The Brief

What is Lunar New Year?

Saturday, Feb. 10, marks the Lunar New Year, welcoming the Chinese zodiac Year of the Dragon. This celebration is observed by millions worldwide, including China, Vietnam, Korea, and, of course, connected communities in Los Angeles.

Each community celebrates the festival differently, with different food traditions. We’ve pulled together some culinary offerings around L.A. this year.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year activities typically start with some thorough house cleaning before the new year itself. Homes are decorated in red for good luck. The foods traditionally eaten for Chinese New Year are symbolic of longevity and prosperity in some way, usually because of the shape or because the names of the dishes are homophones for related words.

Here are some of the foods typically eaten on Chinese New Year:

Whole fish

The word for fish in Mandarin, yú, is a homophone for another word that means “abundance” or “surplus” — hence, eating fish on Chinese New Year is considered lucky and will bring abundance in the new year. The fish is usually served whole and reflects completion from the beginning to the end, but this is not always the case, especially for smaller households.

Bistro Na's in Temple City provides an array of dishes to help you ring in the Lunar New Year in style.

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Bistro Na's

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Some of the fish specials you can find around town this year include:

• Bistro Na’s is offering different Lunar New Year sets that serve 6-10 people, and all of them include at least one fish dish.
• Crustacean Beverly Hills is offering a $188 eight-course (because eight is an auspicious number) dinner extravaganza with crispy dover sole, black truffle turnip cakes, and more. The dining room will be decked out in Lunar New Year decorations and there will be live entertainers throughout the night. 
• Paradise Dynasty is offering some special dishes like Singapore-style black pepper lobster. There will also be a steamed Chilean sea bass and eight treasure sticky rice for dessert, another popular Lunar New Year treat. The special dishes are available now through March 31, 2024. 
• Steep will have a collaboration dinner with Chef Anthony Wang on Feb. 9-10. There will be an eight-course menu featuring steamed rockfish, radish cake with XO sauce, braised pork belly with abalone, and more.

Poon choi

Poon choi from Collette in Pasadena, a traditional Cantonese festival dish featuring layers of different ingredients and is consumed communally.

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Collette

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This traditional Cantonese meal translates to “basin vegetables” and is served in a large basin. It’s not all vegetables, though — the Lunar New Year poon choi usually also contains several luxurious ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, BBQ and more.

Poon choi has become a popular Lunar New Year dish in Los Angeles over the past couple of years, with many restaurants offering it at this time of year.

Order the dish from Hop Woo BBQ & Seafood Restaurant, Capital Seafood, Ho Kee Cafe, Sea Harbour, and many others. Colette in Pasadena will also offer poon choi by pre-order this year, and there are two sizes available: one that feeds six and a larger one for ten people.

Tray of togetherness

The tray of togetherness is a tray filled with sweets with symbolic meanings that are served to guests. The tray usually has six or eight compartments with various sweets including candied lotus roots, which symbolize abundance, candied coconut, which symbolizes togetherness, and candied lotus seeds for fertility.

Different versions of the tray can be found at Asian grocery stores such as 99 Ranch Market and 168 Market.

Nián gāo

This dense, glutinous rice cake is another traditional symbolic food. The name, nián gāo, sounds similar to words that mean “getting higher every year” and thus symbolizes growth and progress. While there is both a sweet and savory version, the sweet version is more popular, made with glutinous rice flour and sweetened with brown sugar (some versions may also use chestnuts or red beans). In L.A., you can get them at:

• Kee Wah Bakery. In addition to the rice cake, the bakery also has an assortment of gift sets in Chinese New Year packaging.  
• Woon, which is serving Chinese New Year specials from Feb. 7-11, including savory, stir-fried nián gāo. Woon will also turn up the festivities with red envelope roulette with prizes like t-shirts and free noodles. 

Jiaozi

Jiaozi is the crescent-shaped dumplings that you may know as potstickers. Although dumplings in general are commonly found at celebrations, jiaozi is typically eaten during Chinese New Year as an auspicious food, since the shape of the dumplings resemble the gold ingots or sycee used as currency in imperial China.

