Chinese New Year is Feb. 7, 2008, the year of the Rat!
So far I'm looking at doing a Hot and Sour Soup ... need Wood Ear mushrooms and lily buds.

Anyone have more ideas?

A noodle dish for long life. Oranges. Wontons - round shape to represent coins. Red envelopes (which I will be stopping by to collect. No worries I will kowtow as long as it's not just for a chocolate coin =p) Moon cakes! Rice cakes stir-fried with Virginia ham, scallions, leeks and cabbage. Tea eggs. Mmm...

Rather than serve the meal in courses, I'm developing a Lunar New Year menu around themes:

Longevity: Cold noodles with a tart sesame and vinegar sauce or Singapore noodles or Hakka noodles in peanut sauce
Making wishes come true: roasted whole salmon with a ginger, soy sauce
Fellowship, community: Tom Yum Gai or Gaeng Joot Woon Sen or sui mai or Ken Hom's Oriental pate
Luck and wealth: Bok choi w/ shitakes
Abundance: Red bean nian gao

Using recipes by MingTsai and Ken Hom as a jumping off point.