Celebrate the Year of the Snake with a true culinary celebration at Sum Made Restaurant where festive Chinese New Year flavours and traditions have been brought together.
From Chinese New Year Eve 28 Jan to 30 Jan, the restaurant is featuring a special festive menu featuring some truly festive dishes.
It is not often that chicken gets to star in the lo hei, which is traditionally reserved for the fish - but this is something many can look forward to from 1 Feb. More about this later in this story.
For those wanting a memorable dine-in experience, Sum Made’s Chinese New Year menu offers a la carte selection and not set menus that most other restaurants have.
“Although it is more convenient for us as a restaurant to just have set menus, we understand people prefer to mix and match as what each person wants for their Chinese New Year dinner can be different,” said Chloe Zhong, whose family owns and operates Sum Made.
Start with a cold appetizer like the smoked chicken thigh with century egg and jelly fish salad ($68), the move-on to time-honoured Cantonese favourites such as the secret recipe crispy skinned roast duck ($68), gui fei chicken ($68), Sum Made’s honey-glazed char siu ($36) and Macau-style roast pork belly ($32).
For soups, there’s the American ginseng stewed with silkie black chicken ($28) and sea coconut stewed with free-range chicken ($18).
Enjoy the festive feast with indulgent highlights such as the melt-in-your-mouth tender braised oxtail with red kidney beans ($68), stir-fried snow peas with store-made preserved cured meat and Chinese lup cheong sausages ($48) and braised pork trotters with dried oyster and black moss ($168).
Elevate your dinner with premium seafood choices from the tank with live lobsters ($168kg) cooked in broth or scallions and ginger stir-fry, luxurious abalone ($138), steamed live fish ($118kg) or enjoy some delicious large scampi with garlic ($198kg).
Until Jan 31, there will also be salmon lo hei yee sang ($98) on the menu to help kick-start the meal and usher in prosperity.
“Our menu offers a blend of tradition and our chefs’ innovation to help diners have an unforgettable Chinese New Year celebration, and have dishes that embody blessings of prosperity, health and happiness,” Zhong said.
From 31 January, the menu changes back to the standard restaurant offerings but with the added “Phoenix Lo Hei” to star.
The pronunciation for chicken in Mandarin or ji 吉 means good luck and prosperity making it a welcome dish for the festive season.
“It is something different, but also signifying a good beginning to the year,” said Zhong.
Zhong said Chinese New Year is all about the magic of food and traditions that bring people together.
“Every dish is special and tells a story, and we at Sum Made are honoured to create a menu that celebrates the tradition and make the festive season special for our guests,” she added.
For reservations, contact Sum Made 心美 on 09 626 6866.
Address: 11 Davies Drive, Albany, Auckland 0632
***This article is brought to you in partnership with Sum Made.
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