Dumplings galore including jiaozi, the crescent-shaped dumpling, at Din Tai Fung for Lunar New Year.

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Din Tai Fung

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You can find jiaozi or potstickers at many restaurants around L.A., including:

• Din Tai Fung, which also serves crescent shaped dumplings in addition to their famous xiao long bao. From Feb. 8-12, Din Tai Fung will be giving guests a red envelope containing a certificate for a free soy noodle appetizer (to be used for a future visit). One lucky guest will get a Golden Ticket, allowing access to the restaurant’s VIP reservation service, which pretty much guarantees you can always get a reservation. 

Lo hei or yusheng

Yee Sang from Sam Tan's Kitchen, a Cantonese-style raw fish salad, consisting of strips of raw fish, mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments.

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Sam Tan's Kitchen

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Even within Chinese New Year celebrations, there are quite a few regional variations. For example, the Cantonese lo hei — also called yusheng, or “prosperity toss” — is a raw fish salad that is “tossed” on Chinese New Year and symbolizes abundance. Yusheng is popular among the Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia.

Here in L.A., you can pre-order it at:

• Malaysianfoodloversla, which sells them via Instagram for pickup in Arcadia. They’re offering three different seafood toppings: fried shrimp, cocktail shrimp or arctic surf clam. 
• Ms. Chi Cafe, in Culver City, will be offering a special six-course Lunar New Year menu that includes a yusheng salad, followed by golden chicken jiaozi symbolizing wealth, longevity noodles with spicy garlic prawns, Chilean sea bass and more. The $69 menu will be served at dinner from Feb. 9-25.
• Home chef Sam Tan’s Kitchen will have lo hei available for pick up from Feb. 3-24.

Seollal

In Korean, Lunar New Year is called seollal and it’s typically celebrated over three days. Some traditions are similar to those of Chinese New Year, where people travel to their family homes, perform an ancestral ritual, and young ones bow to the elders to show respect and receive money in a red (or white) packet.

Tteokguk

The main dish eaten for seollal is tteokguk, a rice cake soup traditionally made with beef bone broth. The dish is believed to grant good luck and it’s said that people don’t gain another year of age until they’ve had their bowl of tteokguk. The white of the rice cakes also symbolize purity and a bright new beginning.

• Find tteokguk at Hangari Kalguksu, Ma Dang Gook Soo, Sun Nong Dan and other places in Koreatown. 
• Baekjeong KBBQ and Ahgassi Gopchang will both be serving a complimentary bowl of tteokguk for all guests during lunch and dinner service on February 10. 
• Instead of tteokguk, Yangban Society will be gungjung tteokbokki, or “royal rice cake”. In this royal court version, the rice cakes will be served with braised oxtail, hobak squash, shiitake and preserved black truffles. The gungjung tteokbokki will be available Feb. 9-11.

Jeon

The savory pancakes, jeon, aren’t necessarily a seollal-specific dish, but they make an appearance at all celebrations in Korea, including seollal. Jeon can be made from various vegetables and sometimes also incorporate meat or seafood.

• HanEuem in Koreatown serves a platter of different varieties of jeon.
• Baroo is serving a special seven-course dinner on Feb. 10 which will include a seafood jeon with shrimp and sea cucumber as well as maesaengi tteokguk (rice cake soup with seaweed oyster broth). Book it here.

Tết Nguyên Đán

The Lunar New Year celebration in Vietnam is called Tết Nguyên Đán, or Tết for short, and it means “feast for the first morning” — so you know this new year celebration is all about the food.

Bánh tét or bánh chưng

A must-have for a Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration is bánh tét or bánh chưng. They are glutinous rice cakes wrapped in a banana leaf and typically filled with mung beans and marinated pork. While bánh tét is cylindrical in shape and popular in South Vietnam, bánh chưng is square in shape and eaten more in the northern parts of Vietnam.

The dish is time-consuming to make, and that’s part of its importance, as families spend time together and bond while making it. Around Lunar New Year every year, Bánh Chưng Collective holds a bánh chưng making class. This year’s class will be on Feb. 17, 2024 and attendees will get enough ingredients to make four bánh chưng and everyone will enjoy lunch together (the bánh chưng are taken home to be cooked later).

