Year of the Snake

Lunar New Year leads 10 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

"Money Bag" dumplings, a Lunar New Year celebration at Malai Kitchen.

Malai Kitchen/Facebook

The Year of the Snake officially begins this week, and restaurants are ready to celebrate with Lunar New Year specials and festivities. Also make plans for a six-course vegan dinner with an intergalactic theme, an Italian wine dinner, and the return of a popular beer from one of Dallas' most beloved breweries.

Tuesday, January 28

Lunar New Year at JOA Grill
Upscale Korean barbecue restaurant will offer a four-course special to celebrate Lunar New Year. The menu includes yuzu salad, choice of rice cake soup or crispy beef pancake, a meat board of prime short rib, New York strip, chuck flap, and marinated ribeye, and chocolate cake. The dinner is $52 plus tax and gratuity, and available through February 2.

Wednesday, January 29

Lunar New Year at Malai Kitchen
All locations of Malai Kitchen will celebrate Lunar New Year with specials and giveaways. Visit for red-colored cocktails to match the New Year's theme of luck and happiness, including a spicy melon margarita and watermelon spritz. Food specials include "Money Bag" dumplings with lamb, carrot, and soybeans; and Longevity Lobster Noodles, a traditional New Year's dish. Malai will also randomly give away 50 red envelopes throughout the day with vouchers for free appetizers, desserts, and other prizes. Malai has locations in Preston Center, Uptown, Clearfork, and Southlake.

Lunar New Year at Komodo
Ring in the Year of the Snake at Komodo with lion dancers, a dragon dance performance, DJ music, and a special “Love Letters” dessert feature. The celebration will run from 5–10 pm.

Lunar New Year at Feng Shui
Upscale Asian restaurant at the McKinney & Olive building is hosting a Lunar New Year party with traditional Guzheng music, Chinese calligraphy demonstrations, and a free dessert called Thanghulu, which symbolizes health and wellbeing. Feng Shui will also hand out 100 red envelopes to customers with prizes. The party will run from 6:30–8:30 pm.

Thursday, January 30

Legacy Lineup #1: Heart O' Texas Red Ale Release at Four Corners Brewing Company
Dallas brewery is releasing throwback favorites starting the return of Heart of Texas Red Ale. There’ll be a Texas-themed market, flash tattoos, and photo booth fun. The party starts at 6 pm with rounds of Loteria (Mexican bingo) starting at 7:30 pm.

A Toast to Italy: Antinori Wine Dinner at Palato
Hall Park Hotel’s Italian kitchen and lounge will host a four-course pairing dinner featuring Antinori wines. Start with yellowtail crudo before moving to mafaldine pasta with mushrooms & black truffle, Wagyu beef cheek peposo with polenta & kale, and black forest tart cherry compote. Tickets are $98, plus tax and fee, and dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

Champagne Dinner at the Tango Room
Executive chef David Gomez and bartender Nolan Palladino have collaborated on a four-course dinner showcasing Ruinart champagnes and cocktails that includes butter-poached oysters with Ruinart Blanc de Blanc; carpaccio with black truffle with a Lo Groni; lamb saddle with spinach, fennel sausage, and polenta with Ruinart Blanc Singulier Edition 18; and cheesecake with blood orange with Ruinart Rosé. $175, reserve online. It starts at 7 pm.

Friday, January 31

Veganuary Vegetation Six-Course Vegan Tasting Menu at TLC Vegan Café
Take a six-course trip “around the universe” at this Richardson vegan restaurant dinner. Menu items include The Milky Way Tray with sweet potato chips, pistachio cheese ball, dried star fruit, and a pickle medley; and “Intergalatic” with red pepper, rice, Chik’N, and smoked carrot cream. Dinner is $100 plus tax and gratuity. Add a beer pairing for $20, a mocktail pairing for $25, or a wine pairing for $35. Seating times are 5:15 pm or 8:15 pm.

