Chinese New Year – Hakkasan Celebrates the Year of the Rat
The Chinese New Year Menu
Hakkasan’s menu celebrates good fortune and modern Chinese cuisine in the Year of the Rat. We welcome our guests to make a reservation online for Lunar New Year at one of our locations, ending early February (menu availability varies by location).
While each Hakkasan location across the world adds its own local flavor to the menu, items like the Yu Sheng salad with house-cured salmon and plum dressing, Golden treasure pockets with abalone and wild mushrooms, and Baked salt-crusted chicken with shiitake, bamboo shoot, and chestnut are common threads uniting the menus of all locations. Locally-inspired favorites include the Wok-fry Maine diver scallop found at Hakkasan Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco, and Miami, and Hakkasan Doha’s Lucky Yu fruit blend featuring flavors of mandarin, chilli, lemongrass, and aloe.
Ending all menus on a sweet note, the Lucky Jie dessert features salted caramel ganache, mandarin, chilli, and cocoa. “Jie” means to join, receive, or connect, encouraging guests to come together and enjoy the celebration of good fortune in the year to come.
A Worldwide Celebration
In addition to its exquisite menu, Hakkasan will be celebrating the year of the rat in many other ways across the world. As guests enjoy their meal, they will be surrounded by the hue of elegant red wishing ribbons, filled with aspirations for the upcoming year. The sound of drums and powerful flashes of color will travel throughout the restaurant on certain nights as traditional Chinese lions greet guests and accept special red envelope treats for good luck, making Hakkasan the ideal spot to enjoy the celebration of a new year and the renewal of the zodiac cycle.
2020: The Year of the Metal Rat
The very first sign of the Chinese zodiac, the rat is considered quick and cunning. According to ancient folklore, the Jade Emperor held a competition in order to decide which animals would become part of the zodiac. The rat asked the ox to take him across the river, for he could not swim, then jumped down from his back to speed across the finish line before him.
2020 marks the year of the metal rat, whose characteristics are intelligence, talent, short temper, and self-awareness, with a hint of jealousy. It is said that the people born during the year of the metal rat exhibit these characteristics in addition to the quick wit and vivid imagination of all other years of the rat.
The History of the Chinese Knot
The concept of the knot in Chinese culture dates back to as early as 400 BC. Since that time, knots have been used in China to note special events and grant good fortune. As an endless knot symbolizes a life without setbacks, the more elaborate the knot, the more good fortune it brings to its owner. Today, knots made with bright red cord are very popular during New Year celebrations as part of a wish for prosperity in the year to come.
View Each Hakkasan Location’s Chinese New Year Menu Here:
