Chinese New Year is celebrated in various ways on Bali. In the archipelago, it is an official public holiday known as "Tahun Baru Imlek." Approximately 10 million Chinese people, who have migrated from the southern provinces of China, reside here. One of the most vibrant celebrations on Bali takes place at Ling Gwan Kiong, a Chinese temple in Singaraja. Another celebration with lion and dragon dances occurs at Vihara Dharmayana in Kuta, Bali's oldest Buddhist temple.
Also in Bali, there are many Chinese restaurants offering festive dishes and cultural performances during the holidays. We have compiled a list of restaurants worth visiting to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Canggu
Hotel Tugu Bali: Iwa Restaurant
On Saturday evening, February 10, 2024, at 7:30, immerse yourself in the splendor of the Chinese New Year dinner. Celebrate the Year of the Dragon inside the Kansi temple (Chinese emperor's period), built in 1706 and relocated to the cultural heritage known as Hotel Tugu Bali, Canggu. The menu includes exquisite Yee Sang Imlek Udang Mabok – a Tochou-style salad with seared tuna, beets, red radish, pomelo, and crispy shallots in sesame sauce; oyster noodles with oysters, fried beef, and broccoli in soy sauce, as well as a variety of Peranakan New Year dim sum and other exquisite delicacies.
Price: 588,000 IDR++ per person.
The festivities continue on Sunday, February 11, 2024, with a family-style brunch starting at 11:00. Price: 388,000 IDR++ per person, minimum 2 people per reservation.
Wonton Club
Wonton Club - a small but very cozy Chinese restaurant, will celebrate the Lunar New Year on February 9th. Instead of the regular menu, they have prepared festive dishes based on a family secret recipe:
- Chicken with ginger and green onions
- Stuffed pork meatballs with a secret recipe
- Braised beef fillet with white radish
- Fragrant fried flounder fish
- Grilled tofu with barbecue and smokiness
- Cucumber salad
- Spicy braised cabbage
- Fried green beans
- Enoki tempura
- Variety of dumplings (fried and boiled)
- Noodles with onions and oil (Tsung-Yow Ban Mian)
- Fried rice with truffles
- "Eight Treasures" sticky rice cake.
The dinner will be served buffet-style in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The cost is 288IDR per person, including a welcome drink.
Seminyak
Happy Chappy
This well-known Chinese restaurant, although not offering a special Chinese menu on this day, has a regular menu that is already special. A captivating Barongsai performance on February 9 and 10 at 7:00 at Happy Chappy Seminyak and at 7:30 at Happy Chappy Petitenget. It is recommended to book tables in advance.
Hotel Indigo Bali Seminyak Beach: Makase Restaurant
The Southeast Asian cuisine restaurant Makase offers a buffet experience with an incredible selection of starters, mains, and the best desserts. Whether you love sesame seed dessert balls or salted caramel choux after some Singapore chili crab, this is the place to be.
When: Saturday, February 10, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the price of 750,000 IDR++ per person.
Zibiru
On the eve of the Chinese New Year, on Friday, February 9, let's welcome new beginnings and prosperity at the Italian table. The Year of the Dragon promises prosperity, joy, and Zibiru restaurant offers delicious treats.
Special offer: Every fifth person eats for free!
Here's how it works:
1. Gather your friends and family and book a table.
2. When your party reaches 5, the lucky fifth guest dines absolutely free!
Celebrate this occasion where happiness and delightful Italian cuisine meet. Make the Lunar New Year's Eve a memorable feast of prosperity and togetherness.
Ubud
Golden Monkey
Where is the best place to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Bali? Of course, in an authentic Chinese restaurant! At Golden Monkey, you'll find both authentic Cantonese dishes and Sichuan cuisine. They offer a variety, including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options.
On New Year's Day, as in most authentic Chinese restaurants, there won't be a special menu, but their regular menu will surely surprise you! From Peking duck (crispy duck skin wrapped in a pancake with hoisin sauce) to the irresistible 'Siu Yuk' (crispy pork belly) and Char Siu (caramelized pork meat). Among their premium seafood offerings are authentic braised cod and generous portions of Singaporean chili crab or black pepper crab.
Another favorite category on their menu is, of course, their dim sum selection. They offer nine different variations. Fortunately, the New Year falls on a weekend, meaning you can enjoy a dim sum brunch.
All of this is just 195,000++ for adults and 97,500++ for children under 12.
Jimbaran
AYANA Bali
From February 5 to 11, 2024, AYANA Bali, the largest integrated resort on the island, welcomes the Year of the Dragon with a series of events on the resort grounds, including fireworks, traditional dances, and special culinary events.
On Friday, February 9, 2024, Rock Bar AYANA will host the "Dragon Roar: Countdown to Chinese New Year" event. Also on February 9, Padi will host a special dinner buffet surrounded by lotus ponds (cost for adults - 880,000 IDR, for children - 350,000 IDR).
The peak of the celebration falls on the Chinese New Year, February 10, with the Barong dance and fireworks at the RIMBA by AYANA hall. In the evening, a buffet with traditional Chinese cuisine will be organized at the Kampoeng Bali amphitheater (cost for adults - 900,000 IDR, for children - 450,000 IDR).
InterContinental Bali Resort
InterContinental Bali Resort has prepared not one, but two exquisite buffet dinners in their popular restaurants, Taman Gita and KO Restaurant.
Immerse yourself in an evening of luxury and prosperity at Taman Gita. The menu features exquisite Chinese delicacies, including Eight Treasure Soup, Siu Mie Long Live Noodles, Chinese Roasted Peking Duck, and more. Guests can enjoy the mesmerizing Barong Sai dance symbolizing prosperity and luck.
