The yearly celebration of Asian cuisine and cocktails known as Luckyrice begins its 2015 festivities with free-flowing gin cocktails and lots of lamb bites, befitting the start of the Year of the Sheep. On Tuesday, February 24th, the festival takes over Clinton Street's Yunnan Kitchen, where chef Doran Wong will be cooking "celebrated lamb dishes from Mongolia to the Muslim-inflected street foods of Beijing to the western province of Yunnan" paired with cocktails from Bombay Sapphire East Gin and Asahi Beer. It's the first in a series of events being held across the country, including the big LUCKYRICE New York party being held on March 20th.
At the February cocktail party, a menu of sheep-centric hors d'oeuvres will be on offer, including Braised Goat Mapo Tofu Spoons, made with pixian doubanjiang (a spicy, fermented soybean paste), silken tofu and pumpkin seeds; Sheep's Milk Yogurt and Roasted beets with chili garlic dressing and black vinegar on a sesame cracker; and Roasted Leg of Lamb with cumin, baba bread and cilantro.
Tickets to the Year of the Sheep Party go for $88 and include seven dishes plus as many of the "Feeling Sheepish" cocktail—made with chamomile-infused Bombay Sapphire East gin, ginger and simple syrups, lemon, soda water and bitters—one can consume between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets to the New York Feast in March go on sale February 17th; the $150 GA ticket gets you to the lovely Mandarin Oriental ballroom overlooking Central Park plus variations on Asian cuisine from over a dozen New York chefs.
