Non-thickened braised and stir-fried dishes: European-style New Year feasts become a hot new trend

Seafood risotto stewed in saffron lobster sauce, simmered with fresh Boston lobster, white shrimp, mussels, and scallops—visually, texturally, and flavor-wise, it’s full of festive cheer. (Photo / Hotel Muse Taipei)

While enjoying a hearty reunion dinner to ring in the New Year is important, wouldn’t it feel a bit dull and uninspired if the dishes on the table were the same every year? This year, some businesses have leveraged their chefs’ skills to introduce creative New Year feasts infused with Italian and Southern French flair—offering both exotic charm and auspicious symbolism as a fresh alternative to welcoming the prosperous Year of the Dog.

Symbolizing abundance in the coming year, the “Tender Paper-Wrapped Baked Australian Murray Cod” features one of Australia’s treasured fish, known for its delicate flesh. (Photo / Hotel Muse Taipei)

The “Roasted Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary Chicken,” where a whole chicken is seasoned with refreshing spices and roasted until the skin is crispy and the meat juicy inside. (Photo / Hotel Muse Taipei)

This creatively minded hotel is Hotel Muse Taipei, located on Dunhua South Road in Taipei’s Da’an District. Anticipating that fewer families are preparing reunion dinners themselves, the hotel’s GUSTOSO Italian Restaurant is offering special small-family reunion meals for 4–6 people from Lunar New Year’s Eve to the first two days of the New Year (February 15–17, 2018). Unlike previous years, the dishes incorporate symbolic ingredients from traditional Chinese New Year cuisine, while adding Southern French and Italian touches—blending the best of East and West for a truly talked-about menu.

Replacing the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which symbolizes longevity and prosperity, is the “Southern French Stew,” made with duck legs, pork belly, and pork sausages. (Photo / Hotel Muse Taipei)

The “Roasted Italian Beef” features American Angus steak grilled to medium-rare, delivering a burst of meaty flavor with every juicy bite. (Photo / Hotel Muse Taipei)

Opening Hotel Muse’s New Year’s menu reveals a pumpkin soup symbolizing “prosperity in a noble house,” smooth and delicious; the roasted Angus beef brings “good fortune”; the paper-wrapped fish dish represents “abundance in the coming year”; there’s also the “rising from chicken” whole roast chicken, the “grand red and purple” seafood risotto, all the way to the Southern French stew symbolizing a “warm reunion in winter,” and finally, a black sugar brownie to let the whole family “eat sweetly and celebrate the New Year.” With Western dishes conveying auspicious meanings, the team’s thoughtfulness is evident.

Western-style reunion meals skip the thickening, braising, and frying common in Chinese cooking, making them easier on the body—allowing you to enjoy a rich and fulfilling reunion feast during the holidays without worry. The variety, flavors, and East-meets-West culinary techniques are all refreshingly new. As the old year gives way to the new, end it with a blessed reunion meal that’s “well-begun and well-ended,” welcoming the spring season—and ensuring an even better year ahead.