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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Popular Indonesian mobile kitchen Angel Touch debuts restaurant in Plano

Facebook/Angel Touch Kitchen

Mie ayam, a beloved Indonesian street dish featuring egg noodles, chicken mushroom topping, and greens.

A longtime mobile eatery specializing in halal Indonesian cuisine is now cooking inside new permanent Plano digs: Angel Touch Kitchen will officially open its doors on October 29 at 280 Legacy Dr. Ste. 300, at the corner of Legacy Drive and Chase Oaks Boulevard.

Though it's the restaurant's first permanent home, Plano diners might find the food and brand familiar. Indonesian-born chef and entrepreneur Yenni Haryanti has been operating Angel Touch as a catering and mobile kitchen since 2014. Her frequent appearances at festivals, corporate events, and parties throughout Dallas-Fort Worth have attracted a large following.

In 2021, Angel Touch opened a semi-permanent spot inside a Carrollton food court where, "after years without an Indonesian restaurant in DFW, the response was overwhelming," Haryanti told Voyage Dallas. "We sold out in hours and customers traveled long distances for our food."

Last summer, Haryanti announced plans for a permanent Plano restaurant. Social media followers were treated to peeks at what it takes to maintain a mobile diner and prepare for a restaurant opening, as the business posted photos of hood vent cleanings and inspection preparations and shared thoughts on the experience: "Running a small food business comes with a lot of behind-the-scenes work — long hours, cleaning, prepping, maintaining equipment, and making sure everything is done the right way. We’re tired, but grateful to keep doing what we love."

Angel Touch Kitchen settles into permanent space after more than a decade on the road. Photo courtesy Angel Touch Kitchen/Instagram

Angel Touch Kitchen held its soft opening October 19-25, serving dishes such as its in-demand beef rendang — a rich, slow-cooked Indonesian-Malaysian dry curry — and ayam goreng kuning — an Indonesian twist on fried chicken.

“Our beef rendang sold out two days in a row, so we’re making a fresh batch,” the kitchen posted at 3 am on Facebook a couple days into the soft opening. “We give it a little extra time to make every bite tender and full of flavor.”

Other menu items include:

Ayam woku: Chicken with fresh herbs, spices, and citrus.
Ayam semur: Sweet-and-savory braised chicken.
Terong cabe ijo: Eggplant stir-fried with spicy green chile.
Acar kuning: Cooked yellow vegetable pickle, often served as a side.
Kentang balado: Fried or roasted potatoes tossed in a spicy, savory red chile sauce.
Capcay: Vegetable stir-fry.

Entrees with a side run $14-$18.

Drinks and sweets, with items priced $7-$8, include es cendol (an icy drink with jelly strands) and es campur (various sweet toppings over shaved ice), and the dark sticky rice or porridge ketan hitam.

Beginning October 29, Angel Touch Kitchen will be open 12-2 pm and 5-8:30 pm Thursday-Friday and 12-8:30 pm Saturday-Sunday. The restaurant is closed Monday-Wednesday.

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