Qixi Festival at YX Hot Pot

Celebrate Qixi Festival with YX Hot Pot on 19 August and make your hot pot night a little more romantic.

Known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, Qixi is a celebration of love, togetherness and the people we choose to share special moments with. For one day only, YX Hot Pot is bringing a little extra sweetness to the table with two limited-time Qixi specials created especially for the occasion.

Heart to Heart  — $13.14

Fresh prawn paste shaped into hearts and finished with vibrant fish roe. Tender and bouncy in texture, it is a playful Qixi addition made for sharing with someone special.

Complimentary Hawthorn Sparkling 

Spend $128 or more when dining in and receive a complimentary Qixi-exclusive Hawthorn Sparkling drink. Bright, refreshing and delicately sweet and tangy, it is inspired by the balance of flavours that makes love memorable.

Whether you are celebrating with your partner, your best friend or simply gathering around the hot pot with the people you love, join us at YX Hot Pot for an evening of good food, warm moments and a little Qixi romance.

Date: 19 August 2026

Available for a limited time on 19 August only.

Good food, sweet love, just for you.

What Is Qixi Festival?

Often described as “Chinese Valentine’s Day”, Qixi Festival is one of China’s most romantic traditional celebrations — but its story goes far beyond the modern idea of Valentine’s Day.

Celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Qixi (七夕) has been observed in China for centuries. At the heart of the festival is an ancient love story about Niulang (牛郎), the Cowherd, and Zhinu (织女), the Weaver Girl — two lovers separated by the Milky Way who are allowed to reunite for just one night each year.

According to Chinese legend, Zhinu was a celestial weaver who lived in the heavens, while Niulang was a kind-hearted cowherd living on earth. The two fell deeply in love, married and began a life together. However, their relationship between heaven and the mortal world was forbidden, and they were eventually separated by a vast river of stars — what we now know as the Milky Way.

Moved by their devotion to one another, thousands of magpies are said to gather once a year on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, forming a bridge across the Milky Way so that Niulang and Zhinu can meet again.

It is from this story that Qixi became a celebration of love, devotion, longing and reunion.

More Than “Chinese Valentine’s Day”

For many Australians discovering Qixi for the first time, “Chinese Valentine’s Day” is an easy way to understand the occasion. However, Qixi has its own distinct history and cultural meaning.

Traditionally, the festival was also closely associated with Zhinu’s talents as a weaver. Young women would make offerings, practise embroidery and handicrafts, and wish for skill, wisdom and a happy marriage. These customs led to Qixi also being historically known as the Qiqiao Festival (乞巧节), meaning a festival of “praying for skills”.

Over time, the romantic story of Niulang and Zhinu became the most recognised part of the celebration.

Today, Qixi has evolved into a modern celebration of relationships. Couples may exchange gifts, enjoy dinner together, give flowers or simply spend time with someone important to them. While the way it is celebrated has changed, the ideas at the heart of Qixi remain remarkably timeless: cherishing the person beside you and making time to be together.

The Meaning of Food and Togetherness

In Chinese culture, many important occasions are celebrated around the dining table.

Food is rarely just about eating. Sharing a meal can represent connection, hospitality, family, friendship and togetherness. From large family celebrations to an intimate dinner for two, gathering around a table is one of the most natural ways we mark meaningful moments.

Hot pot captures that spirit particularly well.

Unlike a meal where every dish arrives already completed, hot pot is something you experience together. Ingredients are shared, cooked at the table and enjoyed gradually throughout the meal. There is conversation, interaction and the simple pleasure of slowing down and spending time with one another.

That makes Qixi a fitting occasion to gather around a steaming pot.

Qixi at YX Hot Pot

At YX Hot Pot, we’re bringing a little piece of this Chinese tradition to Australia and inviting everyone to celebrate it with us.

Whether Qixi has been part of your culture for years or this is the first time you have heard the story of Niulang and Zhinu, the occasion is ultimately about something universal — spending meaningful time with someone you care about.

Come with your partner, your best friend, or simply someone you would love to share a meal with.

This Qixi, gather around the table, enjoy your favourite hot pot and celebrate a story of love that has been told beneath the stars for generations.

Because sometimes, the best way to celebrate love is simply to share a meal together.