The Lunar New Year, often known in Chinese tradition as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important holiday for many communities across Asia and around the world. In 2026, it begins on February 17, marking the start of the Year of the Horse: a year marked by energy, confidence and forward motion. Families celebrate with festive meals, exchange red envelopes filled with money for good luck and wish their loved ones health, happiness and prosperity. And what better way to celebrate together than to discover some of the most authentic Chinese cuisine that Berlin has to offer?
The Spicy One: Sanku Maots’ai
With over 4,000 stores worldwide, Sanku Maots’ai is bringing its mini hot pot concept to Berlin. Think hot pot’s cousin. Maocai is made for one, and cooked just for you. Choose from over 70 ingredients and fill a basket with your favourite options. It’s also important to note that the fishballs and meatballs are all homemade, as are the hand-pulled noodles. Next, you get to pick one of their six legendary homemade broths, all of which are vegan and absolutely delicious, and then enjoy bold, authentic Chinese flavours. Our favourites are the O.G. spicy Szechuan and the tropical Thai broths. Before you leave, don’t forget to try the tofu milk pudding for dessert.
- Sanku Maots’ai, Friedrichstr. 121, Mitte and Warschauer Str. 81A, Friedrichshain, details.
The family-run one: Fu Li Lai
A local haunt in Steglitz, Fu Li Lai is a family-run restaurant serving authentic northeastern Chinese cuisine. The quality, generous portions and warm, attentive service make a strong impression. They even offer appetizers like Chinese-style shredded potato and seaweed salad for free – a rarity in Berlin. Don’t miss the mixed plate of homemade dumplings, stuffed with different juicy, bursting fillings like pork, beef, chicken and veggie. The sautéed chayote squash stir-fried with garlic is naturally sweet and utterly delicious, and the Dongbei cold noodles, jelly-like noodles with plenty of vegetables served in a sesame sauce, make a refreshing appetizer. Portions are so large, you’ll probably bring home leftovers.
- Fu Li Lai, Erlenstr. 19, Steglitz 12167 Berlin details.
The authentic one: YOU MI
YOU MI might just top the list for truly authentic Chinese food in Berlin. It’s our go-to spot for the Chinese New Year, or for any time we crave a real culinary adventure. Start with the chuanbei mung bean jelly salad, dressed with garlic and chili oil — their signature, flavourful starter. The dim sum is also excellent. It’s worth trying a wide variety of dishes, because the kitchen covers an impressive range of regional Chinese flavours, and it somehow nails all of them. Another absolute highlight is the Ye San Jiao Niu Rou, a stir-fried beef with wild mountain peppers, chilies and coriander, which is extra spicy and utterly addictive. The dry-fried green beans with pork and garlic are another must – but honestly, nothing on the menu disappoints. Just sit back and enjoy the feast.
- YOU MI, Nürnberger Str. 28, Schöneberg, 10789 Berlin details.
The traditional one: Shan Shan
Shan Shan is located in a quiet area in Prenzlauer Berg. Like many early Chinese restaurants in Europe, it also went through a period of adapting to the local palate, at one point offering two separate menus, one for locals and one for Chinese customers. Today, that’s no longer the case, but if you’re planning on ordering some of the most authentic dishes, don’t forget to make a reservation so that everything is prepared fresh and isn’t pre-made. The first time we tried their Song Shu Gui Yu, or sweet-and-sour fish, we were instantly taken back to Chinese New Year at home. The crispy skin, tender texture and comforting sweet-and-sour flavour profile vividly brought childhood memories back to life. The most touching dishes aren’t always the fanciest but rather the simplest ones that everyone knows and loves.
- Shan Shan, Gleimstr. 24, Prenzlauer Berg 10437 Berlin details.
The Vegan One: Tianfuzius
Tianfuzius is a rare vegan Chinese restaurant that really stands out, even among their non-vegan rivals. It focuses on bold Szechuan cuisine, a world-famous Chinese regional cuisine renowned for its mala – the combination of spicy and numbing flavours that creates a mouth-tingling sensation of spicy chilli and the unique Szechuan pepper. The restaurant captures the region’s diversity through creativity, despite having limited access to vegetables or ingredients native to Szechuan. The vegan Hui Guo Rou is a great example. The fried vegan bacon with black beans tastes so convincingly like the original meat version that it’s almost shocking. It might even make you second-guess that it’s vegan.
- Tianfuzius, Regensburger Str. 1, Schöneberg 10777 Berlin details
The Cantonese one: Tak Kee
If you’re a true Chinese foodie, you might know that the very first style to reach the West was Cantonese. That’s why classic dishes like fried rice and stir-fried noodles still appear on many old-school takeout menus. At Tak Kee, you’ll find a traditional Cantonese dish, Chow Ho Fun, or fried rice noodles: wide, silky rice noodles sautéed over fierce heat with beef, bean sprouts and scallions. It’s a reliable and deeply comforting meal. But devoted Cantonese food lovers know the real deal arrives in a claypot. As ingredients simmer slowly and evenly, they soak up every nuance of flavour. Two claypot dishes really shine: claypot rice with ribs and claypot vermicelli with jumbo prawns. Offering a rare taste of traditional, old-fashioned Cantonese cuisine in Berlin, Tak Kee is a reliable go-to for authentic flavours.
- Tak Kee, Wilmersdorfer Str. 79, Wilmersdorf 10629 Berlin details
By Joyce Yuan and Beisi Xiong
