This week we are celebrating Chinese New Year and Amy is in the San Gabriel Valley in LA exploring some of the best Chinese food in America.

First up she visits Newport Seafood for lobster made with butter, jalapenos, garlic, black pepper and lots of green onion for a fresh, authentic and really uniquely flavorful dish. For more information and to reserve a table to try this dish, visit: http://www.newportseafood.com/

She then stops over at Szechuan Impression – one of the hottest restaurants for spicy Sichuan, where she and her host Kristie Hang (http://www.kristiehang.com/) feast on cold noodle with garlic and peanuts, marinated pig ear and tea smoked crispy ribs that leave Amy wondering if she can come back for lunch daily. For more information on Szechuan Impression, visit the website at:http://www.szechuanimpressionalhambra...

Amy ends her journey at Noodle 101 Express where she dines on a huge Shandong Beef Roll that is both sweet and crunchy and comparable to Chinese burrito. For more information and to find your nearest location, visit: http://101noodleexpress.com/

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Here is an excerpt from a post by Annie Wu on the symbolism and importance of food during Chinese New Year: “Certain dishes are eaten during the Chinese New Year for their symbolic meaning. Lucky food is served during the 16-day festival season, especially New Year’s Eve, which is believed to bring good luck for the coming year. The auspicious symbolism of these foods is based on their pronunciations or appearance. Not only do the dishes themselves matter, but also the preparation, and ways of serving and eating mean a lot.” (Read more at http://www.chinahighlights.com/travel...). 2015 is a year of the Goat (or sheep). Here’s an interesting fact around this year’s Chinese New Year, in Mandarin there is only one word for goat and sheep – so the two are indistinguishable. So don’t be surprised if you get goat after ordering “lamb” in a China.

Luck plays a big role in Chinese cluture. The associated Lucky Colors with the year of the goat : brown, red, purple. The Lucky Numbers are: 2 and 7, so numbers like 72 and 27 are good. The Lucky Flowers are: carnation, primrose More on Chinese New Year from Wikipedia: “Chinese New Year is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival, the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year's Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year".” One the first day of the Chinese New Year, you can wish people luck and a prosperous year with, “Kung Hei Fat Choi!” Or as some say “Gong Hey Fat Choy!” 恭禧發財