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18 Lunar New Year celebrations welcoming the Year of the Snake in Houston

Lunar New Year is upon us once again, which means there will be several spots in Houston that will celebrate with lion dances, martial arts performances and red envelopes containing fun surprises in the next few days.

Here is a rundown of events, from festivals to dinners to night markets, where you can join in and celebrate the Year of the Snake.

Wednesday, January 29

Dessert Gallery welcomes the Year of the Snake with hand-decorated, Lunar New Year cookies priced at $6.95 each. Indulge in these treats as you celebrate the festivities. 11 am (noon Sunday).

Duck n Bao will have a lobster platter for $29.99, offered with the purchase of an entree, through Sunday. Enjoy alongside their famous Peking duck and Sichuan specialities, plus soup dumplings, noodles, and fish dishes for luck and prosperity. 11 am.

Hidden Omakase is offering all customers a lucky red envelope, containing a lucky bracelet and a gift card redeemable for lunch. The Michelin-recommended sushi restaurant recently launched its new walk-in lunch menu curated by chef Marcos Juarez. 11 am.

Hongdae 33 will have BOGO Korean Soju all weekend to accompany premium AYCE Korean barbecue. In addition to Chamisul (original and fresh) and Jinro Is Back Chum-Churum, there are six flavors including green apple, strawberry and peach. 11:30 am.

Houston Botanic Garden’s Radiant Nature is still around for Lunar New Year. It features more than 50 Chinese lantern installations throughout the mile-long path, each of which is ideal for creating eye-popping Instagram and TikTok content. 6 pm (6:30 pm Sunday).

JŪN will have a Wine and Dine XV Lunar New Year Edition. This meal will include a special four-course, Asian-inspired menu, celebrating chef Henry Lu's Chinese heritage and chef Suu Khin’s Burmese roots. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to World Central Kitchen. 5 pm.

Kazzan Ramen & Bar is celebrating Lunar New Year by giving every dine-in table a red envelope with a surprise inside. Kazzan touts its "volcano" ramen that originated in Osaka, with thick noodles and vegetables. 11 am.

Stomping Grounds will have a lively Lunar New Year celebration. Pho Fix will have free appetizers, fortune cookies, gift card giveaways, and $1-$100 red envelopes. Himari Sushi will be celebrating with $25 bento boxes for dine-in customers. 6 pm.

Trill Burgers has the Indomie Chopped Cheese Sandwich for Lunar New Year. It includes fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, ground beef and American cheese, topped with pan-fried Indomie noodles, sautéed bean sprouts, garlic oil, and Sriracha aioli, all on an Amoroso roll. 11 am.

Thursday, January 30

Norigami is hosting a Lion Dance performance at 7:30 pm, with music by The Boyz of Summer at 5 pm, drink specials, and 25 percent off all day. It’s the perfect way to honor tradition while enjoying delicious food and cultural experiences. 3 pm.

Saturday, February 1

Asia Society Texas Center welcomes the Lunar New Year with performances, art and craft activities, a Lucky Lunar Mission (with a stop in their "Space City: Art in the Age of Artemis" exhibition), and food, all inspired by Lunar New Year traditions across Asia. 10 am.

Chinese Community Center will celebrate the Year of the Snake at its Lunar New Year Festival. Highlights include lion and dragon dances, Asian cuisine, cultural workshops, games and activities, a live snake exhibit, and more. 10 am.

Ginger & Fork will have a full schedule for its Lunar New Year celebration. It kicks off with a prayer ceremony and a lion dance with a martial arts demonstration. There will also be an encore lion dance during dinner service. 3 pm.

Meo Bar will have a celebration featuring a lion dance performance by the Seven Star Dragon Lion Dance Team, alongside a special menu inspired by Vietnamese culinary traditions. Customers can also enjoy festive beverage collaborations in the bar’s speakeasy setting. 5 pm.

Phat Eatery will once again host multiple seatings for its Malaysian New Year’s feast. Each seating begins with lion dance performances, followed by a family-style meal that includes a traditional Malaysian Yu Sheng “Prosperity Toss.” 7 pm (11:30 am Sunday).

Sunday, February 2

Have a Nice Day HTX will have its annual Lunar New Year Market at The Ion. This free, family-friendly event features an exciting lineup of AAPI chefs, creators, a lion dance performance, a red envelope giveaway, and complimentary Lunar New Year sips for 21+. 4 pm.

Traveler's Table will host a lion dance at 12:30 pm for customers with brunch reservations. Nearby sister restaurant Traveler's Cart will also host a dragon dance in its parking lot, perfect for patrons to enjoy while grabbing a quick bite or drink inside the establishment, at 3 pm.

Saturday, February 8

Common Bond Bistro & Bakery still has its limited-edition, Lunar New Year Entremet (in collaboration with Lee’s Golden Dragon) through Wednesday, February 12. Lee’s Golden Dragon will also do a performance at Common Bond’s Heights location. 11 am.

Have a Nice Day lunar new year market dragon dance

Photo by Alan Castelan

See a dragon dance at the Have a Nice Day market.

holidays lunar new year

Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

movies film

Gung hay fat choy

18 Lunar New Year celebrations welcoming the Year of the Snake in Houston

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