Review: LEGO 80113 Family Reunion Celebration

February 20, 2024 | 2

Have you ever wanted a highly-detailed LEGO Chinese Restaurant for your LEGO City or display? Well now you can with 80113 Family Reunion Celebration!

The reunion dinner (night before Lunar New Year) is one of the most important cultural pillars of Chinese culture, an event where families gather for a big feast on the eve of Lunar New Year.

in 2019 when LEGO first introduced the Chinese Traditional Festival sets, they released 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner, commemorating this family tradition, but unfortunately, the release was mired in controversy as it was only released as an exclusive in the Asia Pacific region, and fallout from that caused LEGO to completely crap the concept of regional exclusives.

For 2024, LEGO gives us an updated version of 80113 Family Reunion Celebration, with the same family celebrating the reunion dinner, but in a different setting – a Chinese restaurant!

While this set is designed to be a celebration of the Reunion Dinner and Lunar New Year, the setting and ubiquitousness of Chinese restaurants (and even Chinatowns!) make this an evergreen set that works all year round!

Check out the local pricing and release dates below:

• 80113 Family Reunion Celebration [US] – US$129.99
• 80113 Family Reunion Celebration [AUS] – AU$199.99
• 80113 Family Reunion Celebration [UK] – £89.99
• 80113 Family Reunion Celebration [EU] – €129.99
• 80113 Family Reunion Celebration [CA] – CAD$169.99

Who is this set for? Fans looking to commemorate the Lunar New Year, and also doubles as an attractive and unique restaurant for your LEGO City display.

If you’re thinking of buying the set, please consider using these affiliate links to purchase, as I may receive a small commission with each purchase.

Special thanks to The LEGO Group for sending this early review set

80113 Family Reunion Celebration Set Details

Name: Family Reunion Celebration
Set Number: 80113
Pieces: 1,823 pieces
Price: $129.99 | £89.99 GBP | AU$199.99 | €129.99 | CAD$169.99
Exclusive to: N/A
Theme: Chinese New Year / Chinese Traditional Festival
Release Date: 1 January 2024
Designer:

Fans of LEGO minifigures will absolutely adore this set with a whopping lineup of 13 minifigures, which is unprecedented for a set at this size and price-point.

You get a really solid lineup of restaurant workers, the reunion dinner family, this year’s Chinese Dragon Zodiac minifigure and a couple on a date, which are staples in most Lunar New Year sets.

First, let’s take a look at the Lunar New Year family, which we were first introduced to in 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner. We have a pair of grandparents, parents and their two children, plus I added the random tourist bystander here with the selfie stick as she didn’t quite fit in elsewhere.

While it’s a tradition to have the reunion dinner at the grandparents’ (or great grandparents’) home, many families now opt to either cater food or enjoy a meal in a restaurant as it means much less preparation and cleanup before the Lunar New Year, so this set in a way is reflective of modern Lunar New Year trends!

The families look great and mostly unchanged from their very first outing, but they’re dressed in contemporary clothes instead of the traditional Chinese outfits that were present in 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner, which is a bit disappointing, but does reflect reality as you often don’t dress up in festive red or Lunar New Year outfits for the reunion dinner, and save those for the first day of celebrations.

Still, it’s great to see that the Lunar New Year family is still here and an ever-present part of the story after all this years!

What is new and exclusive for the set are these Restaurant employee minifigures, where we get a Lady Boss, Chef and a Waiter.

The female Lady Boss is quite a common trope and sight in Chinese restaurants, where they typically run the show. There’s even a term for these Lady Bosses in Cantonese – “si tau po”, and they’re usually the wives of the chefs who are busy at work in the kitchen.

What really makes these minifigures stand out is the printed logo of the restaurant on their backs, with a dragon holding a spoon and a pair of chopsticks. The chef has a special torso with a golden dragon and trim, whereas the other two have silver logos. They’re nice and reflective too.

And last but not least, we have the couple, which we first met in 80107 Spring Lantern Festival, who are on another cute date! They’re in matching outfits like always, something that’s quite culturally common in East Asian culture when dating!

The boy comes with a red scarf and is ready to impress his date with a fresh bouquet of flowers he procured from a flower stand on the ground floor!

But the best thing about this couple? Their new torsos have this awesome print on the back, riffing the Classic Space logo, but with a dragon to commemorate the Year of the Dragon!

