Taste of TLT - January 23, 2012

Toast the Chinese New Year at several restaurants around Chicago.

 

The holiday is celebrated in several countries throughout Asia, and Sunda has fantastic pan-Asian cuisine. The River North restaurant is offering a family-style menu for $50 or you can order items individually. Start off with wonton soup, followed by dim sum and then sushi. You can select two entrees if you've chosen the family-style menu, and the meal is completed with chef's choice for dessert. 

 

Big Bowl says "Happy Birthday To Me" today. Each guest will receive a hóng b?o, or a lucky red envelope. Inside there will be a gift certificate good for dining at Big Bowl or bottled sauce. Each child will get a hóng b?o with a crisp $1 bill, a customary tradition in Chinese families.

 

Shanghai Terrace in the Peninsula Hotel has a special multi-course menu paying homage to a Chinese poem about beginnings. The "delightful dance of the dragon" is a seafood creation of sea scallop, red abalone, turbot, and XO sauce. "Sauntering among the golden leaves" is tea smoked poussin, crispy pork, and roasted duck. The menu is $105 a person and will be available through the 27th.

 

Koi and Chens, sister restaurants in Evanston and Wrigleyville respectively, are offering a special menu. Through the week you can also get a Dragon Maki for just $5.