Lunar New Year offers a feast of festivities, from fireworks over the harbour to the annual parade, local lion dances and throwing your wishes on a tree in Lam Tsuen. But how best to ring in the new year? Unlike Western traditions that revolve around alcohol and bars, the lunar festival is all about getting outside to gather under the moonlight. Revellers can always mix the two. Here's five ways to ring in the Year of the Rabbit.
1. Eat a bowl of poon choi
The traditional dish of the Lunar New Year's Eve family gathering is a big pot of Chinese gourmet delicacies, likely to include abalone, mushrooms, seaweed, shrimps, chicken and dried scallops. The dish has evolved into a diverse and often luxurious affair since its simple Hakka roots, and nowadays poon choi can be bought ready-made from restaurants or eaten in. Among the most popular places to tuck in is the Super Star Group chain, which has branches in Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay.
2. Join the flower power movement
If you don't mind crowds, join the throng at Victoria Park at the biggest of 14 markets set up across Hong Kong for the festive season. Whether it's a tangerine plant to bring family blessings or cherry blossoms to signify romance, markets offer flowers but much more, from inflatable toys to good luck charms. Food stalls sell yummy skewers of curried fish balls and siu mai to warm the crowds. The market is open from noon to midnight.
3. Light a firecracker