Chinese New Year: Restaurant specials, plus a Chinese food festival

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, is Feb. 19. To celebrate the Year of the Goat, here are some restaurants with specials, plus a Chinese food festival.

Hakkasan in Beverly Hills is celebrating with an eight-course menu from Feb. 8 to March 1. Items include the spicy lamb lupin wrap; a dim sum platter; fried sea prawns with red chile and curry leaf; abalone and dry scallop fried rice and more. The menu is $138.88 per person. You can also order the items a la carte, with prices starting at $20.88. Guests who order the special menu will also receive a red envelope with a gift certificate for a complimentary cocktail. 233 North Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills, (310) 888-8661, hakkasan.com.

Little Sister will have a special menu of “lucky” dishes available Feb. 18-28. Dishes include pork, crab and garlic chive dumplings ($14); Sichuan braised lamb shank ($26); whole crispy chicken ($30) and more. 1131 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, (310) 545-2096, littlesistermb.com.

Patina’s new chef, Paul Lee, will prepare a six-course tasting menu available Feb. 19-22. The $135 menu includes crispy skin Muscovy duck breast; imitation shark fin soup; abalone and more. Guests will receive red envelopes with a voucher for a complimentary glass of Champagne on their next visit, within 30 days. Guests will also have the opportunity to win dinner for two at Patina and a spot in an upcoming cooking class with Lee, a Patina Restaurant Group tour, and tickets to a Los Angeles Philharmonic performance. 141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-3331, patinarestaurant.com.

The Chinese Cuisine Festival is a 10-day event set for Feb. 6-15 and featuring Chinese food from restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley as well as secret menu items. This year, 19 participating restaurants will feature 11 different types of Chinese food, including styles from Beijing, Shanghai, Canton, Shanxi, Xinjiang Uyghur, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, and Taiwan. Some of the participating restaurants include Duck House, Bamboo Creek, Chengdu Taste, Beijing Tasty House, Zheng’s Fusion, Xu-Garden Beer House, and Qin West Chinese Cuisine locations in both Chinatown and West Los Angeles.

If you’d like to take part in the festival, you can find all the participating restaurants at facebook.com/ChineseCuisineFestival. When you arrive at the restaurant of your choice, tell the waiter or waitress that you’d like the Chinese Cuisine Festival special menu. iconunion.com/chinesecuisinefestival.

I’m the year of the ox and proud of it. Follow me on Twitter @Jenn_Harris_