A LA CARTE : CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Most Chinese restaurants are kicking off their celebrations for the Year of the Ox, 4695, on Feb. 7. But some are already celebrating.

The Chinese New Year is always a good time to visit your local Chinese restaurant, especially with a large group of 10 diners or more. This way, you can enjoy many dishes for a reasonable fixed price per person.

Incidentally, the Year of the Ox has produced such people as Napoleon, Hitler, Nehru, Hirohito and Menachem Begin.

Other Ox-birth luminaries are William F. Buckley, Jane Fonda, Gore Vidal, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Cosby and Monica Seles.

Meanwhile, here are a few Chinese restaurants where the good food may not necessarily include oxtail:

Art's Chinese Cuisine

Address: 19100 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana.

Phone: [phone].

Picks: New Year's celebrants may want to try the traditional sweet rice pudding ($2.75) as well as the ``full hourse of gold and jade'' ($8.95) which combine the gold (white chicken meat) with the jade (sauteed asparagus and/or Chinese broccoli).

Chang's

Address: 11726 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood.

Phone: [phone].

Picks: A special New Year's Eve dinner begins Feb. 7 for $16.95 per person, minimum two, with several courses. (Call for details.)

Golden China Inn

Address: 8930 Corbin Ave., Northridge.

Phone: [phone].

Picks: Three options for a Chinese New Year dinner are specified for parties of 10. One is an eight-course feast for $9.95 per person. Another is a 10-course meal for $11.95 per person. And the third is also a 10-course meal, a little more elaborate, for $13.80 per person.

Jasmine

Address: 17267 Ventura Blvd., Encino. (Also in Calabasas.)

Phone: [phone].

Picks: Try the two-flavor shrimp ($13.95), steamed whole striped bass ($16 to $20, according to size), green jade prawns ($12.95), softshell crab ($16.95), banana crispy chicken ($11.95) or the signature New York combo dish of shrimp, chicken, beef and vegetables ($12.95).

Liu Fu

Address: 9250 Reseda Blvd., Northridge.

Phone: [phone].

Picks: New Year's specials include 1-1/4-pound live Maine lobster out of the tank for $7.99. Order it the traditional pepper and salt way, or steamed with ginger and onion, or with black bean sauce. Parties of four can enjoy a festive five-course meal for $28 (whole lobster, whole fish, New Zealand mussels, Chinese hotpot and Hunan chicken).

Madame Wu's Garden

Address: 2201 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica.

Phone: [phone].

Picks: Slated Feb. 9-11 is the $35 meal of Peking duck that includes shredded chicken salad, winter melon soup, steamed Mandarin buns, imperial beef, orange peel chicken, jade lobster, Yangchow fried rice, dessert and green tea.

Panda Inn

Address: 111 E. Wilson Ave., Glendale. (Six other locations in Southern California.)

Phone: [phone].

Picks: From Sunday through March 29, the special New Year's dinner is $16.88 and includes four appetizers, winter soup, a choice of entree and sweet sesame balls for dessert.

Yujean Kang's

Address: 8826 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. (Also in Pasadena.)

Phone: [phone].

Picks: On Feb. 7, the $38 special New Year's dinner includes an appetizer choice of steamed prawns or vegetarian spring rolls, an entree platter from a list of six (steamed whole fish, aromatic duck, lamb three ways, double delight chicken, gold coin tofu, green jade prawns), a traditional dish of soybean sprouts with tofu and mushrooms, New Year's dumplings (choose from two) and a dessert of warm kumquat polenta with vanilla bean ice cream.