This Friday, February 12, marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Ox, which is said to usher in career advancement, success in business, prosperity, and wellness for all. Though celebrations certainly look different in 2021, there are still plenty of ways to mark the occasion in Portland, including themed food and drink specials from places like Berlu Like List and Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine Like List and in-person and virtual events, like Chinese New Year at Lan Su Garden Past Event Like List .

FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS

Bao Bao Like List
This Chinese dumpling house will be ringing in the Year of the Ox with a special New Year family combo that includes beef dumplings made from a family recipe, steam buns, zha jiang noodles, and cucumber salad. The beef dumplings are also available individually.
Northwest
Pickup or delivery

Berlu Like List
Chef Vince Nguyen's acclaimed Vietnamese bakery and restaurant is observing Tết, the Vietnamese celebration of Lunar New Year, with several specials. For their weekly noodle soup special, they'll be serving canh bóng (a soup traditionally served on the holiday, with pork-based broth, rice noodles, Lan-Roc pork meatballs and skin, Lan-Roc pork meatballs and skin, roasted shiitake mushrooms, brassicas, and herbs) as well as a vegan version (vegetable broth, rice noodles, roasted shiitake mushroom, carrots, brassicas, greens, and herbs). Their bakery will also have a "One of Everything" box, with ten "not too sweet" pastries and a lucky red envelope containing a special surprise. Concealed within one of the envelopes will be a gift card for a future "One of Everything" box.
Southeast
Pickup

Mama Đút Like List
Chef Thuy Pham's vegan Vietnamese pop-up turned brick-and-mortar is also celebrating Lunar New Year with a menu that includes bánh tét chay (savory sticky rice rolls) filled with mung beans and jackfruit and wrapped in banana leaves, bánh xèo kęp nam (turmeric mushroom waffles), jackfruit and coconut cream popsicles and whiskey barrel-aged Vietnamese coffee boba popsicles made in collaboration with Kulfi, and li hing mui limeade.
Southeast
Pickup

Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine Like List
Have a tea party with the San Francisco-based Thai chain's Lovely Lunar Tea set, which includes shrimp rolls, crab rangoon, short rib buns, sticky rice in lotus leaf, shrimp har gow, pork shumai, adorable pig-shaped buns with custard filling, chow mein, dessert bites, and macarons with a three-tier stand and hot tea, available through February 28. The restaurant also has a Lao table set that includes fresh rolls with peanut sauce, samosas, beef rolls, egg rolls, papaya salad, Hat Yai fried chicken, shrimp fried rice, pad Thai, spicy eggplant, blue rice, fried eggs, and Thai iced tea.
Southeast
Pickup or delivery

XLB Like List
By popular demand, this counter-serve dumpling spot is extending its Dumpling Week special, the "Chicken and the Egg" bao (a steamed bun with shiitake mushrooms, ground chicken, Chinese sausage, and a hard-boiled egg) to last through Lunar New Year.
North
Pickup or delivery

IN-PERSON EVENTS

FEBRUARY 12–28

Chinese New Year at Lan Su Garden Past Event Like List
While their nighttime Lantern Viewings Past Event Like List are sold out, you can still celebrate the Chinese New Year at Lan Su Gardens by enjoying festival decorations, contact-free audio tours, mobile scavenger hunts, educational displays, and more. 

FEBRUARY 13

Lake Oswego Community Cultural Celebration Past Event Like List
Wear two masks and join Lake Oswego businesses in Millennium Plaza Park for an hour of activities, including a White Lotus dragon and lion dance and a wushu (kung fu) performance by the Oregon Hope Chinese School. 

THROUGH FEBRUARY 14

Washington Square Lunar New Year Celebration Past Event Like List
In addition to snapping photos in front of a red ribbon display in the Summit Court, which is inspired by the Lunar New Year Wishing Tree tradition, Washington Square invites you to visit their Facebook Live page for craft demonstrations, stories, and dance performances.

VIRTUAL EVENTS

FEBRUARY 12–14

Portland’s Chinese New Year Cultural Fair Past Event Like List
Join the Portland Chinese Times on their PCTTV channel for a remote version of their annual Lunar New Year festival, where you can take in dragon and lion dances, Wushu (Kung Fu), Chinese classical singing, and a special Chinese "Face Changing" performance. Plus, you'll learn how to make a traditional turnip cake.

FEBRUARY 13

Southern Oregon Chinese Cultural Association Lunar New Year Past Event Like List
Former Medford mayor and current Jacksonville city council member Jim Lewis and his wife, Gayle, will host this day of virtual events in partnership with the Southern Oregon Chinese Cultural Association, kicking off bright and early. 

FEBRUARY 14

Tết Nguyên Đán Trực Tuyến / Online Vietnamese New Year Past Event Like List
Join the Multnomah County Library and presenters White Lotus and David Dahl (from the performing arts group Tieng Hoai Huong) for a reading on Zoom and Facebook Live honoring the Vietnamese New Year. 

FEBRUARY 20

Celebrating Chinese New Year in Portland Chinatown Past Event Like List
The Portland Chinatown Museum's 150-foot dragon is "sheltering in place," as it were, but they won't let the Chinese New Year go uncelebrated. Join them for a virtual event reviving footage and photos of past drag dance parades, fireworks, and drumming performances. 

FEBRUARY 26

Lantern Festival Past Event Like List
The Multnomah County Library's Lunar New Year series concludes with a day of online paper-cutting crafts, nougat making, and games.