CHINESE New Year’s Eve dinner, or nianye fan is perhaps the most important meal of the year for many local families. As relatives gather to celebrate the past year and wish for good fortune ahead, the reunion is a chance to emphasize not only food, but also culture and prosperity. In addition to cooking nianye fan at home, eating out is a popular option that takes away the trouble of shopping and preparation. Here are some of the special New Year’s Eve dinner offers at hotels in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Yong Yi Ting, Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai

Ring in the Year of the Rooster with celebrated chef Tony Lu’s authentic local Jiangnan cuisine at the one Michelin starred Yong Yi Ting.

Inspired by imperial Chinese culture, this elegant restaurant is an ideal place for family and group dining. The beautifully appointed private dining areas also include a VIP room with a large chef’s show kitchen, and a fine wine cellar featuring an international selection of leading labels plus a tasting table.

Special 10-course set menus in three tiers are available from 788 yuan (US$114) per person and will be served from January 27 to February 10. Prices are subject to a 15 percent service charge.

Lu will also debut his newly crafted winter menu at Yong Yi Ting. It will include must-try dishes like braised lobster with gnocchi and winter bamboo shoots in sour broth, traditional stewed diced chicken with ginger and Shaoxing wine, as well as braised beef tail with chestnut and soy sauce in a stone pot.

Make your Chinese New Year dining reservation early to ensure your place at an unforgettable feast.

Tel: 2082-9978

Email: mopud-yongyiting@mohg.com

Address: LG level, Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai, 111 Pudong Rd S.

Dragon Phoenix Restaurant, Fairmont Peace Hotel

John Ma, Chinese executive chef at Fairmont Peace Hotel, is preparing a delightful feast for New Year’s Eve. The stylish, elegant menu is redolent of old Shanghai traditions while also blending modern ideas.

Served at the best time of year for family reunions and sharing the joys of life with friends, the dinner will feature a special menu with beautifully presented, sensuously garnished and balanced Chinese dishes with black carp, tender chicken, sumptuous duck, soft mushroom tofu and organic salads. The great tastes are complimented by a superb view of the Bund and the glittering Pudong skyline.

The New Year’s Eve dinner starts from 780 yuan per person, plus 15 percent service charge.

Dragon Phoenix Restaurant has an alluring Oriental ambience enhanced by original 1930s detailing, including carved columns and plasterwork ceiling panels depicting mythological motifs from the Forbidden City in Beijing. The restaurant is dedicated to presenting both classic Chinese dishes and contemporary creations.

Tel: 6138-6880

Address: 20 Nanjing Rd E.

Spectrum, Grand Millennium Shanghai Hongqiao

The master chef at the Chinese restaurant Spectrum has prepared a special gastronomic feast to celebrate the New Year with exquisite, classic Chinese dishes. Menus start from 1,688 yuan net for a table of five, and 3,388 yuan net for a table of 10.

Tel: 6208-5888 ext. 72203

Address: 2588 West Yan’an Rd

Le Chinois, Sofitel Shanghai Hongqiao

Chef Su Dexing of Le Chinois Chinese restaurant is presenting three menus featuring a wide selection of classic Chinese dishes such as roasted suckling pig, stewed lamb with bamboo shoots and braised fish maw with vegetables for the Chinese New Year Eve.

Su, who previously worked at the Oriental Riverside Hotel Shanghai, has led his culinary team to create state dinners for international events such as the Fortune Global Forum, the APEC Leaders’ Summit and the 4th CICA Summit. He was recently appointed Chinese executive chef at Sofitel Shanghai Hongqiao.

For the New Year’s Eve menus, Su is serving recommended dishes such as sautéed beef with mushroom, baked fresh lobster with Parisian butter and braised shrimps with broccoli and mushrooms. “Every dish provided at Chinese New Year Eve dinner has a meaning of reunion, happiness and prosperity,” said Su.

Opened in October 2016, Le Chinois embraces a gourmet combination of local flavors, Cantonese cuisine and Hunan cooking.

It also boasts eight unique private dining rooms with breathtaking views of a cascading waterfall.

Tel: 3669-6666

Address: 666 Taihong Road

Man Ho Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Marriott Hotel Pudong East

Drive the tiredness away and feel the warmth of reunion with Chinese New Year dinners at Man Ho Chinese restaurant of Shanghai Marriott Hotel Pudong East from January 20 to February 11, 2017.

The menu will feature classic festival favorites such as steamed Australian lobster with garlic sauce, double-boiled sea cucumber soup with sea conch and matsutake mushroom, steamed brown marbled grouper fish. Guests can choose from four set menus starting from 3, 000 yuan per table.

If reservation and deposit is made before January 20, guests will receive complimentary sashimi bowl for any reunion dinner reservation.

For the 6,000-yuan reunion dinner, guests can receive complimentary sashimi bowl and a bottle of sparkling wine, and for 10,000-yuan set a complimentary sashimi bowl and a luxury New Year hamper for reunion dinner will be offered.

Guests can also choose a buffet-style reunion dinner for a new and unique experience at the Pudong City Bistro on the Chinese New Year’s Eve, which will feature authentic Chinese festival dishes like dumplings.

The price is 298 yuan per person plus 15 percent service charge.

Tel: 6036-8888 ext. Man Ho or Pudong City Bistro

Address: 15 Xinjinqiao Rd

Café, Hyatt Regency Hangzhou

Celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year with your family and loved ones at Café for a wonderful, unforgettable feast filled with fabulous offerings.

The Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner buffet on January 27 is 788 yuan per adult and 388 yuan per child between age six and 11, plus 15 percent service charge. It also includes one special welcome drink, as well as free flows of selected red wines, white wines, sparkling wines, orange juice, beer and soft drinks.

From January 28 to 30, the Café will continue the celebrations with brunch buffets for 328 yuan per adult and 164 yuan per child. Free flow champagne is available for an additional 160 yuan per person.

Tel: 0571 8779-1234 ext. 2206

Address: 28 Hubin Rd, Hangzhou

Yue, Sheraton Grand Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort

For this Chinese New Year’s Eve, Yue Chinese restaurant at Sheraton Grand Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort is preparing five different Chinese New Year set menus, starting from 1,888 yuan per table of three on January 27. These will also feature a gift for guests with a portion of pork or duck in soy sauce made special by the chef. The evening will also feature live entertainment.

Tel: 0571 8500-2222 ext. 8707

Address: 1 Westbrook Resort, Zijingang Rd, Hangzhou

Grand Dragon, The Dragon Hotel

The Grand Dragon restaurant at The Dragon Hotel has prepared festive celebration menus for Chinese New Year that are being offered now through January 26.

The joyful spring menu is 588 yuan per person, the prosperous spring menu is 888 yuan per person; and the fortune spring menu is 3,888 yuan per table, with 388 yuan per extra person. All prices subject to 15 percent service charge.

Tel: 0571 8799-8833 ext. 6718

Address: 1F, The Dragon Hotel, 120 Shuguang Rd, Hangzhou