Five Good Options for Lunar New Year’s Dining?

So – Lunar New Year?

Or, okay, Chinese New Year.

Also: The Year of the Ox.

That’s what we’re entering soon, the Year of the Ox – it begins on Friday, Feb. 12.

And the weekend that it precedes – which is also the weekend that Valentine’s Day happens – is often celebrated with food.

It’s usually a good reason to celebrate something with food, right? It's usually a good idea to celebrate anything with food.

And where will you get that food – especially delicious food – especially delicious and culturally resonant food – this weekend, citizen?

We have five recommendations for you right here:

1) OSEYO X CHOP CHOP Lynn Miller's acclaimed Korean restaurant Oseyo on E. Cesar Chavez has collaborated with local favorite noodle-cup brand and delivery house Chop Chop to present Lunar Firecracker: an ox-bone broth accompanied by noodles and Mandu dumplings with a spicy ox-and-shrimp filling. (Pre-order is available now – until they're overwhelmed and sold out – and you’ll pick up that Firecracker fresh at Oseyo.) And, throughout 2021 and beyond, don't forget: Chop Chop will take orders for their regular array of noodle cups any time you have a craving; and Oseyo will continue offering excellent starters and entrees and innovative cocktails in their elegant Eastside venue – just down the road from GrayDUCK Gallery and that imminent Women & Their Work site. www.oseyoaustin.com www.chopchop.cc

2) OLD THOUSAND We're already over the moon about Old Thousand's Dope Chinese fare in general (omg, that brisket fried rice), so we're glad to recommend the popular eatery's lunar new year specials right now. Coming up this weekend (Feb. 12-14), there'll be char sui ribs and pork belly, beef-and-bleu gyoza(!), shrimp & pork shumai dumplings, five-spice oxtail, and more. www.oldthousandatx.com

3) TSO’S HAPPY FAMILY "Happy families are all alike," wrote Leo Tolstoy. This Happy Family, a holiday special from the busy kitchen at Tso Chinese Delivery, is made with shrimp, chicken, and beef with broccoli, carrot, sugar snap-peas, bamboo shoots, baby corn, and button mushrooms in a savory spicy brown sauce. (We reckon the author's Anna Karenina would've loved this delicious amalgamation of flavor.) Bonus: Comes with a free order of Sesame Balls when you use this special Chronicle readers' code: accny2021. www.tsodelivery.com

4) WU CHOW They’ve had to set their usual big, room-crowding party aside this year – something about a problematic pandemic, we hear – but the folks at farm-to-table restaurant Wu Chow will be celebrating with chef Chen’s handcrafted dishes – minced beef bao, scallop and shrimp shumai, dumpling specials, whole roasted Peking duck, and sweet & sour (or douban spicy) crispy whole fish – to ring in the new year safely. Note: A portion of these sales will benefit CORE, a national nonprofit that supports service-industry employees who have children. www.wuchowaustin.com

5) IT’S NOT BEVO: BAO’D UP’S OXENBAO That's right, this popular eatery is celebrating the new year with soft and savory bao buns that feature an ox-head decoration on the outside and brisket on the inside. Timely and delicious, is the idea here, and it's such a good idea that, as adventurous chef Ting Lin points out, they're also offering Valentine's bao (with a heart on the outside and cheesecake inside) at the same time. Suggestion: Get ‘em while you can. www.baodup.com