January 20, 2023 By Marisa Olsen
On Saturday, January 21, join in the fun at Nomai at Derby Street Shops to celebrate the Lunar New Year and the year of the Rabbit! Festivities include: a family-friendly live lion dance performance, presented by the martial arts Wah Lum Kung Fu Academy, which is based in Malden and Quincy; and two timed seatings for brunch, with an option to pre order a Lucky Lunar New Year Prix Fixe menu for two.
Here are the details:
The New Year’s celebration will feature a traditional lion performance with actors portraying adult and baby lions. With drums and cymbals, the performers will circulate throughout the dining room and patrons will have an opportunity to feed the lion lucky red envelopes for good luck. Martial arts students who range from age six to adult will showcase a martial arts exhibition, and lucky oranges and New Year candy will be distributed.
Guests may order à la carte from the Nomai brunch menu or pre order to experience the Lucky Lunar basket for two ($80), filled with tasty delights, highlighting various Asian cultures, including Chinese scallion pancakes, Hong Kong longevity noodles, Vietnamese New Year sticky rice, Korean kimchi, Japanese mochi, and more.
Reservations are for two seatings, between: 11-11:30 am or 12:45-1:15 pm, and are extremely limited with the performance starting at 12 pm. For reservations, click here. And for guests interested in dining on Sunday– New Year’s day–the brunch menu will also feature some Lucky Lunar dishes.
Lunar New Year is an important celebration in many Asian cultures, and celebrates the new lunar year and the accompanying and representative zodiac animals. The zodiac is a 12-year repeating cycle of 12 animal zodiac signs (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig) that each hold special attributes. Additionally, there are five elements that are associated with each year, including: earth, water, fire, wood and metal.
Owner Brian Moy shares, “The year of the Rabbit is considered a symbol of good fortune, and a lucky, prosperous year. This particular Rabbit year is special, as it is also known as Earth’s element, the Water Rabbit, which happens every 60 years. It is thought to be a year of moving with the times and being more fluid. The Rabbit is said to be the luckiest zodiac animal out of the 12 zodiac animals; people born in the year of the Rabbit (2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951) tend to be more calm and peaceful with a mellow demeanor and are thought to be compatible with people born in the year of the Sheep, Monkey, Dog, and Pig.”