For those not inclined towards Chinese cuisine, KO Restaurant invites visitors to celebrate the Chinese holidays with a taste of Japan. Indulge in exquisite sushi or a teppanyaki set prepared by Chef Mitsuaki Senoo and the KO team.
Raise a glass to the arrival of a year filled with abundance, prosperity, and joy. The special lunar dinner at Taman Gita is priced at 650,000 IDR per person including tax and service, while the dinner at KO costs 800,000 IDR per person including tax and service.
Nusa Dua
Sofitel Nusa Dua
The luxurious Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort invites you to celebrate the Chinese New Year at their exquisite Kwee Zeen restaurant.
From February 9 to 10, 2024, the restaurant will feature a lavish buffet spread of Asian delights and authentic Chinese cuisine. This diverse selection includes live noodle stations, carvery, and quintessential Chinese BBQ, featuring delicacies such as Peking duck, glazed pork ribs, Hong Kong crispy chicken, and suckling pig. Don't miss the Hainan chicken station and the steamed food sections, which feature dim sum, wonton, gyoza, and mantau.
The bountiful buffet spread is sure to satisfy guests’ cravings, but room must be kept for dessert! Indulge in palate-cleansing sweets including Nian Gao (Chinese New Year rice cake), mango pudding, and sweetened black sticky rice with pumpkin cream. To complement your dining experience, Kwee Zeen has also curated an array of special Chinese New Year-themed cocktails.
Chinese New Year dinner at Kwee Zeen starts at 6:00 pm onwards, priced at IDR 449,000++ per person. Enjoy a captivating Barongsai dance at 7:00 pm.
Renaissance Bali Nusa Dua Resort
Step into Lion X, a modern Chinese restaurant with a focus on Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine, where New Year celebrations will take place.
From February 9 to 11, 2024, guests can savor an exquisite signature menu titled "Fight Like Dragon." The presentation begins with premium salmon Yee Shang and the "prosperity toss" salad, symbolizing the dispersion of prosperity. Following this, enjoy Braised bird nest, crab meat, tiger prawn, and hipio (fish maw) in a golden thick soup.
A harmonious medley of five main courses follows, blending flavors to perfection; Wok-fried tiger prawn with Kam Hiong sauce and sautéed mixed scallion; Steamed live grouper fillet with crispy ginger & garlic in superior soya sauce Hubei style, Authentic Braised 8 Treasure with premium oyster sauce; Braised pork belly with fragrant taro Hakka flavor, and Steamed glutinous rice with Chinese sausage, honey barbecue pork, and pok choy in a clay pot. The set menu concludes with two classic desserts, Double-boiled Tang Yuen with glutinous rice in coconut cream and Steamed golden Nian Gao coach with peanut and coconut.
Lion X also offers guests a tempting selection of à la carte options for those who wish to pick and choose from Chef Kuan’s special set menu and more. The expanded menu includes other delicacies like Braised abalone, Wok-fried beef fillet, and Water-boiled white snapper fillet.
The "Fight Like Dragon" set menu is priced at IDR 888,888++ per person. On Chinese New Year’s Eve (February 9), guests will be treated to a spectacular live Barongsai or lion dance performance.
The Apurva Kempinski Bali
Kempinski Hotel invites you to celebrate the Chinese New Year from February 9 to 11 at various restaurants within the resort.
On February 9, 2024, from 18:00 to 22:00, a festive dinner with live music will be held at the Pala restaurant. The cost is 800,000++ IDR per adult and 400,000++ IDR per child aged 6-12.
On February 10, from 18:00 to 22:00 at the Reef Beach Club, a three-course dinner will be served:
Fish soup, five-spice pork belly, and goji berry cheesecake. The cost is 588++ IDR per person.
On February 11, from 14:00 to 17:00, Kempinski invites you to an afternoon tea with snacks and pastries at Selasar Deli. The cost is 250,000 IDR++ per person and 125,000 IDR++ per child.
Sanur
Panda kitchen
Feel the warmth and hospitality at Panda Kitchen, where the friendly and attentive staff will give you an unforgettable experience of a festive meal. The menu offers a variety of hot dishes, dim sums, Szechuan cuisine, noodles, soups, and much more. For dim sum enthusiasts, the menu includes dishes such as siomai, xiaolongbao, braised chicken feet, hakau, and more.
Panda Kitchen also features wonton soup and pork dumplings, hot dishes like mapo tofu, Szechuan fried green beans, and fried cabbage, rice and noodles, including seafood fried rice, fried pork kway teow, and fried pork with noodles, as well as cold dishes such as liang pi, kou shui chicken, and fu zi fei pan.
Panda Kitchen is open daily from 10:00 to 22:00.
Kuta
Golden Lotus
The restaurant Golden Lotus offers an amazing nine-course menu! Saigon-style beef stroganoff, braised whole fish, and prawns fried in golden sand sauce!
On the 9th, there will be a Barong dance performance, and on the 10th, a Chinese singer will entertain. Reservations must be for a minimum of two people.
Price: 488,000++ per person
Where: Golden Lotus Restaurant, Jl. Kartika Plaza, Tuban, Kec. Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia
Where else can you see a lion dance?
In shopping malls (such as Beachwalk in Kuta and Level 21 in Denpasar). Children can have fun feeding the lion with red envelopes and confidently dance to the festive, traditional music playing as the magnificent colorful lion makes its entrance.
Beachwalk Instagram
Level 21 Instagram
This is not just a fun tradition but also an important event bringing luck for the year.
Happy Chinese New Year! We wish you to welcome it as brightly, colorfully, and grandly as the Chinese do. May the coming year bring you as much positivity, incredible experiences, frequent travels, and lots of joy.
