Lantern Festival for foodies

Chinese New Year festivities will finally come to an end on Sunday with the Lantern Festival, known as Yuanxiao.

Yuanxiao and tangyuan are boiled glutinous rice balls with stuffing, a traditional food for the occasion. People in north China make yuanxiao by rolling a hard stuffing in glutinous rice flour. In south China, tangyuan is prepared by placing the filling inside rice flour wrapping, similar to the making of jiaozi.

Both yuanxiao and tangyuang are sold in supermarkets and in traditional shops and restaurants, such as Dao Xiang Cun, and Jin Fang. While tangyuan can be frozen, yuanxiao is usually made fresh and eaten within 24 hours. Popular stuffings include fragrant mashed peanut, sweet and sour hawthorn fruit, black sesame and mashed red bean.

Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant's Wangfujing branch serves free tangyuan for every visiting guest on Sunday - one with hawthorn fruit and aged orange peel, another with osmanthus flower flavored five kernel seeds in jasmine soup. Also, the restaurant organizes a traditional lantern puzzle activity, with a section for kids, and prizes for anyone who solve the puzzles. 6525-3310