Hot noodle soup was the meal of choice at this year's Chinese New Year Festival. Folks bundled up and braved the cold Sunday afternoon to enjoy a day of traditional Asian dishes and gravity-defying performances.

''Although the number of attendees was down from last year, I was very pleased at the thousands who braved the coldest day of the year to join in this celebration,'' said Peter Liu, president of the Chinese Cultural Foundation.

Opening the two stage shows was the popular lion and dragon dance. The audience cheered as a 10-15 person-controlled dragon moved through the crowd before making its way to the stage, followed by drummers dressed in traditional Chinese garments.

''It's a great way to start out the new year,'' said Ana Gomez, 21, watching the show from the sidelines.

Gomez, secretary of the Asian Student Union at Florida International University, said it was good to have a festival in Kendall.

It was certainly a taste of China in the middle of Kendall, with red and gold Chinese-character banners and lanterns hung throughout the Miami Dade College Kendall campus.

On the stage, performers did traditional dances and wowed the audience with acrobatics and drumming.

Children scrambled to get a closer look and cameras flashed when the Magic Dragon Acrobats, a group of young girls from China, spun cloths on their toes and lifted each other while balancing on one hand.

Combining culture and recreation, Marlene Aleman, 32, made sure her three sons got some time at the kids play area and tried various dishes.

''It looked authentic, like something different,'' she said. ``I like to bring them to cultural things.''

Vendors serving Asian dishes and ornaments lined the areas near the stage.

''The food was good,'' said first-time visitor Maribel Lewis, of Doral. ``I've always wanted to come.''

A native of Panama, Lewis said her circle of friends, many of Chinese background, told her about the festival.

Among her friends was Neil Chin-You, 33, who has attended the festival for three consecutive years.

The Kendall resident said he usually enjoys litchi ice cream, but this year's dipping temperatures made him think twice.

Still, the festival was ''like a family reunion,'' said Chin-You, of Chinese-Jamaican background.