Lunar New Year starts on Wednesday January 29. There are lots of ways to celebrate as we usher in the Year of the Snake, but many of the festivities involve food.
As Tony Tan told us, “Food is the essence of Lunar New Year. It’s a universal language that transcends geographical boundaries, narrating stories of heritage and belonging. Each dish we share is a thread in the fabric of our collective histories, resonating with anyone who cherishes the warmth of tradition and family. And each dish is symbolic and filled with meaning.”
Here are eight treats – including a burn-away cake designed to be torched and a koi fish-shaped mango pudding – from Asian-owned businesses in Melbourne, to help celebrate the Lunar New Year.
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SIGN UPMahjong cake, Kori Ice Cream
In addition to Lunar New Year versions of its Korinetto (Joanne Yoh and Bernard Chu’s ice-cream shop’s take on a classic Cornetto), this year Kori is making a cake with layers of red date and matcha semifreddo, spiced pineapple jam, and kokuto (black sugar) and red date sponge. It’s covered in white chocolate and shaped like a mahjong tile with the character 发 (Fa), a symbol of prosperity and wealth. It’s available for pick-up from both Kori’s Hawthorn and CBD locations from Wednesday January 22 to Wednesday February 12. Pre-orders recommended.
Biscuit box, The Flour
The Flour, a hidden-in-plain-sight West Melbourne pastry shop run by sisters April Yoonhee Bae and Seonghee Bae, is making biscuit boxes filled with eight different creations including matcha hojicha marble cookies, sesame biscuits and snake-shaped butter cookies. Boxes are available to pre-order until Wednesday January 22 for pick up between Thursday January 23 and Sunday January 26. They’ll also be available in stores until Sunday February 2.
Cookies, Raya
According to Chinese tradition, each of the Lunar New Year cookies at Raymond Tan’s CBD bakery Raya are meant to bring a different kind of luck. The peanut cookies are said to bring a long life, and the walnut cookies – which don’t contain walnuts, but resemble a walnut shell because of the cookies’ textured exteriors – are thought to ensure happiness in the new year. Tan has a reputation for parody packaging. Last year each cookie container was made to look like an instant noodle tub, with “no MSG added”. This year, the team has created “Kewkie” boxes inspired by Kewpie mayonnaise packaging.
Burn-away cake, Tori’s
Burn-away cakes – layer cakes topped with wafer paper that are torched and burnt to reveal an image underneath – took off online last year. Tori’s, the beloved bakery on Niagara Lane in the CBD, is making a version topped with an image of a red snake that disappears when lit to reveal a happy new year message. Tori’s take is a layer cake made using oolong peach tea cake with pink grapefruit and kumquat jam. It’s available for pre-order until Friday January 24 for pick-up between Monday January 27 and Wednesday January 29.
Mandarin bingsu, Nimbo
Nimbo, a bingsu (a Korean shaved-ice dessert) shop on Hardware Street, has brought back its Chinese mandarin bingsu with mandarin curd, chrysanthemum mandarin jelly and house-baked milk crumb and vanilla cream. The dessert comes with a dairy or oat milk base, and will be available until mid-February.
Koi fish jelly and mango pudding, Joy Jaune
Pastry chef Joey Leung will have koi fish-shaped Hong Kong-style mango pudding available at her Preston Market shop Joy Jaune from Thursday January 23 to Saturday January 25, and on Sunday February 9. The pudding is made using Kensington mangoes from the market and can be pre-ordered in advance by sending a direct message to @joyjaune on Instagram.
Red Packets and Stay Golden gelato, Kariton Sorbetes
Filipino ice-cream shop Kariton Sorbetes, in Glen Waverley, Footscray and Chinatown, is churning out two Lunar New Year flavours. Red Packets combines Laughing Cow Cheese gelato with chunks of jujube red velvet cake chunks, candied goji berries and baijiu (a Chinese grain liquor typically made from sorghum) jelly; and Stay Golden (milk gelato with pineapple jam and salted duck egg biscuit).
Matcha pineapple tarts, Matcha Mate
Matcha haven Matcha Mate is making matcha pineapple tarts available now until sold out. The tarts are made from a delicate buttery matcha pastry and filled with house-made pineapple jam infused with cinnamon and star anise, and are sweetened with honey.