What 123Dzo has named Lucky Lunar Hotpot is also known as lẩu hải sản in Vietnamese: a mix of seafood (squid, shrimp, fish balls, fish filet, mussels, and beef slices), along with vegetables and vermicelli. This bounty gets dipped in a hot and sour broth to be shared by three to four people. Pick up at their Laval location.

In addition to a collaboration with Calem for a special Year of the Tiger-inspired ice cream, the Ku brothers are preparing a special multi-course meal to feed a (small) crowd, featuring Yi Mein longevity noodles; fun see, a special glass noodle dish; fat choi moss seaweed with shiitake mushrooms; oxtail stewed with daikon radish and carrots; a soy and white chicken platter, and roast pork. Available by pre-order from January 28 to February 1.

Chinatown’s Kim Fung is cooking up all the Lunar New Year classics, from poon choi to nian go (rice cake), lo bok go (radish cake), fat choi (seaweed moss) and special pork dishes. Give them a heads-up first to order. 

This Duluth street Vietnamese restaurant has put their Year of the Tiger kitchen energy into preparing special bánh tét sticky rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves. The salty bánh tét feature pork, mung beans, and salted egg yolk; sweet ones have bananas and mung beans in the centre and are served either steamed or pan-fried. District 4 is also preparing cải muối, soy-marinated carrots and daikon in soy sauce with garlic and chilli, to go along with the bánh tét. Pre-order is a must.

Chef Anita Feng is inaugurating the first Lunar New Year at her Beaubien East épicerie with a Sichuan-inflected feast for two, mashing up her passion for spice with some nostalgic dishes from her childhood. The spread includes tiger (laohu) salad, radish cake, Yuxiang-style stuffed cabbage, mouthwatering (saliva) chicken, and two golden salted egg baozi. Pre-order essential, with pickup on January 29. 

They may have moved from Chinatown to Brossard, but the folks at Imperial are still committed to preserving Cantonese Lunar New Year traditions. This year they’re making rice, taro, and radish cake and have just rebooted their Hong Kong-style barbecue operation. Imperial’s version of the classic poon choi big pot is loaded with abalone, shrimp, shrimp balls, fish maw, soy sauce chicken, char siu, roast duck, roast pork, lotus root, turnip, tofu, shiitake, and broccoli; it’s enough to feed four to six. There’s free delivery depending on the destination. Pre-order is essential.

One of Brossard’s go-to spots for traditional food, Maison Sai Yan is preparing an eight-delicacy hotpot to feed four to six. Their huge metal bowl comes filled with lotus root, fish maw, shiitake mushrooms, dried oyster, scallop, abalone, pork hock, and shrimp. They’ve also got fresh lobster and fish prepared Cantonese-style, plus their signature steamed chicken. Pre-order and don’t miss out. 

This Shaughnessy Village newcomer is offering several Lunar New Year set menus, with a focus on Shanghai-style flavours. What’s included varies according to price: options include xiao long bao soup dumplings, beef or shrimp pot stickers, fried pork dumplings, pork chop, duck in sauce, and osmanthus and red bean soup, along with some Shanghainese eight treasure rice. Available for solo diners or small groups with one-hour advance notice.

Barbecue is a Lunar New Year must, and Dak Hing on Van Horne (along with Lam Kee in Chinatown) is one of the city’s go-to spots for duck, chicken, and pork barbecue. For a whole roast pig, be sure to call in advance. 

Deer Garden keeps the Hong Kong cha chaan teng café tradition alive in Brossard year-round; for Lunar New Year, their Poon Choi captures many of their specialties in a big pot. This version includes abalone, tiger prawns, poached chicken, roast duck, shiitake mushrooms, tofu skin, lotus root, braised pork knuckle, crispy pork skin, and daikon. Order in advance, along with some Hong Kong-style lemon tea for the full experience.