ROLLING GRACE

Some Chinese New Year dining experiences are about scale. Others are about creating memories. Golden Phoenix EQ belongs firmly to the latter.

Returning to EQ Kuala Lumpur for the Year of the Horse, the Golden Phoenix pop up revives a chapter of Kuala Lumpur’s dining history that stretches back more than five decades. Once a defining restaurant of the original Hotel Equatorial in the 1970s, Golden Phoenix built its reputation on classic Cantonese and Szechuan cooking, anchored in technique rather than trend.

Read also: 7-Course La Dégustation Menu, Sabayon at EQ

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Cantonese and Szechuan Cuisine

For 2026, Golden Phoenix EQ presents a menu that respects tradition while allowing for refinement. Under the direction of Executive Chinese Chef David Yee, the kitchen draws from recipes passed down through generations, shaping them with precision and restraint.

The focus remains on dishes designed for sharing and reunion. Premium poon choy layered with seafood and meats. Double boiled soups built slowly for depth. Hong Kong style steamed fish prepared with clarity rather than embellishment. Whole traditional roast duck, served as it should be. Desserts, including the Golden Phoenix rice cake, close the meal with familiarity rather than spectacle.

This is food that understands its role at the table. To nourish. To symbolise. To gather.

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Year of the Horse Festive Menus at Golden Phoenix

The Golden Phoenix EQ pop up offers a range of celebratory set menus, from lunch selections such as Peaceful Seasons and Rich Fortune to more elaborate dinner menus including Happy Reunion, Bright Auspicious, Wealth Treasures, Great Prosperity, and a dedicated Vegetarian Feast.

Across these menus, dishes are chosen not only for flavour, but for meaning. Highlights include traditional stewed whole chicken with Chinese herbs, double boiled fish bone soup enriched with fish maw and dried scallops, steamed pomfret or cod prepared in classic styles, Boston lobster with rice in superior soup, and braised seafood paired with longevity noodles.

Yee sang features prominently, with options spanning Norwegian salmon, Boston lobster, Hokkaido scallops, jellyfish and abalone, alongside premium additions such as soft shell crab. Desserts follow the Lunar New Year progression, from snow skin mandarin orange to hot ginger tea with glutinous rice balls.

At the heart of the offering is Golden Phoenix EQ’s signature poon choy, layered with ten head abalone, sea cucumber, Japanese dried scallops, tiger prawns, roast duck and vegetables, designed as a centrepiece for reunion dining.

Set menus are priced from RM178+ to RM698+ per person with a minimum of four diners. Yee sang ranges from RM138+ to RM688+. Premium poon choy is available at RM688+ per pot for six, while traditional roast duck is priced at RM288+ per bird.

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Chinese New Year Banquets at EQ Kuala Lumpur

Beyond the Golden Phoenix pop up, EQ Kuala Lumpur offers dedicated Lunar New Year banquet menus for corporate gatherings and large family reunions. These menus are developed separately, but guided by the same principles of symbolism, balance, and generosity.

Designed for celebrations within the hotel or hosted externally through EQ Beyond, the banquet offerings extend the experience to private spaces. Dishes include double boiled chicken soup with cordyceps and abalone, steamed golden pomfret, braised sea cucumber with fish maw and dried oysters, roasted sesame chicken, deep fried prawns with curry leaves, and lotus leaf wrapped glutinous rice.

Banquet menus begin at RM3,288+ per table of ten, with higher tier options available.

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Lunar New Year Gifts and Seasonal Offerings

EQ’s Lunar New Year retail collection returns alongside the dining programmes, featuring curated hampers filled with premium abalone, Chinese tea, festive cookies, house crafted treats, zodiac themed gift boxes, and exclusive EQ ang pow packets. These will be available from 27 January to 3 March 2026 at the lobby pop up.

Elsewhere in the hotel, the season is marked across multiple venues. Bottega Lounge presents a Lunar New Year Afternoon Tea from 1 February to 3 March 2026, while Nipah Restaurant hosts a series of festive buffets beginning with Lunar New Year Eve dinner on 16 February, followed by Day 1 and Day 2 lunch and dinner buffets on 17 and 18 February.

Lion dance performances will take place at the hotel lobby on 17 February 2026 and again on Chap Goh Mei, 3 March 2026, welcoming the Year of the Horse with traditional blessings.

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A Seasonal Return Rooted in Continuity

Golden Phoenix EQ does not attempt to modernise Lunar New Year dining for novelty’s sake. Its strength lies in continuity. In recognising that certain rituals, flavours, and shared dishes still matter, particularly at the turn of a year.

For those seeking a Lunar New Year experience anchored in heritage rather than reinvention, Golden Phoenix at EQ Kuala Lumpur remains one of the city’s most quietly anticipated returns.