The dish that spells home: 3 restaurateurs share their Lunar New Year family memories

Explore how the festival is celebrated through the lens of food in different cultures – beyond Chinese – with dishes that vary, but customs around unifying families, honoring ancestors, and preserving heritage that are shared.

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Millions across Asia – and Asian diasporas around the globe – celebrate theLunar New Yearwith celebrations lasting for weeks, centered around honoring ancestors, gathering with loved ones, and sharing traditional dishes. And while it is often known interchangeably as Chinese New Year, there are many other communities who mark this as the most important festival of the year. –

Unlike the Western New Year, which follows the solar-based Gregorian calendar established by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and falls on a fixed date, the Lunar New Year aligns with the lunar cycle, usually occurring from late January to mid-February depending on the new moon. –

Food plays a particularly important role in Lunar New Year festivities, offering a tangible link to heritage and an element of auspiciousness to the table, with many dishes believed to bring good luck, longevity and prosperity for the year ahead. Families often cook together, spending time catching up and sharing stories. –

Three Sydney restaurant owner-chefs tell us about the most important Lunar New Year dish for their family table.