTO has assembled three Rabbit Gift Boxes to celebrate, each one containing a special red envelope and some of the restaurant’s specialty house-made sauces or gold and red sweets. One of the boxes includes Buddha’s Temptation, also known as fo tiao qiang or Buddha Jumps over the Wall (a direct translation of its Chinese name), a culturally renowned dish reserved for special occasions. The soup has abalone, fish maw, scallop, and quail egg and is simmered for two hours with taro, water chestnut, and pork. The name comes from the belief that its aroma is so enticing that the vegetarian Buddha jumped over the wall of his sanctuary just to have a taste. Other offerings include braised pork hock and sesame-oil chicken sticky rice in lotus leaf.

The Lobby Lounge & RawBar

Vancouver Michelin chef Masayoshi Baba is creating a sushi and omakase culinary experience at Fairmont Pacific Rim’s main-level hot spot. It’s part of the fifth annual Oakridge Park Lunar New Year Celebration at the hotel, running until February 12. Daily programming from 11 am to 6 pm includes a floral-arrangement workshop, Year of the Rabbit-themed crafts, and children’s ballet classes (all tied into promotions for the forthcoming Oakridge Park development).

Wild Sweets

Every single chocolate in the shop’s Chinese New Year Chocolate Collections Gift Set is made and decorated by hand by chefs Dominique and Cindy Duby, who are ranked among the 25 best chocolatiers in the world. The pair’s East meets West gift boxes feature several options, including their praline and ganache collection and signature cocoa bean-to-bar tasting box.

Five Sails

Fast-rising pastry star Daria Andriienko has created a special dessert to celebrate: Mandrine has layers of feuilletine, citrus Chantilly, mandarin marmalade, and orange chocolate, available as of January 21.

Nam Dae Moon

One of two flavours of tanghulu—a traditional Chinese snack consisting of rock sugar-coated fruits on a skewer—will be given to customers who spend $20.23 or more in the Richmond shop from January 22 to February 5. Dating back to the Song Dynasty, the sweet-and-sour treat remains popular throughout China today. While Chinese hawthorn is the traditional fruit used, Nam Dae Moon is offering cherry tomato or strawberry.

Mott 32 Vancouver

Created by Mott 32’s group executive chef Lee Man Sing, who’s based in Hong Kong, and Vancouver restaurant’s team, the Year of the Rabbit menu can be ordered a la carte or as a set menu from January 20 to February 5 for lunch or dinner. Dishes include whole lobster salad made for sharing and featuring dried abalone and a soy-sesame dressing; Alaskan king crab meat with E-fu noodles (aka yi mien or long-life noodles), supreme broth, and local free-range egg; and fried arrowhead cake, a traditional snack made of the bulbs of the arrowhead plant.

The pairings

Straight and Marrow

Chef Chris Lam pays tribute to his Asian heritage at Straight and Marrow, while bar manager Chad Rivard has concocted a White Rabbit Negroni to mark Year of the Rabbit. Served in a vintage tea cup, it’s made with White Rabbit Candy Gin, Rose Campari, Bianco Vermouth, and lemon oil.

The Victor

The steak and seafood restaurant at Parq Vancouver will be offering two cocktail features for Lunar New Year from January 20 to 27: Lucky You! Is a shot of hibiscus infused Baijiu, lychee liqueur, MomoKawa Pearl Nigori Sake, lemon, and sugar, garnished with a fortune cookie; Jade Rabbit is a martini made with Cazadores reposado tequila, Baijiu, yuzu juice, jasmine syrup, lime leaf bitters with a lemongrass garnish.

Gotham Steakhouse and Bar

Fortunate Bun is the name of Gotham’s Lunar New Year cocktail, a blend of Absolut vodka, Giffard Ginger of the Indies Liqueur, fresh lemon juice, charred lemongrass, and tamarind syrup, and goji berries.

Phantom Creek Estates

Helmed by Richter Bai, who moved to Canada from China in 2011, the Okanagan winery has created a 2023 Lunar New Year gift pack. It features two of its popular red blends, the 2019 Becker Cuvée and the 2019 Kobau Cuvée, packaged together with a voucher for a signature seated tasting experience for two and lucky red envelopes in a limited-edition gift box.

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Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.