Nyonya – Celebrating Chinese New Year!

Nyonya is a popular Asian fusion / Malaysian restaurant in Little Italy. A favorite on Chinese New Year for locals and tourists alike. While it’s not perfect in terms of kid-friendly amenities, Nyonya scores high on service. Worth a shot.

Basics:

Kid Friendliness:

The Verdict:

Good for lunch or dinner.
Appropriate for babies, toddlers or little kids.

Sippy Cup Rating:

(3.0 / 5)

Happy Chinese New Year y’all! It’s the Year of The Rooster and we are celebrating with our annual prosperity salad.

Although Nyonya doesn’t have many of the traditional kid-friendly amenities that Fork+Bib loves I have to say that overall the vibe here is always very family friendly. Word has obviously gotten out because there are always at least 5-10 little ones dining everytime Sunny and I go. No matter how many pairs of chopsticks Sunny drops on the floor there is nary a complaint or an eyeroll.  Even if your child doesn’t like Asian food there are options and the staff is quite accommodating.  They even found a way to give Sunny chicken fingers by serving her flash fried chicken hold the sauce. They also brought her a side of chopped pineapple which was probably a garnish for another dish.

The whole vibe in Chinatown during the two week Chinese New Year celebration is amazing. Don’t worry if you missed the first day. There are still lots of ways to celebrate. You can check out a list of activities here from our friends at Time Out NY.

Bonus Points:

• The waiter promptly brought Sunny out her own plastic bowl and spoon and even gave her the choice of colors. She chose pink, duh!
• There’s a changing table in the women’s bathroom whoo hoo!

Prosperity Salad photo credit: Jamie Oliver

Insider Tips:

• Once a year Nyonya serves traditional Chinese New Year Prosperity Salad. It tastes like candy and I truly dream about it all year long. You MUST get it. That is an order okay? The salad contains more than twenty-five ingredients, including shredded vegetables (carrots, turnip, radish), raw fish (usually salmon), pomelo, pickled ginger, crushed nuts, spices, sauces, and crackers. Making it is interactive as everyone around the table must use their chopsticks to toss all of the ingredients and spices together.  Sunny particularly enjoyed this task!
• For more on this salad check out Jamie Oliver’s article here.
• Ask for a table in the back if you come with strollers – there is way more room there
• Save room for dessert and go next door for gelato at Ferrara!