Yingtao in Manhattan Commemorates Lunar New Year with an 8-Course 'Year of the Dragon' Menu

Yingtao, a novel contemporary Chinese restaurant in Manhattan, is celebrating the Year of the Dragon with a specialized menu.

Yingtao

Nestled in the Hell’s Kitchen district, the popular restaurant has garnered attention in recent months for its distinctive cuisine inspired by Chinese family cooking, enhanced with sophisticated culinary skills.

Yingtao

For the next Lunar New Year menu, proprietor Bolun Yao has crafted an eight-course tasting menu that pays homage to the dragon, featuring dishes symbolizing good fortune and power. The menu commences with fresh oysters accompanied by a spicy and sour mignonette, succeeded by smoked steelhead trout and aonori milk bread. The course concludes with foie gras accompanied by Sichuan peppercorn and beetroot.

The main dishes feature a varied collection of unusual interpretations of proteins, particularly in contrast to typical Chinese forms. In addition to wagyu and octopus dishes, tofu is served with celery root, while yellowtail is prepared with buttermilk and more Sichuan pepper. Dumplings amalgamate Berkshire pork and black truffle in a unique variation.

The dumpling recipe is particularly meaningful to Yao, who remembers his grandmother crafting dumplings around the Lunar New Year. She was the catalyst for his decision to establish Yingtao, which today prominently displays a wall adorned with her mosaic photo.

The meal concludes with two desserts: Tanghulu, a confection of sugar-coated fruits on a skewer, and a walnut and coconut Nian Gao, commonly referred to as a rice cake.

The Lunar New Year meal at Yingtao will be offered at the restaurant until Saturday, February 17.

Yingtao, 805 9th Avenue, Manhattan, New York 10019