Xīnnián hǎo! Pasadena and much of the world watched the new year come in with floats and flowers headed down Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day. Millions are now celebrating the Lunar and Chinese New Year—the beginning of a calendar based on moon cycles instead of traditional months. This year’s celebration falls on February 1, 2022.
Celebrated in countries within East and Southeast Asia, it generally occurs on the new moon which occurs in late January or early February, based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
It’s also one of the oldest recorded holidays in civilization. In fact, the first mention of the celebration of a new year was recorded during the Han Dynasty, which lasted from 202 BC to 22 AD. No better reason to celebrate than that right there.
And there are a host of places in town that will make your Lunar New Year special. We’ve put together a very short list of places in Old Pasadena where the Lunar New Year is just getting started.
Bone Kettle
Bone Kettle will bring a very special flavor to your Lunar New Year’s celebration. This east-Asian-inspired restaurant specializes in its own bone broth, and offers flavorful food with a fine dining edge. You can even eat the flowers many dishes are served with. “Bone broth is a staple in cuisines around the world, so it is very exciting to see it being embraced by popular culture,” says Chef Erwin Tjahyadi.
Their signature soup comes with Temoni ramen noodles, thinly sliced peppers and pungent rice vinegar, spicy sweet chili soy sauce and crispy fried shallots. The meat comes served on the side with a small portion of microgreens and those edible flowers, of course. Diners can choose from Oxtail, Brisket, Thin Prime Beef Filet, Tendon, Beef Ribs, Chicken Breast or Pork Belly.
Bone Kettle also includes a variety of foods from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Kick start your next moon cycle with bold flavors, multilayered spices and just the right amount of heat.
Bone Kettle, 67 North Raymond Avenue. (626) 795-5702. www.bonekettle.com
Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot
The Lunar New Year will fall on a brisk Tuesday evening with temperatures dipping into the 40s. What better time to tuck into a steaming hot pot, outdoors under a clear and chilly new moon sky?
Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot offers its own version of this traditional Asian comfort food. There are more than nine basic broths available, ranging from miso, and tomato, to pork bone and mushroom.
Available meats include everything from fatty or marbled beef, to duck feet and chicken gizzards, if you’re feeling more adventurous.
Duck tongue anyone?
There’s also a seafood menu for dropping into the pot, as well as tofu and mushroom selections, and tons of veggies, so that no one in the party feels left out.
Nothing like soup on a cold night, no matter what holiday or day of the week you’re celebrating.
Chong Qing YaoMei Hotpot, 55 West Green St, Pasadena, CA. (626) 639-3391. https://chongqingyaomei.com/,
Pearl Thai Eatery
Continuing to the southeast of Asia brings us to the wondrous food of Thailand, and its sweet and spicy collection of flavors, with enough peanut flavors to make George Washington Carver nod in approval. And no chopsticks, please, if you don’t mind.
Pearl Thai offers a crowded menu of popular and favorite Thai dishes with which to welcome the new moon.
There are more than a dozen appetizers, including pearl summer roll, and shrimp satay. There are also the delicious, perennial and popular soups—Tom Yum and Tom Kha in a host of flavors, as well as salads, including larb, which we personally love.
As you welcome a new moon and new year, this would be the place to Thai it all together.
Pearl Thai Eatery, 34 E Holly St, Pasadena, CA. (626) 460-8818. www.pearlthai.com
Moom 48 Thai
Moom 48 Thai offers still more Thai splendors, drawing from the familiar taste and flavors of the cuisine. There are the familiar summer rolls and satay sticks, along with golden Tofu and firecracker shrimp deep fried in wonton wrapper, with a sweet and sour cream. Crunchy and fresh salads abound as well, with Papaya and duck salad, being two of our favorites.
As with most Thai spots, all of the favorites are here, including a circus of noodle dishes including Pad Thai and Pad See Yew, two more personal favorites. And let’s not forget the Mango sticky rice.
It must be the moon.
Moom 48 Thai, 48 S Fair Oaks Ave Pasadena, CA 91105. (626) 642-4359.
85º Degrees Bakery
Every great meal deserves a great dessert. Cue 85 Degrees Bakery.
This relatively new staple in Old Pasadena offers a panorama of Asian cakes and sweets. And in case you’re wondering, the name “85ºC means 85 degrees celsius which represents the perfect brewing temperature for espresso coffee, which is about 185 degrees fahrenheit. That is some seriously hot coffee.
But you can have that espresso with dozens of different Taiwanese, Japanese, Danish, and European pastries along with a parade of cakes for every occasion, as the saying goes.
85°C Pasadena. 61 S Fair Oaks Ave, #110. Pasadena CA. (626) 792-8585. Www.85cbakerycafe.com.
Soh Grill House
Is there anyone in the civilized world who doesn’t love Korean BBQ? Certainly no one that we know. And one we like is Soh Grill House in Old Pasadena. Tradition meets the future in this modern and stylish BBQ spot, equipped with state of the art smoke-free grill technology.
There are tons of items available for your grill and their special house sauce is made with over thirty ingredients. It also features serene and minimalist interior designed by architect Anthony Poon. It rhymes with “moon.” See what we did there?
Soh Grill House. 27 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103. 626-714-7760.
