Universal Studios Hollywood Celebrates Year of the Pig with a Multitude of Asian Foods and Special Offerings

Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates the Year of the Pig with special Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop dishes, a pig-shaped doughnut at Voodoo Doughnut, and more.

Chinese Zodiac horoscope predictions bode particularly well for people born in the Year of the Pig. The latest Lunar New Year started on February 5, and the next 12 months foretell great fortune in wealth and love. Through February 18, Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates with special foods and performances both inside the theme park and at adjacent Universal CityWalk.

Inside the park, a visit to Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop will bring delight to kids who have seen the Kung Fu Panda series. In the movies, star Master Po works for his adoptive goose father in Mr. Ping’s Noodle Shop. The theme park brings the shop back to life, serving a special menu to celebrate the New Year.

Dishes include steamed pork Po’s Dumplings, Dragon Warrior Bao (BBQ pork buns), chicken-filled Oogway Eggrolls, and Secret Ingredient Stir Fry Noodles with a choice of beef, chicken or vegetables. Mr. Ping will even be on-site to take photos with guests.

Other special offerings are inside the park: Plaza Grill is serving banh mi sandwiches, bao and dumplings; Hollywood and Dine and Gru’s Lab are filling Asian bowls; and carts throughout are selling a special Year of the Pig cookie, chocolate matcha cupcake and individual ginger cheesecakes topped with fortune cookies.

In-park celebrations center on DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda Jade Palace Performance Stage and the Dragon Warrior Training Show, featuring an interactive martial arts demonstration starring Master Po and other members of his crew, the Furious Five. Animators will also be on hand to provide instruction on drawing these characters. Hello Kitty and Minions from Despicable Me will also join the party (wearing special Lunar New Year attire), as well as towering 12-foot-tall Megatron from Transformers films. Transformers™: The Ride-3D will speak Mandarin.

Outside the park’s gates at Universal CityWalk, which is open to the public, Voodoo Doughnut is selling a special Year of the Pig doughnut.

100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, 800-864-8377