To celebrate the end of Chinese New Year, we trekked to the outer reaches of Hell’s Kitchen to Terminal 5.

For the second year, Xi’an Famous Foods put together a fantastic night showcasing the best of the Asian and Asian American experience in food and music at the 2016 Lunar New Year Festival.

The lineup featured great musicians, including acoustic folk artist and YouTube sensation Kina Grannis, pop artists Kimberley Chen from Australia, and rap/DJ group Soft Lipa.

Most exciting of all was the energetic performance by Far East Movement! They got the crowd going with their famous hit, “Like a G6”, and their lively DJ set.

To accompany the music, a few of the top NYC food vendors served up delicious dishes to fuel up guests. The long lines were daunting at first, but proved to move quickly to satiate our appetites. Korilla BBQ is always a hit with their Asian-taco fusion with their bulgogi beef and spicy pork options.

Yonekichi served up some unique burgers, including their chicken Tsukune rice burger, the Saikyo salmon rice burger, and Kinpiro burger. We gobbled down the mokbar rice balls which were individually wrapped and easy to eat on the dance floor.

Xi’an Famous Foods served their signature buns and noodle dishes, and Otafuku was churning through all of their takoyaki balls, made right before your eyes and served piping hot.

Other key vendors and sponsors included Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Tiger Beer, Mott Street Optical, International Secret Agents, and Sinovision 美国中文电视.

Most importantly, the ticket sales from the event went to support Apex for Youth to benefit underserved Asian and immigrant youths that come from low-­income families in NYC. The organization recruits professionals who volunteer their time and energy to be positive role models, inspiring youths through mentoring and educational programs.

Yours,
Von