Chinese New Year: know where to eat gyoza to celebrate the date in SP

This Tuesday, the 1st, is the Chinese New Year, the biggest festival in China, which marks the arrival of the year of the water tiger.

The celebration, also known as Lunar New Year, usually takes place between January and February and is determined from a lunisolar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the Moon and Sun. be governed by the phases of the natural satellite, has no set date.

Each year is represented by one of the 12 animals in the Chinese horoscope, which has a 12-year cycle. In addition, each period is ruled by one of the five elements of the zodiac: water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Therefore, 2022 is the year of the water tiger.

Celebrated for centuries, the feast usually gathers families around the table, as food is an important part of the date, which follows different traditions that involve superstitions. One of them is to eat gyoza —in Chinese, jiaozi— the stuffed pastries, prepared with a delicate dough of wheat flour and water, which symbolize wealth.

“When the family gets together for New Year’s, everyone makes the gyozas together. The more of those donuts, the more prosperity. And the more gyozas you eat, the more prosperity you will have”, says chef Victor Wong, of a Chinese father. He is in charge of Panda Ya, the first house specializing in the item in the capital of São Paulo, opened in 2019 with a recipe he learned from his family.

Also, he says, pasta means longevity and fish means abundance.

To celebrate the date, get to know five locations that prepare gyoza in São Paulo, also with delivery option. Some of the places also deliver the frozen pastries, to finish at home.

Kar Wua

The traditional Chinese restaurant prepares three options of gyoza: meat with vegetables, shiitake or cabotiá pumpkin, which come in portions of four to ten units, with prices between R$24 and R$49. Annually, the place closes a section on the street. Mourato Coelho, in Pinheiros, to celebrate the arrival of the Chinese New Year with typical performances – this year, however, the party was canceled because of the pandemic.
R. Mourato Coelho, 44, Pinheiros, west region. Delivery and withdrawal via Goomer, phone (11) 3081-1581 or WhatsApp (11) 3476-1581

Koya 88

The gyoza prepared by chef Thiago Maeda in this kitchen-bar with an Asian soul is filled with sirloin cup, shrimp and black garlic. It costs R$ 38 a portion with five units. One of the flagships of the house, it has become a favorite with customers and has become a fixed option on the menu, which changes monthly.
R. Jesuíno Pascoal, 21, Vila Buarque, downtown, tel. (11) 3384-6926. Instagram @koya88

panda Ya

Gyozas are the specialty of this house. Among the four fixed flavors, a tip is the classic, made with pork, shrimp and chard – it costs R$ 17 a portion with four units. When in doubt, the tip is to order the portion with the four options, for R$ 20. All are also available in packs of ten frozen units to be finished at home. To celebrate Chinese New Year, chef Victor Wong prepared a special flavor, with a fish and vegetable filling, which is on the menu this week (R$20 for four units).
R. Lisboa, 971, Pinheiros, west region, WhatsApp (11) 98862-3954. Delivery via iFood, Goomer and Rappi. Instagram @pandaya.dumpling

Rong He

In this traditional Chinese restaurant, based in Liberdade, the gyozas are steamed and can be served in four flavors. The traditional one has pork and shrimp stuffing and costs R$50, the shrimp one costs R$60 and the pork one, R$47. Each portion has ten units.
R. da Glória, 622-A, Liberdade, central region, tel. (11) 3275-1986 and (11) 3207-1206. Delivery via phone

Wooza

The house, which emerged during the pandemic, sells the Chinese pastelzinho in frozen portions to be finished at home to the customer’s taste. Among the fillings are pork and kimchi, in addition to vegetarian corn with cheese and mushrooms with tofu. Pastas have shades of red, blue or yellow and are naturally colored using red rice, clit flower and turmeric. The prices of the tray with 12 units vary from R$ 30 to R$ 35. Orders must be placed by WhatsApp, with deliveries from Thursday to Saturday in the capital of São Paulo.
R. França Pinto, 203, Vila Mariana, south region. Requests via WhatsApp (11) 97399-6990 and Instagram @wooza.sp