The most celebrated and significant holiday in Chinese culture, along with most other Asian cultures, is Lunar New Year. An annual occasion spent with family and friends with no less than a dining room table, or two pushed together, filled with dishes that symbolize well wishes for health, fortune, and luck.
Sun Sui Wah on Main Street is a household favourite for many where celebrations ranging from work promotions to weddings to 90th birthdays take place. Although family gatherings may be smaller this year and limited to homes, Sun Sui Wah is keeping the spirit of festivity and renewal with their lunar new year take-home meal specials. To take-home, Chef Man has created a Lao Fan dinner set, premium Poon Choi course, and house made rice cake gift sets.
The Lao Fan dinner set includes an exquisite seafood soup; over ten ingredients such as abalone, fresh canner lobster, and oysters separately packaged to mix into the soup; a side of the famous cold chicken; a side of braised vegetables; and a cold appetizer dish. The literal translation for Lao Fan is “scoop out rice” – a direct description of the main feature of this set. Similar to hot pot, the soup is meant to be reheat followed by the addition of the ingredients starting with the white rice. Once items are all mixed in and served, garnish with the deep-fried rice for extra crunch and texture. The Lao Fan Dinner Set feeds a family of three to four at $118 and is based on availability from February 1 until mid-February.
Another delicacy featured this Lunar New Year is Poon Choi, a multi-layered dish that can be traced back to the late Song dynasty – over 700 years ago. Poon Choi translates to “basin cuisine”, named so as it was originally served in wooden basins. Nowadays, this large dish is layered in a deep dish with ingredients prepared and cooked separately – typically requiring days of preparation – and is meant for special occasions and festivals. Served family-style, Sun Sui Wah’s version of the Poon Choi includes sixteen premium ingredients layered on top including abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, dried oysters, dried scallop, and black moss. Available from January 30th to February 15th, the Poon Choi serves for four at $238 or six at $368 – and customers can keep the “poon” (in this case, pot).
Chinese New Year is also known for glutinous rice cakes, and Chef Man has created three versions to take home or for gifting: radish rice cake at $18.80, taro rice cake at $18.80, or sweet rice cake at $16.80. Each comes packaged in a festive red box, easy to hand out as gifts. As the rice cakes are made in-house, Chef suggests consuming within five days of purchase. Buy five get one free or buy ten get two free. If trying everything is of interest, Sun Sui Wah is offering a lucky combination promotion which includes an order of the Lao Fan, Poon Choi, and two rice cakes at $388 for four or $500 for six.
For families looking to dine-in, Sun Sui Wah is also offering two specialty dim sum offerings along with Chinese New Year dinner set menus starting at $188 for two which features their renowned roast squab, stewed bird’s nest soup with dried scallops and fresh crabmeat, braised Australian abalone, and lobster sticky rice.
Open for dine in and take out, Sun Sui Wah is open daily until 9pm. Make a reservation and or pre-order the your sets 48-hours in advance at https://sunsuiwahvancouver.ca/ or 604-872-8822.
