8 Lucky Foods To Bring You Luck On Chinese New Year And Where To Get Them

Fish for prosperity

Fish is one of the most important and symbolic dishes not only during the Lunar New Year, but in most Chinese celebrations. This is because in Mandarin and many other Chinese dialects, the word fish is pronounced as “yu,” which is the same pronunciation as the Chinese word for “surplus.” This symbolizes the desire to “have surplus at the end of the year.” It’s also important to know some of the customs when serving and eating the fish. The head of the fish should be placed toward the elders or distinguished guest in the table, and everyone else can only start digging in when that person has finished taking a bite of the fish.

Photo Credit: Jordan Lye/Getty Images

Steamed fish is one of the most common way to serve fish in Chinese cuisine. For an exceptional fish dish, check out the signature 100 Second Stewed Yellow Croaker from Putien, a Michelin-star restaurant that opened in Podium in 2019. As the name implies, the fish is flash stewed for 100 seconds and served in a claypot of light fish broth. Putien has amazing food and they do know how to make a winner broth. This is a Michelin-star experience you don’t want to miss.

Photo Credit: @putien.ph

Tikoy or nian gao to get a raise or a promotion

If fish is the star of the main course, the sticky rice cake is the star of the dessert as it literally translates to “New Year’s Cake.” The word “gao” in nian gao also loosely translates to “higher” so it symbolizes higher growth, higher success, or a higher position in your career. Traditionally, nian gao is made with red dates, but it is now available in many different forms and flavors.

Photo Credit: Sweet Taste Bakeshop

Here in the Philippines, nian gao has been popularized as tikoy, which you can find almost everywhere when Chinese New Year approaches. One of our favorites is the tikoy from Sweet Taste Bakeshop, a Quezon City-based shop that started selling homemade tikoy back in 1991. What we love about their tikoy is that it stays soft and slightly chewy after cooking, and tastes the right level of sweet. Visit their Facebook page to order.

Photo Credit: Sweet Taste Bakeshop

Eight Treasures rice pudding for a thriving business

Another sticky dessert that you’ll see in New Year feasts is the Eight Treasure rice pudding, whose name comes from the 8 different kinds of dried fruits that they include in the pudding. In Chinese tradition, the number 8 is auspicious, and also sounds like another Chinese word that means “rich” or “to thrive in business.”

Photo Credit: The Hong Kong Cookery

It’s hard to look for this dessert here in the metro, but why not try making your own at home using this easy-to-follow recipe from Hong Kong Cookery? This way, you can choose which dried fruits and nuts to include in your dessert. Some of our favorites are: raisins, candied wintermelon, cherries, apricot, pine nuts, and dates.

Photo Credit: The Hong Kong Cookery

Dumplings for luck and wealth

Dumplings are one of the most classic Chinese delicacies and perceived to be highly auspicious because they're shaped like gold or silver ingots. For more than 1,800 years, dumplings have been part of Lunar New Year feasts. It's said that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money and fortune you’ll have throughout the year. Generally, dumplings can be stuffed with different fillings, but some fillings have particular meanings. During the New Year, cabbage and radish are popular additions because they are believed to bring fair skin and a gentle mood.

Photo Credit: Omnivore’s Cookbook

In Chinese families, learning how to make a dumpling is a prerequisite. But you can also just go out and buy dumplings, especially if they’re as tasty as the ones from Hong Kong Little Kitchen. You can order their pork and shrimp dumplings steamed, fried, or even frozen. Get the spicy shrimp version for a little extra heat!

Photo Credit: Hong Kong Little Kitchen

Spring rolls for wealth

Just like dumplings, spring rolls signify wealth because they resemble gold bars. This is why spring rolls are usually fried, since they turn golden after a hot oil bath. There’s also a lucky saying associated with eating spring rolls: 黄金万两 (hwung-jin wan-lyang) which means “a ton of gold.”

Photo Credit: Papa Pancitan

Here in the Philippines, spring rolls are more commonly known as lumpiang Shanghai. Infuse a bit of Pinoy flavor into your Chinese feast by getting a bilao of lumpiang Shanghai from Papa Pancitan, a new delivery-only brand from the makers of Manam. What we love about their spring rolls is that you get choose between two kinds—meaty for the carnivores, and an option vegetarian option for the vegetarians.

Photo Credit: Papa Pancitan

Longevity noodles for happiness and long life

In Chinese culture, noodles are traditionally associated with long life. On Chinese New Year, expect the noodles to be really long—sometimes up to two feet long! Traditionally, longevity noodles are prepared as a single very long noodle strand. When eating, try not to bite the noodles to break it off, but just continue to slurp until you get to the end.

Photo Credit: Xiu PH

Longevity noodles are usually served either fried on a plate, or boiled and combined with a broth. For delicious noodles, order a plate of fried noodles with BBQ pork or these e-fu noodles with mushroom and truffle from Xiu, a popular Chinese restaurant in San Juan City that specializes in family get-togethers and feasts. Their e-fu noodles should be a big hit with your family, featuring homey flavors with a modern earthy twist from the truffle sauce.

Photo Credit: Xiu PH

Sweet rice balls (tangyuan) for family unity

Instead of serving and eating this on the eve or day of the Chinese New Year, serve sweet rice balls on the 15th and final day of the celebration, on the day of the Lantern Festival. Tangyuan is made of glutinous rice flour and is served in a thin broth or deep fried. The round shape of the rice balls signify reunion and being together, which is why it is favored by Chinese families during the New Year celebrations.

Photo Credit: MyKitchen101

Sweet rice balls come with different fillings like red bean, sesame, peanut, or taro. If you’d like to buy some ready-made sweet rice balls, you can find a lot of Chinese and Filipino food favorites from D’Alpha Hub Mart, a fusion convenience store that offers same-day delivery throughout Metro Manila. Just go to their website and browse for your foodie needs, including this bestselling glutinous rice ball in sesame and peanut flavor.

Photo Credit: D’Alpha Hub Mart

Good fortune fruits for fullness and wealth

Round and golden fruits like orange, ponkan, kiat kiat, and pomelo are popular during the Chinese New Year because they symbolize fullness and wealth. Oranges, most particularly, are displayed prominently on the table to attract luck and fortune because the Chinese word for orange sounds like the Chinese word for success. These fruits are eaten at the end of the meal and can also be exchanged when you go visit relatives.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

To get fresh fruits delivered to your home, you can count on Coop Grocer, an online store that offers next-day delivery for all your grocery needs. Apart from fruits and vegetables, they also have a huge roster of premium items from meat and seafood to dairy, bakery, and pantry essentials. But if you need some oranges, pomelo, and ponkan for your Lunar New Year spread, you’ll be pleased to know that their Coop Fresh always has the freshest produce, which are packed and delivered well. A bonus: they have various cashless options like Gcash upon delivery.

Photo Credit: COOP Grocer