Chinese New Year's Eve (chuxiye) is perhaps the only night of the year when even the city's most humdrum restaurants will have been booked up months in advance.

It's also usually the only time most Chinese families will reunite in the 12 month period, with relatives returning from working or studying in other cities, and even from abroad.

The evening is usually a 2-hour-long hearty feast of food and socializing. And be it a huge gathering in a private room at a restaurant, or a more modest affair around the family kitchen table, there are some culinary traditions that are always adhered to such as enjoying pork, chicken and fish dishes all of which denote good luck and prosperity for the coming year.

Chrysanthemum mandarin fish with pine nut in sweet and sour sauce. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Tang Café

Shanghai Tang Café

In celebration of the coming Chinese New Year, Shanghai Tang Café, a restaurant and bar besides the Xintiandi area, has launched two Chinese New Year menu sets, both of them catering for between eight to 10 guests.

The price for the respective menus are 2,888 yuan ($436) and 3,888 yuan including a compli-mentary bottle of red wine. The offer is available from now until February 17.

Popular dishes include old-fashioned, Shanghai-style soya-smoked fish served with crispy enoki mushrooms, smoked chicken in Sichuan spicy peanut dressing, and the Mongolian-style roast lamb rack.

For a drink before or after dinner, guests can go up to the lounge bar on the third floor.

We highly recommend visiting at "Tang Time" between 5 pm and 8 pm every weekday where you can enjoy a relaxing and fun-filled happy hour.

This month also marks the 1-year anniversary of Shanghai Tang Café, and visiting guests can receive prizes for sharing their dining experiences and comments.

The interior of the restaurant.

Add: 2-3/F, 333 Huangpi Road South, near Taicang Road

Tel: 6377-3333