The Chinese Spring Festival (Chun Jie 春节), what we call Chinese New Year, is currently in progress. This is the biggest holiday in China and has many awesome traditions. One of these is the Lion Dance.
Often mistaken for Dragons, the Lions will be in Chinatown this Sunday, February 13, 2011. The Southern style lion dance is a ritual to scare away evil spirits and bring good luck and fortune to a shop. The local Kung Fu troops will be parading through Chinatown from ~10AM-5:00PM.
So how do you enjoy the event without having any idea what it is about?
Don’t Just Stand There
This isn’t a typical parade. You can actually follow the action from shop to shop and there will be plenty of gong fu troops with (usually) 2 lions, a buddha, firecrackers and a drum. Shopkeepers place a bowl full or lettuce, oranges and red envelopes in front of the shop. The Lions come to the shop, jump on the bowl, eat the lettuce, throw the oranges and grab the envelopes. Then they go into the shops and restaurants to scare away the evil spirits. When they leave, the shopkeeper tosses firecrackers at them to scare them off.
The Lion dances can be a little intense with the firecrackers, so keep the kids close. They like the colorful costumes and enjoy the dance, but sometimes the bangs can be a little much. If they get scared, then go to a restaurant or bakery.
Plan to Eat
Come early to Hei La Moon, Chao Chow City, Emperor’s Garden or China Pearl to have dumplings, buns and tea. This is called dim sum. Har Gao / Xia Jiao is a shrimp dumpling. Shu Mai is a pork dumpling. The sticky rice in lotus leaf is delicious and has meat and other delights inside. Ask for pork buns or “nai wong bao”, which is a delicious custard bun. They’ll be surprised you even know about this one. My kids love it.
Remember, the lions come into the restaurants so have your camera ready.
If Dim Sum is not your style or you come later in the day, Vinh Sun has extremely delicious Hong Kong style food with roast pork that melts in your mouth. They also have dishes served in sizzling hot clay pots that are winners. It’s better to get a group together when you go for Chinese food. Dishes are meant to be shared. Shabu Zen’s cook-as-you-eat hot pot is a unique and delicious experience. They have 2 locations. One is in Allston, one in Chinatown. It’s kind of like Japanese Tapas. Hei La Moon’s “feasts” are authentic and incredible. Ask for the Chinese menu. They have seafood and non-seafood feasts for 4, 8, 12 – more.
Hit the Bakery
My favorite is Hing Shing. I love their custard buns, cookies and coconut bars. The cookies are also delicious and the prices are insanely low. Other people swear by Ho Yuen and Eldo Cake House. There are plenty of bakeries in Chinatown to enjoy and no one, except maybe the owners, would fault you for going to more than one!
Follow the Action
When you are not eating, follow the action around. Throw a kid on your shoulders and follow a gong fu troop. It’s a great way to get to know Chinatown. Pop into the shops, talk to the people, grab a bubble tea, a snack, or menu for next time.
Chinese Lesson 中文
Try these out when you’re in Chinatown
新年快乐 : Xin1 Nian2 Kuai4 Le4 /Shin Nee-en Kwai Luh/ This means “Happy New Year”
恭喜发菜：Gong1 Xi3 Fa1 Cai2 / Gong She Fa Tsai / This also means “Happy New Year” but literally means “Congratulations on your Riches”
Happy Year of the Golden Tiger! Hope to see you there.
