Lunar New Year in Melbourne is more than red lanterns and firecrackers – it’s the heartbeat of our Chinese and Asian communities coming together over food, family and stories. If you’re wondering where to celebrate Chinese New Year in Melbourne, QV Melbourne’s Lunar New Year festival turns the CBD into a vibrant playground of flavour, colour and culture.
From 16 February – 1 March, QV Melbourne welcomes the Year of the Horse with the immersive Happy Horse Noodle Bar, lion and dragon dances, and some of the most authentic Chinese and Asian food experiences in the city – all within one easy, laneway‑linked precinct. Think AR‑animated noodle walls, Prosperity Yee Sang, whole steamed coral trout, spicy Sichuan feasts and Malaysian hawker classics that taste like home.
As a Malaysian‑Chinese Melburnian, I’ve always treated Lunar New Year in Melbourne as both a ritual and a sensory celebration. QV’s mix of Old Beijing, Dainty Sichuan, EatAlley, Shanghai Street Kitchen and Milksha feels like a personal cheat‑sheet to the best bits of Chinese New Year – where every dish has a story, and every lane leads to another reason to stay a little longer.
Where to celebrate Chinese New Year in Melbourne 2026
Chinese New Year in Melbourne stretches from Chinatown and the Chinese Museum to riverfront fireworks and suburban temple visits, but if you want everything in one walkable CBD precinct, QV Melbourne is hard to beat.
Here, you can move seamlessly from lion and dragon dances in QV Square to a Prosperity Yee Sang toss at Old Beijing, fiery Sichuan banquets at Dainty Sichuan, hawker‑style comfort food at EatAlley, dumplings at Shanghai Street Kitchen and lucky sips from Milksha – all while capturing AR‑enhanced photos at the Happy Horse Noodle Bar.
The Happy Horse Noodle Bar: where food becomes story
At the heart of Lunar New Year at QV Melbourne is the Happy Horse Noodle Bar, an eye‑catching installation in QV Square that feels like you’ve stepped into a fictional noodle bar designed for both nostalgia and TikTok.
Walk through a giant noodle box, wander past immersive photo walls and scan the QR codes to unlock AR animations via the EyeJack app. Suddenly, classic takeaway dishes – from Prosperity Yee Sang to spring rolls, dumplings and orange‑infused teas – come to life and reveal their symbolic meanings: prosperity, wealth, unity and fresh beginnings.
Open daily from 10am – 10pm, the Happy Horse Noodle Bar is your launchpad: grab your photos, learn the stories, then follow the trail of flavours into QV’s buzzing Asian restaurants for the real‑life Lunar New Year feast.
Traditional Performances and Living Culture
Chinese New Year in Melbourne wouldn’t be complete without the thunder of drums and the flash of lion and dragon costumes weaving through the crowd. At QV, that energy is centred in QV Square, with performances across key festival dates.
Hosted by the Chinese Masonic Society, lion dances, dragon dances and martial arts displays will light up QV Square at 5.30pm on Monday 16 February (LNY Eve) and Tuesday 17 February (LNY Day), plus 5.00pm on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February for the big Lunar New Year weekend in the city. Kids can get up close to lion heads on display, while families crowd in for that perfect “only in Melbourne” festival moment.
Lunar New Year Food Experiences at QV Melbourne
Old Beijing: imperial flavours, modern Melbourne energy
If you want to understand why Old Beijing is considered one of Melbourne’s most authentic Chinese dining experiences, start with the Peking duck. The duck is roasted in a traditional hanging oven until the skin turns glass‑crisp, then carved and wrapped in delicate pancakes with hoisin, spring onion and cucumber – a dish once reserved for Chinese emperors that now anchors countless Melbourne celebrations.
Old Beijing’s menu reads like a tour across Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Sichuan, with xiao long bao, delicate dumplings and braised dishes that showcase the depth of Chinese regional cuisine. The xiao long bao – soup‑filled dumplings that burst with broth – require precision: chilled aspic, paper‑thin wrappers and perfectly timed steaming, earning them repeated praise from diners for being “full of flavour” and “some of the best in the city”.
For Lunar New Year in Melbourne, Old Beijing goes all in on symbolism. Their Prosperity Yee Sang turns the table into a canvas of colour – strips of fish, crisp vegetables and crunchy toppings tossed high with chopsticks to “lo hei” (toss up good fortune) for the new year. The New Year Abundance of Fish, a whole steamed coral trout, embodies the phrase “nian nian you yu” – may you have surplus year after year – reminding diners that abundance isn’t just about money, but health, time and togetherness.
Old Beijing is also known for going the extra mile at this time of year: they host their own lion dances starting in QV Square and weaving through to their Artemis Lane restaurant, and they support a charity each year as part of their new year tradition. It’s a place where the history of Chinese New Year meets the rhythm of today’s Melbourne, and that’s exactly what makes it so special.
Dainty Sichuan: fiery, elegant and unapologetically bold
If Old Beijing is your place for banquets and storytelling, Dainty Sichuan is where you go when you’re craving spice, theatre and a little bit of swagger. Nestled in QV’s laneways, this Melbourne institution brings the bold flavours of Sichuan straight to the CBD, with hot pots and stir‑fries that keep local spice lovers returning again and again.
On the menu, you’ll find Sichuan hot pot with customisable spice levels, cumin‑spiced lamb, chilli‑slicked fish, and wok‑tossed vegetables in fragrant chilli oil and numbing Sichuan pepper. Diners consistently rave about the freshness of the ingredients, the depth of the broths and the attentive service, calling it their “go‑to spot when you want something spicy and a bit fancy” and praising the balance of numbing heat and savoury richness.
