Chinese New Year will understandably look a little different this year without the usual flurry of fireworks, parades and festivities to help usher in the Year of the Ox, but there are still plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Whether you’re after a seasonal treat for the family, a romantic gift for Valentine’s Day or a little indulgence, Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Fortunes at Home promotion, running until Feb 26, celebrates our homegrown talent with exciting collaborations between generations-old local brands and some of the city’s hottest upstart businesses. These are just a few of the seasonal deals to help with your festive celebrations.
Browse the seasonal online marketplace to discover over 100 local food and beverage products, including six exclusive, limited-edition collaborations which can be delivered right to your door to be enjoyed at home. These artisanal crossover projects are a quirky mix of age-old Chinese traditions and Western modernism, great for those looking to celebrate Chinese New Year in style.
Stock up on sweets from hipster confectioner Papabubble, who partnered with Hollywood Road stalwart Kung Lee Sugar Cane Drink to produce handmade delicacies infused with the same traditional herbal tea that it’s served to Hongkongers for more than seven decades. Perfect for your Chinese New Year chuen hup – a traditional Chinese confectionary box.
You also can’t go wrong with a tea-flavoured biscuits from Ying Kee Tea House and Cookieism, which mixes the delicate fragrance of storied tea shop’s Chinese brews with flavours of blueberry and almond for a sweet seasonal treat.
Another can’t-miss crossover is from Century-old Ser Wong Fun in collaboration with Swiss chef Jacques Kagi for the launch of a Chinese preserved sausage croissant DIY set, so you can bake and serve up these toasty and festive treats right at home.
Be sure to also pick up a few festive fai chun (wall hangings adorned with auspicious messages) from the online marketplace, which bring good fortune to the home; as well as special-edition Chinese New Year face masks designed by local illustrators.
Just as plants need nurturing, so too does a relationship. Which is why gifts like Greenology’s delicate potted succulent is a thoughtful symbol of love for Valentine’s Day, which falls between Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival this year.
There are selection of other romantic gifts to choose from on the online marketplace – including Easy Signs’ eye-catching creations, which can be customised with a sweet message or even your names, forever etched in neon as bright as your future.
Over 20 hotels and restaurants are offering seasonal menus for delivery or pickup to be enjoyed at home. No dish symbolises togetherness during Chinese New Year like poon choi. Get a taste of Artisan Lounge x Fan Guan’s made-to-order version of the ‘big bowl’ dish, featuring premium South African abalone, Japanese dried scallop, sea cucumber, dried oysters and locally caught fresh shrimp.
Fu gui chicken is another seasonal menu staple around Chinese New Year. Known as ‘prosperity chicken’, you can count on a full belly and an auspicious start to the new year with the version from Rosewood Hong Kong’s lauded Cantonese restaurant, The Legacy House, which is stuffed with rice, crabmeat, dried scallops and mushrooms, before being wrapped in lotus leaves and clay, then baked to fragrant perfection.
While on the site, visitors can also enjoy some lucky feng shui tips and send festive e-cards to share blessings with friends and family. Head to the official website for some good fortune at home.