Happy Year of the Rabbit: Lunar New Year Meal at Sunday Bistro
artwork by SLD
This lunar new year is the Year of the Rabbit which happens to be my sign. Last week, my small family gathered at a casual spot in the San Gabriel Valley to celebrate. With the passing of my grandmother and father, we no longer have elaborate meals at home. For the last 10 or so years, we’ve gone out for Chinese New Year’s eve. This year, we went to Sunday Bistro, a Hong-Kong style bistro that has been around for over a decade. It’s been in its “new” location the last few years.
diced squab lettuce cups
At my family’s new year dinners, we always had some dish with lettuce in it. Lettuce represented money and sometimes you can catch lion dancers at festivals trying to catch some tender lettuce for good luck. We started with the diced squab lettuce cups.
sea cucumber, mushrooms and mustard greens
When I was growing up, I remember my grandmother teaching me how to clean sea cucumbers. I would never touch the slimy things but happily ate it. I liked the neutral tasting crunchy tubes. We had sea cucmber, mushrooms and Chinese mustard greens as a side dish.
sliced rib eye and scallions
Actually, it wasn’t traditional we have beef with our new year meal. Chicken or pork is more prevalent but this tender sliced rib eye was great.
seafood yee mein
Noodles, however, are somewhat traditional. They represent long life. Never snip the noodles, you could lose some years! This seafood yee mein wasn’t quite the best I’ve had. I prefer noodles that weren’t fried tasting. Still, the seafood was very fresh.
stir-fried pea sprouts with garlic
We also had stir-fried pea sprouts with our meal. It was a quiet meal for us. I reflected on past meals and hoped this one signified a good year for rabbits.
Sunday Bistro
1032 East Valley Boulevard
Alhambra, CA 91801-5232
(626) 282-0238