Dragons and Cocktails for Chinese New Year

LAS VEGAS (MainStreet) -- Ambition. Passion. Success. We all know colorful personalities unafraid of challenges who share those traits. People born in the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese calendar are said to exhibit these traits.

The year, named for most powerful sign of the Chinese zodiac, is being celebrated in many places in many ways, including dances, fireworks and lavish decorations, but especially in Vegas where there are unforgettable cocktails, cuisine and celebrations marking the dragon's arrival. TravelsinTaste brings the best of them to you here:

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If it's cocktails you crave, Zine at the Palazzo is where you will want to be. Ranked as one of the top 10 Chinese restaurants in the U.S. by Chinese Restaurant News, the restaurant is serving up refreshing infusions including a signature Dragon Cocktail with vodka, ginger liqueur, lime, a sprig of tarragon, lemongrass syrup and lemon rind that will be served at all of the bars and lounges at the Venetian and the Palazzo. Meanwhile, Jose Andres and his team at China Poblano in the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas are serving the Green Tea Sour made from a combination of green tea, Chivas and St. Germain.

Cuisine is no less creative at China Poblano, including Tea Eggs and Caviar, a tea-marinated quail egg with Rio Frio caviar and The Giggling Buddha Taking a Bath -- a strawberry gelee with lychee foam and guanabana sorbet.

"At China Poblano for Chinese New Year we have taken traditional Chinese dishes and added some of Jose's fun and whimsical twists to them. Dishes like the Golden Dragon, Tea Eggs and Caviar and the Fire Phoenix marry old Chinese traditions with new techniques and presentation," Chef Shirley Chung explains.