The Lunar New Year begins on Wednesday, Jan. 29, and what better time to indulge in delicious Chinese food?
The holiday, also called Chinese New Year, is celebrated with symbolic foods such as dumplings and spring rolls for wealth, fish for prosperity, and noodles for happiness and longevity.
Those dishes — and many others — await at the Shore’s Chinese restaurants. Here are five worth celebrating.
Steamed pork soup dumplings at Shanghai Bun, Matawan
Steamed pork soup dumplings and mapo tofu with pork from Shanghai Bun in Matawan.
Stepping inside Shanghai Bun, tucked in a strip mall on busy Route 34, feels like being transported to a Chinese restaurant in New York City.
Pots of chili oil and bottles of soy sauce top the tables of a no-frills dining room, where customers slurp noodles from wide bowls and pass bamboo baskets filled with dumplings. Specials are scrawled on wall-mounted whiteboards, and with a regular menu of more than 100 dishes, repeat visits are in order.
We can vouch for the pork soup dumplings, which are stuffed with tender meat and rich broth and perfectly steamed. To eat, place a dumpling on a spoon, use a chopstick to poke a hole in the top, sip the soup then eat the dumpling.
Mapo tofu, a dish of silky tofu cubes in a spicy, pork-studded sauce, is delicious, too.
Go: 952 Route 34, Matawan; 732-765-8388, shanghaibunnj.com.
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Singapore chow mei fun at Peking Garden, Stafford
Singapore chow mei fun, a spicy dish of rice noodles, vegetables and meat, from Peking Garden in the Manahawkin section of Stafford.
Ordering and picking up Chinese takeout is generally a quick affair — that is part of the appeal.
Peking Garden makes even quicker work of it with a drive-through window. Located inside a former bank, the restaurant has all the standards, from barbecue spare ribs and scallion pancakes to moo shu, sesame chicken, Mongolian beef and West Lake duck.
There is also Singapore chow mei fun, a stir-fried dish of thin rice vermicelli noodles, curry powder, shrimp, pork, chicken, soft bits of scrambled eggs, and crunchy carrots and scallions. Flecks of chili add heat to each bite.
Peking Garden also makes tasty shrimp with lobster sauce, an especially good wonton soup, and fortune cookies that are half vanilla, half chocolate.
Go: 609 E. Bay Ave., Manahawkin section of Stafford; 609-597-6988.
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Dan dan noodles at Jinli Sichuan Cuisine, Marlboro
Dan dan noodles from Jinli Sichuan Cuisine in Marlboro. A rich and spicy sauce sits beneath the noodles, waiting to be mixed with minced pork, scallions and baby bok choy.
Diners who stick to tried-and-true favorites when ordering Chinese food — like chicken with broccoli, pork lo mein or eggplant in garlic sauce — should take a chance with dan dan noodles.
The dish, a centuries-old street food named for the poles on which vendors carried it, is noodles in a glossy sauce of sesame, garlic, soy sauce and Sichuan peppercorns. At Jinli Sichuan Cuisine in Marlboro, dan dan noodles are topped with minced pork, scallions and baby bok choy.
If you are new to Sichuan peppercorns, be warned: Their heat leaves a tingling, numbing sensation behind.
The restaurant also makes delicious stir-fried vinegar potatoes, a seemingly simple dish that packs incredible flavor and heat from chopped peppers.
Go: 71 S. Main St., Marlboro; 732-866-8838, jinlisichuan.com.
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Bao buns at Kyuramen, Surf City
Ramen and a bao bun from Kyuramen in Surf City.
Bao buns are common on ramen shop menus and are a popular Taiwanese street food, but the dish is Chinese in origin.
At Kyuramen in Surf City, the two-bite steamed split buns are filled with braised pork, vegetables and sauce. They are available as an appetizer or alongside bowls of steamy ramen.
A tip: For a fun dining experience at Kyuramen, ask to be seated in one of the restaurant’s private, curtained booths, complete with tabletop call buttons for when you need your server.
Go: 1419 Long Beach Blvd., Surf City; 609-361-0506, kyuramen.com.
Chinese specials at The Black Swan Public House, Asbury Park
Chinese food at a European-style gastropub? This winter, yes!
The Black Swan is currently serving a selection of Chinese dishes, including wonton soup, mushroom spring rolls, scallion pancakes, chicken and broccoli, Kung Pao shrimp and sesame noodles.
There is also a cocktail called Ancient Chinese Secret made with rum, cucumber vodka, pineapple, lime and sesame.
Go: 601 Mattison Ave., Asbury Park; 732-361-7159, theblackswanap.com.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to her weekly newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Chinese New Year Jersey Shore: 5 dishes to try
