On the 5th of February the Chinese welcome the year of the Pig and the farewell, or rather the goodbye, to the year of the Dog. The Chinese restaurateurs in Milan and Paolo Sarpi's beloved Chinatown are already decorated for the holidays
The fans of the Middle Kingdom, Zhōngguó 中国 (name of the continent that we all know as China), this year will not be disappointed nor much to dry mouth, in fact they will delight sight and palate with the traditional parade and exclusive menus designed specifically to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
2019 is the year of the Pig
Specifically it will begin the year of the Earth Pig, according to the traditional philosophy, also the Chinese zodiac follows the law of the 5 elements, which sees wood, fire, earth, gold (metal) and water to govern the sense of the universe. There are therefore 5 different types of year of the pig and the belief wants that the characteristics of a person depend on the sign of the zodiac of the year in which it was born and the element corresponding to that year. In the case of the friends born in 1959 and the future unborn children of 2019 you might hear that you are communicative, expressive people, who like to socialize and be among friends, with an excellent sense of humor and timing. Calculating that there are 12 animals for Chinese astrology and that each year corresponds to an animal, next year the pig will be in 2031 and specifically it will be the year of the Golden Pig.
The parade of Paolo Sarpi
A tradition kept alive by the Chinese community in Milan and by the various associations that deal with China in Italy, is the traditional parade of the lion wǔshī 舞狮, which sees kung fu students bringing a papier-mâché lion to the streets depicting Nian, the scary legendary monster. Many know her as a dragon dance, wǔlóng 舞龙, which is actually a widespread variant in northern China, so the two disciplines are often confused but not the same thing. This year the unmissable appointment is set for Sunday 10 February, it will start at 2.30 pm from Piazza Gramsci (M5 Jerusalem) and the parade will reach Paolo Sarpi street with performances, music and dances until 5.30 pm.
From Bon Wei, gnocchi and pork are prepared
To pay homage to the arrival of the Pig's year, the chef Zhang Quoqing cooking an agrifying pork (pork loin straccetti sautéed with red peppers, Mu-Ehr mushrooms and bamboo) and rice dumplings and Shitake mushrooms (traditional dumplings, sautéed with fresh Shitake mushrooms, Chinese cabbage and dehydrated shrimps found in Chinese wine ). Traditional meals will end sweet rice balls tāngyuán 汤圆, which with their spherical shape represent the family reunion: here filled with sesame cream, wrapped in the powder of yellow beans and Hóngtáng (cane sugar) .This cake is typical of the Lantern Festival, which closes the celebrations of the Chinese New Year, you can then savor these dishes and many others from the eve of 4 February to 19 February, combined with the wines of Cuzziol Grandi Vini.
Da Gong Oriental Attitude propose the tagliatelle with wild boar ragout
For the whole month of February the chef Keisuke Koga and Guglielmo Paolucci they have decided to propose, on the occasion of the Chinese New Year, a dish that is traditionally prepared during the Spring Festival spaghetti lāmiàn 拉面 symbol of long life, which in this context will turn into a gourmet dish giving life to the rice noodles with wild boar ragout, served on a bed of chestnut and miso cream, all garnished with a fried leek nest cut into julienne .
From MU dim sum 8 Cantonese specialties
MU dim sum, celebrating the Lunar New Year by inserting a series of in its menu Cantonese tradition specialties, available from 5 to 12 February 2019. The Chef Kin Cheung and the love for the tradition of MU dim sum gave life to a menu with dishes full of symbolic meanings, in perfect Chinese spirit. It is about eight dishes who invoke fortune in a loud voice, will be served at the same time, as usual in the East, where there is no precise sequence of courses, in favor of sharing the dishes served in the middle of the table, from which to draw with the typical sticks. Among the dishes you can not miss the fish, which for its homophony with the word abundance is consumed in all Chinese houses during the Spring Festival, in this case was chosen the Whole steamed sea bass qīngzhēng lú yú, you will also find the Cantonese chicken, cooked in white Bái Qie Ji, Fried prawns in soy sauce gān shāo xiā and la Delitism of Buddha Luóhàn zhāi, a vegetarian dish to respect the Buddhist custom that provides for the consumption of vegetarian foods in the first five days of the year to purify themselves. Obviously the inevitable ravioli jiaozi, served with pork filling, and an intriguing dish, theat Fortuna in one hand Heng cai jiu shou, pig's trotter, stewed for five hours and accompanied by oyster sauce, soy sauce and Shiitake mushrooms. Turning to desserts, the choice will fall on the typical New Year's Eve cake Nian Gao or on rice dumplings in Tong yuán ginger broth.
The Oriental Aperitif arrives at the Mandarin Bar & Bistrot
From 4 to 10 February at the Bar & Bistrot of the Mandarin Hotel you can celebrate the Chinese New Year in line with the Milanese style, starting at 7 pmOriental Aperitif, with the The Oriental Boar cocktail based on Johhnie Walker Blue Label, salty syrup at Lapsang Souchong, vermouth infused with cocoa beans and licorice bitters, accompanied by some of the most typical Chinese specialties revisited by Chef Antonio Guida such as Spring Roll, Dim Sum, Cod and Edamame.
The surprises do not end here, even the Spa is preparing for the celebrations, in fact from February 5, by booking an 80-minute Oriental Essence Massage, you can receive the traditional red envelope Chinese hóngbāo 红包, with a voucher to use for the next booking.
At the RosebyMary they introduce the Chinese ravioli
Also the veg & natural bistro RosebyMary has decided to pay tribute to the Chinese New Year by inserting at lunch, on the days of Tuesday 5 and Friday 8 February, the traditional ones steamed ravioli jiǎozi 饺子, proposed with a refined and tasty filling of organic vegetables and tofu, made according to tradition, following the original Chinese recipe, wishing everyone a rich year of money and joy.
This recipe has already been read 253 times!