Celebrate Chinese New Year the right way at this Michelin-listed Dublin restaurant

It was hardly an auspicious start to the year, so if you’re tempted to turn it off and back on again, you’re just in time to celebrate Chinese New Year. At Big Fan you can feast on baos, jiaozi and xiao chi, and it may be just the place to start.

It’s an immediately appealing space, columns of neon light, a hammered gold bar and a blazing red ceiling with two black fans, more medium than big fan proportions. It turns out, the big fans are sitting in the room, groups of friends, meeting up to have a bit of fun.

It’s a low-stress environment. Though when you’re faced with less familiar words, such as jiaozi, on a long strip of a menu – that for anyone over 30 necessitates a smart phone picture and zoom to get it to a readable size – there is a brief moment when you may wish you’d Googled the menu before you arrived. But then your friendly server arrives and all is well with the world.

The Michelin Guide has already flagged that Big Fan will be listed in its next guide

Our waitress works through the menu, and advises three to four dishes per person, spelling out the most popular; the ones that are her favourites, and the four dumplings (the jiaozi) you really should not miss. Already aware that a return visit will be required, we order three baos, three dumplings, and a few of the xiao chi street food bits. There is only so much we can devour in one sitting.

The cocktails are well worth checking out. We have the “ahh for sake’s sake” (€12), a delicious melange of smoky gunpowder, coriander, nashi pear and vodka, which tastes dangerously non-alcoholic, and “she sells Sichuan” (€12), a nuanced cocktail with floral layers and the tiniest prickle of pepper.

We have just enough time to admire the green and black chopsticks, and wonder how many sets have been stolen – please don’t – when the “in no particular order” pile up starts.

Three baos arrive, the Big Fan (€7) with Andarl pork, peanut crumble and mustard greens; the shan ji (€6) with chicken thigh, crunchy on the outside and succulent in the middle; and the lobster and wagyu black dragon (€12.88). All are really good but if you’re picking one, make it the chicken. Although there are generous chunks of lobster on the black dragon, the wagyu is a little bit lost.

A steam basket holds three delicate soup dumplings (€12), savoury minced pork inside a silky casing, releasing a stream of pork and chicken broth as they’re bitten into. Crayfish dumplings (€8.50) are plump and lightly spiced, dusted with spices and green chilli. And then there is the dumpling that puts Big Fan on the make-a-special journey list: wagyu cheeseburger dumplings (€12) may not jump off the page, but this piece of scalding hot mastery is creative genius. Long slender dumplings, topped with cheese which has crisped to intensify its umami flavours, are filled with deep flavoured wagyu, laced on top with kewpie mayonnaise, and scattered with micro greens and gherkins, not just for colour, but because every single element builds to make this a totally composed dish.

The menu is creative, designed to stimulate and excite the senses

Duck wings (€7), deep-fried and tossed in a seasoning that includes a quiver of crushed coriander seeds and black pepper, are crisp, substantial and luscious; and steamed enoki mushrooms (€7.50), one of the many vegan dishes on the menu, are in a puddle of chilli oil, scorched red with dried chillies and loaded with garlic. A side of corn ribs (€7) are spectacular, with more of those spices; do add these to your must-order list too. We finish with coconut and mango parfait (€6), a simple but fresh dessert.

Clearly, there is a cracking team in the kitchen at Big Fan, headed by Alex Zhang who hails from Dalian in Northern China. The menu is creative, designed to stimulate and excite the senses, and with exemplary service front of house, it seems like this place has the whole package. The Michelin Guide seems to think so too, and has already flagged that it will be listed in its next guide.

You could easily rip through the menu here and run up a bill, but sticking with beer rather than cocktails should see you safe. The White Hag lager works particularly well with these dishes. It might just be the right way to welcome in the Lunar New Year.

Dinner for two with two cocktails and two beers was €121.88

• The verdict 8.5/10 – Witty, delicious bites in a room that makes you want to smile
• Facilities Cool and bougie, with a gold sink and loo
• Music Background, bass beat, easy to chat
• Food provenance Andarl Farm, John Stone beef, Glenmar seafood, Silverhill duck, free range chicken, Toonsbridge
• Vegetarian options A great place for vegetarians and vegans with numerous options on the menu. Beyond Meat and loads of greens, tofu and vegetables given the spicy Chinese treatment
• Wheelchair access Room is accessible and there is an accessible toilet