A Lunar New Year 2026 Feast Menu From Anh and Chi’s Nguyen Family

Amelie Nguyen loves to feed people. And that’s not a huge surprise‚ considering her roots. The restaurateur and mom-of-two is a household name in Vancouver—she’s one half of the duo behind Michelin Bib Gourmand spots Anh and Chi and Good Thief, as well as the maker of Anh and Chi’s Chilli Fish Sauce, Chilli Oil and Sweet Soy Sauce. She’s also the daughter of Hoang and Ly Nguyen, the longtime Vancouver restaurateurs behind Pho Hoang, a legend in the city’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. (In fact, it was the first pho specialty restaurant in Vancouver.)

So when a gaggle of Western Living folks show up at her house on a late October morning to photograph her Lunar New Year dinner party, she has of course Doordashed coffees and pastries for the whole crew—a hair and makeup artist, two photographers, a digital marketing manager, a food stylist, an art director and a writer. Her mom Ly (once the head chef at Anh and Chi) later comes in with a platter of bánh mìs and salad rolls for the team, too, because for the Nguyens, food is love.

All the while, Amelie is cooking her long-loved family recipes— simply for the pleasure of hosting us.

On the menu for this special Lunar New Year feast is cua xào sữa, an egg noodle and anchovy butter cream recipe served with crab or lobster. The recipe has a special place in her heart: it’s this dish that reminded her of home when she was away at the University of Montana.

“When I was in university, all my friends had care packages sent to them,” she says, melting butter into a pan. “But because we’re Asian, there’s no such thing as ‘care packages,’ and I was very sad.”

Crab and lobster are celebratory foods, says Amelie. “It’s like our fancy dish,” she explains as she readies the crustacean for its cream sauce. “What my mom did do for me when she first visited me in Missoula was carry on the plane with her the lobster and cream sauce in a Styrofoam container, and that was her love language. It was a really sentimental moment. So, for this meal, I want to remember my grandma from both sides and this is the dish that reminds me I’m very loved in this family.”

Today, she’s making the dish with B.C. Dungeness crab instead of lobster. Alongside the crab, she’s serving sườn bò nường (beef short ribs with black pepper and sweet soy), canh chua cá thì là (wild B.C. salmon, fresh dill and heirloom tomato soup) and rau xào sả ớt (gai lan and ginger with chili oil—in this case, Anh and Chi’s own).

Hosting a family meal is a community effort, as Ly shows when she straps on her Anh and Chi apron and gets to chopping up herbs and vegetables. Amelie’s brother Vincent (the other half of Anh and Chi) carts in a case of 3336, a lager made in a collaboration between Good Thief and Twin Sails Brewing. The lime and lemongrass notes pair beautifully with the meal.

“Whenever we have a family meal or event, it’s not like one person is hosting,” says Vincent. “Everyone rolls up their sleeves and starts helping out. It’s everyone cooking. Everyone doing their part. Even the kids are setting up tables and running around.”