For the Lunar New Year festival at QV, Dainty Sichuan’s spring rolls step into the spotlight at the Happy Horse Noodle Bar – crisp, golden parcels that symbolise wealth (their shape echoing ancient gold bars), making them a natural choice for anyone wanting to literally eat their way to prosperity. Paired with a table of hot dishes and a cold drink, it’s the perfect Chinese New Year in Melbourne CBD combo: high on flavour, high on fun.
EatAlley: Malaysian hawker soul in the heart of the CBD
Chinese New Year in Malaysia is noisy, delicious and deeply communal – and EatAlley captures that spirit perfectly in QV Square. Opened in August 2025, EatAlley channels the energy of Malaysian food courts by bringing together dishes from 10 of Malaysia’s most famous hawker stalls, some dating back to the 1940s, and has already been recognised as a Good Food Guide Critic’s Pick.
One of the stars of both the regular menu and the Lunar New Year campaign is the Signature KL Hokkien Mee, a dark, caramelised noodle dish stir‑fried in a rich soy‑based sauce with pork, prawns and crunchy pork lard, traditionally enjoyed for its symbolism of long life and prosperity. Alongside it, you’ll spot nasi lemak, char kway teow, curry laksa and more, all served in a buzzing, casual setting that feels like a modern hawker centre, complete with lines spilling into QV Square at peak times.
For anyone celebrating Lunar New Year in Melbourne who misses home in Kuala Lumpur, Penang or Singapore, EatAlley is a kind of culinary time machine – one bite and you’re right back in a steamy hawker lane, only this time the skyline outside is Melbourne’s.
Shanghai Street Kitchen and Milksha: luck in every bite and sip
No Chinese New Year in Melbourne is complete without dumplings and something sweet or refreshing to toast the year ahead. At QV, Shanghai Street Kitchen and Milksha complete the festival circuit.
Shanghai Street Kitchen’s good fortune dumplings represent wealth and family unity, their pleated shapes resembling ancient money pouches. Whether you go for pork, prawn or vegetable fillings, each dumpling is a tiny promise of abundance, which is why they feature prominently in the Happy Horse Noodle Bar’s storytelling.
On the drinks side, Milksha offers a lucky Orange Green Tea, blending bright citrus with the freshness of green tea. Oranges are traditional symbols of luck and good fortune in Chinese culture, and this drink feels like a modern, drinkable take on that tradition – ideal for sipping as you move between lion dances, photo ops and dinner bookings.
QV Melbourne: laneways, legacy and the CBD’s festive heart
Part of what makes Lunar New Year at QV Melbourne so compelling is the setting itself. The precinct sits on an entire city block cornering Swanston, Lonsdale, Little Lonsdale and Russell Streets, built around the historic Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, the last remaining building of Melbourne’s first women’s hospital.
QV’s network of laneways – from Artemis Lane’s Asian dining strip to Jane Bell Lane’s galleries and Asian grocers – creates a quintessentially Melbourne backdrop for Chinese New Year: intimate, layered and full of discoveries. With over 120 retailers, cafés, bars and entertainment venues such as EatAlley, Archie Brothers, Hijinx Hotel and Yo‑Chi, QV becomes a natural meeting point for friends and families before or after festival events elsewhere in the city.
Why QV Melbourne is perfect for Chinese New Year in Melbourne CBD
For me, Chinese New Year in Melbourne is about connection – to culture, to community and to the people we choose to celebrate with. QV Melbourne captures that by combining traditional rituals like lion dances and prosperity dishes with modern experiences like AR installations, contemporary cocktails and immersive dining.
You can start the night tossing Prosperity Yee Sang at Old Beijing, turn up the heat with Sichuan hot pot at Dainty Sichuan, wander via EatAlley’s Malaysian classics, snack on Shanghai Street Kitchen dumplings, sip Milksha’s lucky tea, and still be a short stroll from trams, trains and other CBD festivities. It’s efficient, delicious and deeply photogenic – exactly the kind of Lunar New Year in Melbourne experience that lingers long after the lanterns come down.
FAQs: Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year at QV Melbourne
When is Chinese New Year in Melbourne 2026?
Chinese New Year 2026 falls on 17 February, and QV Melbourne’s Lunar New Year festival runs from 16 February to 1 March, giving you plenty of time to celebrate in the CBD.
Where can I celebrate Chinese New Year in Melbourne CBD?
You can celebrate Chinese New Year in Melbourne CBD at QV Melbourne with the Happy Horse Noodle Bar, lion and dragon dances, and special Lunar New Year menus at Old Beijing, Dainty Sichuan, EatAlley, Shanghai Street Kitchen and Milksha.
Is QV Melbourne good for families during Lunar New Year?
Yes. QV Melbourne’s Lunar New Year program includes family‑friendly lion and dragon dances, interactive AR photo walls, kid‑friendly dishes and plenty of casual dining options, making it ideal for multigenerational outings.
What Chinese New Year traditions can I experience at QV Melbourne?
At QV you can see lion and dragon dances, enjoy symbolic dishes like Prosperity Yee Sang, whole steamed fish, spring rolls and dumplings, and explore cultural displays and installations in QV Square.
Do I need to book for Lunar New Year dining at QV Melbourne?
Bookings are strongly recommended for popular venues such as Old Beijing, Dainty Sichuan and EatAlley during Chinese New Year in Melbourne, especially for Lunar New Year banquets and larger groups.
