Pre-Cooked Lunar New Year's Feasts Gain Popularity Despite Rising Prices

Despite rising prices, a growing number of people are opting to leave the cooking of their annual Lunar New Year's banquet to the professionals.

Transcript

00:00There's a long line of people waiting to pick up their New Year's Eve dinner.

00:06Though many still cook for themselves this time of year, some of the more popular dishes,

00:10like the famously complex stew called Buddha Jumps Over a Wall, are best left to the professionals.

00:18Restaurants like this one, attached to an upmarket hotel, offer prepaid take-home banquets

00:22with zero fuss.

00:24And they are popular.

00:43Must-haves for a Lunar New Year get-together include fish, representing plenty.

00:48But meats and other seafood dishes are popular, too.

00:51All of it can be ordered to go.

00:53And even the rising prices of foodstuffs and labor mean the average price of a take-out

00:57banquet has gone up two percent from last year.

01:00There's a slight uptick in the number of people opting for these ready-to-go meals.

01:17For some, this banquet can yield days of leftovers, and memories of seasonal delicacies

01:22that will last until the next Lunar New Year, when the feasting begins anew.

01:26Dolphin Chen and John Ventriest for Taiwan Plus.