Gatherings By Sheraton: Making The Perfect Cocktail at Sheraton Stonebriar Hotel
Say goodbye to Dry January with this hands-on cocktail class in the heart of Stonebriar Commons in Frisco. Class is $35 and begins at 6:30 pm.

Monday, February 3

Littorai Wine Dinner at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
California’s Littorai Winery will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a tour across the U.S. by winemaker Ted Lemon. He'll stop at Pappas Bros. in Dallas for a five-course pairing dinner featuring his renowned chardonnays and pinot noirs. Menu highlights include juniper-rubbed duck breast spaetzles with kohlrabi & cherry jus, red snapper en papillote, and roast tenderloin of beef with black truffles, celery root puree, & heirloom carrots. Dinner is $495 including tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

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Best Happy Hours

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 special happy hours for September

Malai Kitchen

This is a most distinguished edition of Where to Drink, CultureMap's monthly column bringing news of the best happy hours around. Distinguished, because these aren't just the cheapest deals. These happy hours are all a little extra, whether it's gourmet chef-driven food, unique location, or a special Korean twist.

Here are the best happy hour destinations for September 2026:

Cipher Lounge
Unique new entertainment venue and lounge in downtown McKinney is an escape room-plus-restaurant and bar, combining food, cocktails, and escape-room experiences under one roof. The Cipher Lounge is not your typical bar or escape room. The lounge boasts a sophisticated atmosphere with craft cocktails and upscale bites. You can stop in before or after the escape room, but you can also just come in for food and drink. And fortunately, they do a happy hour Wednesday-Friday from 2-6 pm with $3 off flatbreads & dips, $3 off well cocktails, $2 off domestic beers, and $1 off import and craft beers.

Malai Kitchen
Small local chain specializing in southeast Asian cuisine is a perennial, with four locations including the original at West Village in Uptown Dallas. They recently expanded their already generous happy hour with more to eat and more to drink, still with the same scratch-made kitchen behind all of it. Signature cocktails are $4 off. Their celebrated house-brewed beer is $6, and their happy hour wines are a cut above: Aveleda Vinho Verde white from Portugal, and Vina Eguia Tempranillo red from Spain, $8 per glass. Bites are $8 or two for $15 including Vietnamese meatballs, cucumber salad, shishito peppers, grilled satay, fried imperial rolls, spicy edamame, Thai chicken wings, and potstickers. Hours are Monday-Friday 3-6 pm, and all day Sunday.

Nuri Steakhouse
Korean steakhouse in Uptown recently launched "Geonbae Hour," its elevated take on happy hour, inspired by the Korean tradition of “Geonbae,” meaning cheers. Featured bites include oysters, bulgogi beef tacos, steak tartare cigar, and truffle popcorn, $7 to $9, plus a Wagyu burger with kimchi-glazed bacon and white cheddar for $20. Drinks include their unique renditions of classic drinks like an old-fashioned, margarita, and negroni for $10; plus beer, wine, and soju, the Korean spirit. It's offered Monday-Thursday 4- 6 pm and all day Sunday.

Two Hands
Australian-style all-day cafe founded in New York, which opened a location at The Quad in 2025, has what it calls a "snacky hour," which is short and to the point: a smashburger for $10, plus $10 cocktails, $3 off glasses of wine (including red, white, and sparkling), and $5 draft beer. Cocktails include martinis (dry or dirty), espresso martini, margarita, aperol spritz, old-fashioned, Negroni, and bloody Mary. Snacky hour is offered every day from 4-6 pm.

Written By the Seasons
Chef-driven concept has two locations in Dallas: Bishop Arts and The Quad. Both host an admirable happy hour 3:30-5 pm Monday-Saturday, with half-off on bottles of wine and significant snacks, including some of their signature dishes. There are smoked Texas pecans, cheese & charcuterie board, boquerones with arugula & crostini, mutabal (the middle-Eastern eggplant dip) with olives and crispy flatbread, and their acclaimed kimchi pancakes, priced from $5 to $12. There's also a burger with American cheese, and a veggie sandwich with cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts, and shaved carrots on wheat — both $18.

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