Essex readers crown their favourite Chinese takeaway or restaurant ahead of Lunar New Year

It's the eve of Chinese New Year, a popular time for people to swarm to takeaways and restaurants and indulge themselves in the cuisine. So, to celebrate this, we've been on the hunt for Essex's best establishment.

Chinese New Year, also referred to as Lunar New Year, starts on the first day of the first lunar month and concludes with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day. This year it takes place a week today on January 29.

The festival celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, with 2025 marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake.

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We asked our readers at the start of the month to nominate their favourite Chinese takeaways and restaurants. We then whittled down the hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of just three.

Now we can finally reveal the results. After hundreds of votes Aka Restaurant & Lounge in Witham has been voted the best Chinese in Essex.

The "Asian fusion" restaurant proved extremely popular among our readers. With fantastic vegan options and a 'bottomless' drinks option, it caters towards a wide variety of people.

Readers credited the restaurant with its "delicious" meals and "welcoming atmosphere." There was tough competition in the final.

Congratulations to our other finalists, Peking Chef (which is also in Witham) and House of Delight in Maldon. We have vast array of great takeaways in Essex, which were highlighted in our 2024 EssexEats awards.

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