If you want to enjoy it without making it yourself, though, there are quite a few places to get them in the L.A. area, since bánh tét / bánh chưng are actually eaten year-round. You can find them at various Vietnamese bakeries and delis. Around Tết you can also get some at Sau Can Tho or order them from Kien Gang Bakery while supplies last.

Mut tet

Similar to the Chinese New Year tradition of the tray of togetherness, Vietnamese New Year also has a tray of sweets called mut tet that is used to serve guests during Lunar New Year. Some of the components are also the same, like candied coconut or lotus seeds, but you’d also typically find candied tamarind. You can buy these trays at Vietnamese grocery stores around San Gabriel Valley or Little Saigon.

Splurge-worthy meals

All the auspicious foods listed above are important traditions for many, but really, the most important thing is sharing good food with your loved ones. For many it’s also the time of year to splurge on a dinner too expensive for the day-to-day. There are a number of special dinners happening around town that aren’t about the specific food items, but that are worth looking into:

• Michelin-starred Kato will have their third Lunar New Year dinner series on Feb. 7-9, serving a special menu in collaboration with chefs Daisy Ryan (Bell’s) and Matthew Lightner (okta). The menu hasn’t been finalized yet but reservations can be made here. 
• The high end yakiniku restaurant Niku X will offer a special Lunar New Year tasting menu from Feb. 9-11. The menu costs $250 per person and includes wagyu oxtail potstickers, dry aged sashimi, caviar, and of course, plenty of A5 wagyu for the grill. 
• Merois at The Pendry West Hollywood is also offering a special four-course menu on Feb. 10. The menu costs $165 per person and includes Peking duck, king crab bao and more. There will also be live entertainment throughout the night.
  

Celebrations in Los Angeles

Aside from the food specials we mentioned above, there are also a number of larger community celebrations of Lunar New Year around the Los Angeles area. At these celebrations you’ll find dance performances, cultural showcases, and of course — more food.

Golden Dragon Lunar New Year Parade

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles is hosting the 125th annual Golden Dragon Parade on Saturday, Feb. 17. The parade is one of the oldest cultural celebrations in Los Angeles, and certainly one of the oldest Lunar New Year celebrations in the city as well. There will be dance performances and marching bands. The parade will start at the corner of Hill and Ord streets in Chinatown.

UVSA Tết Festival

The UVSA Tết Festival is the largest Vietnamese Lunar New Year Festival in the country and this year it will be held at the OC Fair & Event Center from Feb. 9-11. It's hosted by the Southern California chapter of UVSA, or Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. During the three-day festival, there will be cultural activities, food vendors, firecracker shows and more. There will also be a replica of a traditional Vietnamese village complete with cultural exhibits and galleries for those who want to learn more about Vietnamese culture.

Lunar New Year at Pacific Asia Museum

The USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena will be throwing a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday, Feb, 10. There will be a traditional Chinese lion dance performance as well as a Korean dance performance, taiko drumming, calligraphy and more. Those attending the celebration will also get free admission to the museum.

Lunar New Year at South Coast Botanic Garden

South Coast Botanic Garden will be celebrating Lunar New Year every weekend in February. On Saturdays and Sundays there will be two daily live performances of lion dancers, martial arts and more. There will also be various activity stations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including lantern making, calligraphy and mahjong.

Chinese New Year Festival at The Huntington

On Feb. 10-11 The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens will have a Chinese New Year Celebration. Not only will there be lion dancers and martial arts performances among other entertainment, the various dining venues here will have special menus, serving steamed buns, Chinese mushroom and tofu soup, black bean catfish, Peking duck and more. Reservations are required and can be made here.

MAUM Market

Lunar New Year seems like the perfect time to shop AAPI-owned businesses, and MAUM Market which is LA’s original Asian makers’ market will be holding a market on Saturday, Feb. 10 at ROW DTLA. There will be over 100 Asian-American makers showcasing everything from pottery to cute stationery to food. The market will be held from 12-4 p.m. and entry is free (there’s a free 2-hour parking at ROW DTLA).

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.