For the first time since 2019, Lunar New Year (LNY) celebrations in Sydney have gone ahead somewhat as normal. Nonetheless, scores of Sydneysiders are still going into isolation every day – and many more are avoiding crowds to steer clear of infection with Covid-19. If you’re not a dab hand at cooking (or simply can’t be bothered), a bunch of excellent eateries have put together at-home banquets that’ll be delivered directly to you via Providoor, and require a minimal amount of prep and reheating. Here’s what’s on offer.

Golden Century and XOPP
Late-night icon Golden Century may have closed last year, but its beloved Cantonese cuisine lives on in Providoor delivery form. For LNY it’s put together a luxe banquet for four. Get the party started with a dish of lobster with ginger-shallot sauce, then get into a plate of the diner’s famed XO pippies. Also on the menu? Black-pepper beef, steamed coral trout and fried rice.

Sister restaurant, XOPP in Darling Square is also doing a banquet. It includes steamed prawn dumplings, the XO pippies that give the diner its name, salt-and-pepper prawns and cumin-heavy lamb cutlets.

Stay in the know with our free newsletter. The latest restaurants, must-see exhibitions, style trends, travel spots and more – curated by those who know.

SIGN UP

Ho Jiak and Amah
Ho Jiak (which you’ll find at Haymarket, Town Hall and Strathfield) and spin-off restaurant Amah in Chatswood, are doing bang-up Malaysian feasts. Ho Jiak’s banquet includes chef Junda Khoo’s glorious har mee bomb: ingredients from Penang-style prawn noodle soup (prawn, pork fat and noodles) squeezed into a dumpling. That’s just the start of the meal, which also features Hainanese chicken, tau eu bak (braised pork belly), Angus-beef rendang and assam nyonya (a sour, spicy curry) made with barramundi.

Amah’s menu, meanwhile, includes fish-ball soup, a platter of barbequed meats, black-pepper curry prawns and tofu with spanner-crab sauce.

Lotus
Lotus has gone to a lot of effort with its LNY banquet. It comes with tinnies of its in-house lager, as well as salt-and-pepper peanuts and garlic cashews to throw back as you sip. Then, move onto its yee seng (prosperity toss salad); an array of dumplings; braised pork hock and tiger salad; tiger prawns with XO; and golden ingots with red-bean paste for prosperity. Lotus has also collaborated with Tokyo Lamington on a trio of lamingtons (lychee, fortune cookie and a yuzu-and-sesame-cream-striped number).

A little bit of everything
Dumpling-lovers can get their fix with a box packed with dumplings from a clutch of diners. This weekend’s box is sold out, making February 11 and 12 delivery your only option – it’s worth getting in early for this one. It includes Ho Jiak’s har mee bombs; pork-and-chive and prawn dumplings from Lotus; mini prawn mantou (steamed buns) and barbeque-pork buns from XOPP; and steamed prawn and golden coin (prawn and pork) dumplings from Golden Century.

providoor.com.au