Celebrating the Lunar New Year in Montréal

Red envelopes or “lucky money”, cleaning one’s home signifying “getting rid of the old and welcoming the new,” as well as celebrating with other colourful festivities and delicious food.Some of the other traditions that surround Chinese New Year are of the tasty kind. The Chinese are superstitious, and this is reflected in the foods that are served on New Year’s Day.

Dumplings are folded into the shape of gold and silver ingots and it’s said that the more dumplings you eat on New Year’s Day, the luckier you’ll be. So if you’re looking to load up in the auspicious name of fortune, check out one of Montréal’s favourite shops, Sammi & Soupe Dumpling (Downtown and at Royalmount shopping mall).

For more dumpling choices, visit Mai Xiang Yuan or Harbin Dumpling. If you want dim sum, try Ruby Rouge, Imperial Restaurant, Restaurant Chinatown Kim Fung and Chez Chine.

The pronunciation of fish in Chinese is a homonym for “abundance”, and this meal is considered to be lucky. Prepared in different ways, fish is always served with the head and tail on as it represents a “beginning and end.” Check out Chinatown’s Keung Kee and Restaurant Mon Nan for some of the freshest seafood around – their live tanks can attest to the quality of food that they serve.

Noodles are also a favorite food eaten on New Year’s Day. Noodles should never be cut, the longer the better. Long noodles represent longevity and the long and prosperous year you’ll have. There is nothing better then fresh noodles hand-pulled right before your very eyes. Be sure to visit Nouilles de Lan Zhou, Nouilles Zhonghua, and Restaurant Noodle Factory, where you can pick the style of noodles for your meal.

Favourite desserts during this time of year are glutinous rice cakes and sweet rice balls. When said in Chinese “glutinous rice cake” is a homonym for “great success in business” and sweet rice balls are representative of togetherness. Check out local bakeries Pâtisserie Harmonie, Pâtisserie Coco, or La Reine Pâtisserie for these sweet treats.

• Join the festivities as Chinatown celebrates the Lunar New Year on the weekend of February 21^st and 22^nd at Place Sun-Yat-Sen! Marché de Nuit Asiatique will host a variety of activities; kicking off with a lion dance parade starting at 11 a.m. on both days. Stick around for various cultural performances featuring traditional costumes, music, calligraphy demonstrations, interactive games and more! 

• At the Centre Eaton, embark on a journey into Asian culture by participating to traditional activities. Colourful performances, special menus, and much more will be part of the festivities from February 9 to 22.
• From February 16 to 22 at Royalmount, enjoy traditional dances, live art by Maylee Keo painting a life-size wooden horse, and an immersive Lunar New Year installation with educational and interactive activities for all ages.
• If you’re more into performing arts, be sure to check out Homeland, a cross-cultural, emotionally resonant stage production that bridges traditional and contemporary artistic expressions on February 15 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.

May the year of the Horse bring you much health, wealth and happiness for a prosperous and fruitful new year! 

Gung Hei Fat Choy!