Comedian Ronny Chieng‘s cultural roots have been cultivated all over the world: he was born in Malaysia, raised in Singapore and New Hampshire, and went to college in Australia. Chieng moved to New York City in 2015 when he was hired as a correspondent on The Daily Show and is about to celebrate his decade-mark in the city. (He’s now one of the late-night show’s rotating anchors, injecting his own brand of humor into the comedy world, like the bit on Lunar New Year prosperity wishes that became so popular he sells “Hope You Get Rich” red envelopes on his site.)

Humor aside, Lunar New Year, which kicked off this year on Jan. 29, is a time of tradition for the 39-year-old. He told Travel + Leisure he rang in the Year of the Snake at a friend’s house with about 15 pals, enjoying a potluck dinner and playing mahjong, popularly played during the holiday. He also follows many of the superstitions and habits, like eating vegetarian for the day. “On the more disgusting side, we don’t wash our hair,” he told T+L, abiding by the custom of avoiding “washing away” good fortune, which also applies to not cleaning, sweeping, or mopping.

On a more personal note, his wife Hannah Pham, who he married in 2016, also introduced their own tradition, “where we have an extended Facetime with her family and exchange well-wishes quite formally.” 

But above all else, Lunar New Year is about reuniting with family and enjoying symbolic foods, so he and Pham teamed up with scotch brand Johnnie Walker to celebrate the brand’s limited-edition Blue Label Year of the Snake to showcase their favorites, like yu sheng or lo hei salad, which is communally mixed in a prosperity toss.

“You’ve got to shout stuff when you do it,” Chieng said about the prosperity toss, referring to auspicious sayings uttered for good luck, health, success, and, of course, prosperity. “You have to say a lot because no one phrase covers it all.” Knowing the correct four-word idioms is a sign of education. “The more you can say, the more educated you are,” he said.

Chieng himself learned the phrases as a kid. “I studied Chinese formally late in life, at eight years old, so they drilled all these idioms into us,” he said, explaining that they run the gamut from new year-specific ones to everyday sayings, like one that translates to don’t randomly pick stuff up on the street.

Certain lucky foods are also important to eat during Lunar New Year, like dumplings, believed to bring prosperity since they resemble gold ingots. Chieng’s favorite “hidden, off-the-beaten spot” is Excellent Dumpling House, a former Chinatown staple now in Chelsea. Though he joked that the mainstay probably moved so they could charge triple, he said they’re an “excellent Chinese restaurant all around,” especially going for its pan-fried dumplings. 

Noodles are another essential eat, believed that their length symbolizes a long life. Chieng’s preferred variety is pho, which he enjoys from the West Village’s Hello Saigon. “It’s hard to find good pho in Manhattan,” he admitted, adding that this eatery hits the spot and offers solid choices across its menu.

When it comes to his Malaysian roots, he’s a fan of Fish Market, which has two locations in Manhattan. “It’s very unusual, but it’s in a sports bar,” he said of the South Street Seaport original. “They have football, army, and military flags everywhere, screens playing sports, and the bartenders are all from Kansas or something.” Juxtaposed with its environs, nasi lemak, fish congee, curried chicken, and bok choy are served up. “It feels like a hidden menu,” he said. “I’m not even joking, like, it’s probably the best Malaysian food I’ve had in America!”

Going back to his time in Singapore, while the cuisine is similar to Malaysian, he says Lou Yau Kee has a great Hainan chicken rice, while another recent find was the speakeasy at the back of Kei Izayaka. (Though he admits the bar he frequents the most is Comedy Cellar, where his photo went up on the wall in 2017.)

The funnyman also often heads to Manhattan’s Chinatown since his tailor is there, but it’s also where Pham — who has a YouTube channel Pham Bam Kitchen, where she shares favorite Asian recipes from Vietnamese chicken curry to Taiwanese beef noodle soup — often picks up groceries at Hong Kong Supermarket. Chieng said he ends up going to coffee shops around Chen’s Watches, which he also highly recommends for repairs.

While Chieng has established himself as a staple in iconic Asian American films — Crazy Rich Asians in 2018, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021, Joy Ride in 2025, and Kung Fu Panda 4 last year — his comedy specials, including last month’s Netflix special Love to Hate It and 2019’s Asian Comedian Destroys America, are where he often delves into cross-cultural issues, especially those that are challenging to navigate. 

“Being Asian in America, you’re constantly trying to figure out in any given moment whether you’re supposed to be representing Chinese people, or whether you’re supposed to just be American,” he told T+L. “After almost 10 years here, I’ve realized there’s no hard and fast rule. The key is that it should be you who decides — not someone else.”

But what he has noticed this year is there is more of an understanding. “I definitely noticed more people wishing me a happy Lunar New Year,” he says. “I think it’s because they teach it in schools now, so kids tell their parents, and when they go to the office it’s something they think about when they see an Asian person, which I don’t think has happened before.”