This design is sensational, and as a Classic Space tragic, I love the Year of the Dragon spin that they introduced and now, strangely want a Dragon-themed spaceship!

And last but certainly not least, we have the Year of the Dragon Zodiac minifigure, which comes with an awesome new Pearl Gold mask! Each year, we get a brand new Zodiac minifigure and this dragon is thoroughly impressive!

I really love how detailed the headpiece is and how it’s styled like a Chinese dragon as well. Some really cool details on the torso are Chinese Knots, which act at lucky charms.

Here’s a side by side with the Dragon Suit minifigure from LEGO’s Collectible Minifigures theme to showcase the different dragon styles.

And as it’s the year of the Dragon, here’s a small sampling of different LEGO Dragons!

The minifigure lineup is great, packing a huge number of minifigures into a reasonably-priced set. There isn’t a lot of festive Lunar New Year prints and outfits, which is a bit of a shame, but the new restaurant employee outfits, and the Dragon Classic Space denim jackets are a very nice touch.

And here’s the completed Chinese Restaurant double-storey building which looks brilliant thanks to the East Asian architecture, and also something that LEGO hasn’t quite given us in their assortment – a realistic Chinese building. I guess the closest would be 31131 Downtown Noodle Shop, but that doesn’t have the finer details that this structure boasts.

It’s a standalone building built on 2 plates, but this shouldn’t dissuade people from converting it into a Modular Building format, especially if you can afford 2 and make a larger version.

Here’s a look at the entrance which has double glass doors, a potted mandarin/tangerine bush on the side and some phrases in Chinese over the doorway.

The Tangerine bush is a staple decoration for the Lunar New Year, as they look like miniature Mandarins. Mandarins are called “kam” in Mandarin, a homonym for gold and are considered auspicious emblems.

Above the door is the phrase that has a double meaning of “new beginnings and everything fresh” symbolising the new year.

On the left is a really interesting one that references a poem that loosely translates to “the sun shines at midday, waking up the dragon”, a nice nod to the Year of the Dragon and branding of the restaurant. I guess the restaurant opens at midday? On the left, is a nod to the reunion dinner, loosely translated to “the whole world welcomes the returning sparrows”. In Chinese culture, family members that leave their hometown or village for work elsewhere are referred to as sparrows.

Here’s a look at the signboard with the great dragon logo, and a phrase, which I believe has a double meaning of happy building/restaurant, which is a nice invitation to build the restaurant, and there’s also a nod to 1932, the year of LEGO’s founding at the bottom.

Here’s a look at the building from the side, where you can see a fish tank built into the wall – a staple of Chinese restaurants that most people will be familiar with!

Out the front there’s also a stall selling peaches, which are a symbol of spring and long life, which is why there’s the Chinese word for longevity on the sign.

We get a new peach element, which has a handle for minifigures, and a slightly more accurate natural indentation moulded on it. This will definitely come in handy for LEGO Animal Crossing!

On the outside, there’s also a flower stand which is fitting for spring, and flowers used as decorations for Lunar New Year. I really like the Pink Lotus Flowers on the signboard, as well as a stylised word for “flower” in the top left corner.

Outside the flower stall is a calligraphy station! He’s drawing the Chinese word for prosperity, and I really like the use of the black candle flame as the paint-covered calligraphy brush.

Here’s a look from the right side. There’s also a completed calligraphy paper drying on the side, with the Chinese greeting of “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, which translates to “hope you get rich”. Yup. I also like the airconditioning condenser unit perched outside.

The facade is really stunning, and I love the little details such as the decorated fence piece being used upright as well as the symmetrical lines.

And yes, the frogs being used as decorations are always a welcome scene.

Some other great details on the facade are these rounded windows, with the East-Asian style fences behind them.

Now let’s take a look at interior of the Chinese Restaurant. It has an open back for early access to the interiors, and thanks to plenty of gaps, there’s a decent amount of lighting.

Before we head inside, let’s check out the roof, where there’s a romantic table for two setup, underneath some Chinese lanterns. A perfect date for the couple!

There’s some nice details like a stash of fireworks on the roof, as well as an outdoor heater, but the highlight here is the food!

While this may be an nondescript Chinese restaurant, there’s a variety of food to be had, which is a nice touch to represent the myriad of Chinese cuisine.

China is a huge country, so calling it Chinese Food is effectively as useful as saying European Food to be specific when there are so many different styles. On the roof, we have some dumplings, as a large bowl of soup, which I think might be a nod to hotpot.

