Spice Temple celebrates Chinese New Year

As a Melburnian, it’s hard to escape the phenomenon that takes over the city between the end of January and mid-February every year. Chinese New Year is a festival celebrated at the beginning of the traditional Chinese calendar, and across Melbourne cultural festivities are held to celebrate the beginning of the Lunar New Year, as it’s also called. Each year is aligned with an animal from the Chinese zodiac, which play an integral part in Chinese culture.

This year, Spice Temple by Neil Perry will be ushering in the Year of the Pig with a banquet of auspicious dishes selected to symbolise good luck for the year ahead. The special banquet menu will be available for lunch and dinner at Spice Temple till Sunday, 10 February.

Chinese culture is big on both good fortune and food (it’s our love language!), so Perry, along with his Executive Chef Andy Evans and Head Chef Neisha Woo, have united the two in their special menu. The nine-course banquet includes propitious dishes that promote Prosperity, Happiness, Wealth, Longevity and Rejuvenation, along with other aspects of good fortune.

Delicacies on the menu include tea eggs that symbolise golden nuggets, and red dates, which are a lucky colour, both therefore embodying wealth and prosperity. Spice Temple’s philosophy of incorporating world-class service with a deep respect for the highest quality produce is appreciable with this special nine-course banquet.

The pig’s chubby face and big ears are signs of good fortune in Chinese culture, so let’s get piggy and check out what prosperity the Spice Temple team has to offer!

Spice Temple 
Crown Complex, Southbank
Chinese New Year banquet available till Sunday, 10 February
spicetemple.com.au/melbourne/whats-on-melbourne