6 Tasty Destinations for Chinese New Year, Plus a Handy App

Internet-free Waygo app makes ordering from character menus a snap

By Sara Jones February 13, 2015

dintaifung

Hail, Year of the Sheep (and/or Goat)! There is dispute about which animal the Chinese are honoring for their lunar new year official on February 19, but regardless, the cuisine is guaranteed to be luscious.

Celebrate in style by eating your way through this range of sumptuous stops for Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine in the Seattle area. The first is an Eastside celebration specially honoring the new moon, or head down to Westfield Southcenter mall for a traditional lion parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 21; the rest are restaurants serving up their usual trusty fare. Order with confidence with a new smartphone app called Waygo, which makes any menu accessible by translating Chinese characters on the spot.

1. Bellevue: Bellevue Collection Lunar New Year Celebration with Din Tai Fung Dumplings

Bellevue Square Center Court, 575 Bellevue Square; Saturday, February 21 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Go for the sampling of Shanghai-style soup dumplings from the world renowned Taiwan-based chain, Din Tai Fung, then complete the experience at Bellevue’s Chinese New Year spectacular with traditional and contemporary cultural demonstrations of Chinese opera, martial arts, music, dance, visual and fine arts and more. Craving more dumplings, noodles, soups, buns and more? Visit Din Tai Fung restaurants in University Village (2621 NE 46th St) and Bellevue (700 Bellevue Way NE); dumplings $9.75 to $12.

2. Bellevue: Facing East Taiwanese Restaurant

1075 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue

Go for the Taiwanese pork burgers ($3.25 each; melt-in-your-mouth fatty pork with fresh cilantro and sweet chopped peanut topping in a steamed bun), the five spice fried chicken with basil ($6.50) and the garlic noodles ($5.25).

3. International District: Jade Garden Restaurant

424 7th Ave S, (206) 622-8181

Go for the delicious traditional push-cart dim sum in this beloved hole in the wall, where individual items range from $2.35 to $5.95. (Seattle’s International District will also host a lunar new year celebration Saturday, February 21 which will certainly include delectable eats, though it’s not advertising which ones.)

4. International District: Seven Stars Pepper Szechwan Restaurant

1207 S Jackson ST

Go for the Sechuan Dan Dan noodles with pork ($7.95), crispy duck ($10.95) and hot pots ($14.99 to $29.99).

5. Lake City: Chiang’s Gourmet Restaurant

7845 Lake City Way NE

Go for the crispy scallops in garlic and hot pepper ($17), green onion pancakes ($4), dry sautéed string beans ($10) and the range of tasty fish dishes ($14 to $24).

6. Wallingford: Rocking Wok Taiwanese Restaurant

4301 Interlake Ave N

Go for the hot and sour noodle soup ($6.25), the pot stickers ($4.45), the green onion pancake ($4.45) and the totally veggie stir fry ($7.45).

 

Need help ordering from Chinese character menus? Download Waygo, a new visual translation app developed by San Francisco-based CEO Ryan Rogowski that lets users translate Chinese, Japanese and Korean text into English with the wave of a smartphone. If you do 1- or fewer visual translations a day the app is free; pay $7 a month and upgrade to unlimited transactions.

 

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