Walking into the restaurant, you’re greeted by the cash register counter, which has a large poster featuring a LEGO Dragon and a phrase that translates to prosperity behind it.

When stepping into the restaurant, there’s a rug with a phrase on it that loosely translates to “feels like home”, a nice little nod to the hospitality and quality of the food here. Even though the family are celebrating the reunion dinner in a restaurant, it still feels like home!

Another nice touch is the point of sale screen showing a golden ingot.

The back wall is easily removable to place a minifigure behind the counter.

The floors of the Chinese Restaurant can be detached just like a modular building to offer early access.

At the back is a small kitchen section. While space is at a premium, there’s a small stove, a roast duck hanging and a large wooden chopping board. It’s a nice nod to Hong Kong-style Roast Duck cuisine, or even Peking Duck.

Here’s a look at the staircase leading up to the first floor. A nice little reference to last year’s 80110 Lunar New Year Display set is hanging on the wall which I think is really cool!

Here’s a look at the dining room on the first floor, with a classic large round table and swivel chairs that can accommodate the entire family!

There’s a karaoke machine in the corner for the dad, who doesn’t miss an opportunity to belt out his favourite songs.

Here’s a look at the family all seated for dinner. While 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner was notable for introducing all sorts of new Chinese food elements, we get some new printed noodle tiles in this set!

There’s a mix of food carts included here – if you’ve visited a Dim Sum restaurant, the food trolley that gets pushed filled with steamed goodies will seem very familiar. On the table, there are also thin pancakes, suggesting that Peking Duck is one of the main delicacies served here!

While LEGO fans typically don’t enjoy stickers, it does allow the graphic design team to really squeeze in all sorts of decorative details that otherwise wouldn’t be made possible.

I love this painting of a bird on a branch of plum blossoms, with the inscription translating to the “return of spring”.

On the doorway to the toilet, there’s also a beautiful painting of heaven, and the words “clean/pure” on the side.

Here’s the toilet, which I’m glad they were able to cram in. I really would’ve liked to see a more traditional squat toilet here, but I guess they’ve been largely phased out for contemporary toilet bowls!

What I liked:

• Great way of revisiting the Reunion Dinner theme without a straight remake
• Plenty of Chinese cuisine references
• Plenty of minifigures
• A wonderfully detailed and great looking Chinese restaurant for your LEGO City
• Incredibly well-priced

What I didn’t like: 

• Minifigure prints for the family are a little plain

FINAL THOUGHTS:

It’s really nice for LEGO to revisit the Lunar New Year reunion dinner, and in a completely fresh new way that also fits in how modern Chinese families celebrate this festive occasion.

The set is a lovely nod and follow-up to 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner, without necessarily remaking it and retaining all the important elements of the Reunion Dinner – food, family and festivity.

The structure as whole is incredible well-designed, capturing different aspects of Chinese architecture, and features some nice details like a dark green shingle roof and plenty of great decorative details on the facade.

Most importantly, despite the Lunar New Year theme, the building functions as an evergreen Chinese Restaurant for your display or LEGO City, so it isn’t something that you pack away and only bring out to celebrate Lunar New Year, unlike some previous sets in the theme.

You get plenty of minifigures in the set which is always a good thing, but it would’ve been nice to see some more traditional Chinese outfits like 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner, but the Year of the Dragon minifigure, restaurant employees, Classic Space Dragon and Grandmother’s new exclusive outfit does help make up for the lack of clothes options.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this set and how it nails all the Lunar New Year references, as well as doubles up as a fantastic Chinese Restaurant that’s begging to be expanded and turned into a Modular!

Rating and score: 4/5 ★★★★✰

Build [4] – Really fun build with nice variety for the facade, structure and interiors
Real Value [4] – Fantastic price for a fairly large detailed model and plenty of minifigures
Innovation [4] – Great to see a contemporary Chinese Restaurant at this scale
Coolness [4] – Lovely nods to Chinese Cuisine, the Lunar New Year and also doubles as a attractive model
Keepability [4] – Great to display for Lunar New Year, but also relevant all year round

Thank you so much for reading this review of 80113 Family Reunion Celebration!

80113 Family Reunion Celebration is available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store

What do you think of the 80113 Family Reunion Celebration? Did LEGO do a good job with the set and how it calls back to the original Reunion Dinner set?

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