The year of the Earth Boar is almost upon us, giving us more reason to be pigging out with family and friends this Chinese New Year. As we gather around for a time of reunion once more, cue the usual tussle over dining arrangements; fickle relatives chorusing “Where to eat ah?” the most common. Whether it be traditional Cantonese fare or flavourful fusions, and whether you’re reuniting with close friends or your whole kampung, here’re are 19 places for your customary feasting needs.
A sleek and modern take on the vibrant izakaya concept, this celebrity chef restaurant at Marina Bay Sands is perfect for the mandatory lavish seafood feast to usher in the New Year. Treat yourself and your partner to the six-course Omakase dinner menu ($188 for two pax), where Executive Chef Wayne Brown dishes out a festive twist on their signature grill over bincho charcoal— including premium dishes like Binchotan abalone and squid with sansho pepper and ink glaze and Woodfired Flounder with chilli, coriander and superior sauce. Complete your first Year of the Pig feast, of course, with their Suckling Pig with lardo, mustard seeds and radicchio in gua bao.
Located high up in the Duo Tower, smack dab in the intimate network of the shophouse-filled alleyways of Kampong Glam, Little India and Bras Basah Bugis, Andaz brings these rich explosions of culture right to your palate. At Auntie’s Wok and Steam, you’ll feel right at home with these recognizable zi char dishes, elevated with premium ingredients—Whole Boston Lobster Egg Noodle, Saffron Fried Rice with Cantonese Cured Sausage, and festive favourite Braised Dong Po Belly. Then, end the meal tossing your way into guaranteed abundance with the Prosperity Toss Yusheng, complete with sliced eight-head bao yu. Sharing is caring, so gather your friends and family for their CNY sharing menus, from $288 for four persons to $588 for eight.
Nurse your sweet-tooth and head into this classic French patisserie, complete with the regality of neoclassical-inspired interiors. What you’ll find here though, is local-infused flavours incorporated into decadent French pastries. Cut into the appropriately-named Abundantly (or 财源滚滚), their luscious chiffon cake draped with a profusion of salty cheese cream—studded with purple sweet potato cubes, black and gold tapioca bubbles steeped in black sugar, and embellished with gold-covered chocolate coin, ingot and fish. We all love getting angpaos, but eating one would be all the more auspicious, right? Their Hong Bao infuses good ol’ bread with red dragon fruit for a festive red tint, and is filled with chewy house-made nian gao, yam and sweet potato, with an unexpected salty kick from the fluffy pork floss and salted egg. The ultimate glimmering pinnacle of prosperity, though, is the Queen’s Yu Sheng ($88), a golden chocolate egg nestled in mandarin orange butter cake, meringue kisses and yam and sweet potato chips; cracked open to unveil diced Thai green mango, red dragon fruit, tossed in with mandarin orange, plum and gula melaka dressing.
Housed within the beautifully conserved 1920s Art Deco building of Botanic Gardens, Bee’s Knees is always a great laidback place for dining with any crowd; but is especially ideal for those who want to go easy on their stomachs. Think brunch-style dishes without the CNY food baby—get your morning fix of prosperity with their Prosperity Breakfast ($18) featuring Smoked Duck and Mandarin Oranges, or for a lighter option the Bee’s Knees Yu Sheng Salad ($18). Toss for abundance right there on your own plate, mixing in smoked salmon with couscous, kale and nori, topped with sesame dressing. If it’s pizza you’re craving for, the festive favourite bak kwa makes a special appearance atop the Reunion Pizza ($26) with charred pineapple for an auspicious touch.
Enjoy your feast on the waterfront, but apart from the Western cuisine you’d expect to indulge in here, their CNY menu brings in the taste of traditional festive fare. Get your fill of Year of the Pig pork with their whole roasted Dingley Dell pork rack with slow-cooked pork belly on the bone and braised pork knuckle ($128 for 2-3 pax), and commemorate nian nian you yu with the their Crispy Fried Seabass with mam Wong’s home-style soy sauce and kai lan. But wait, no meal is complete without dessert; get a piece of their tangy Mandarin-orange mousse cake with kumquat and raspberry streusel, and Nian Gao with dessicated coconut and gula melaka ice cream.
If it’s a break away from the sea of auspicious reds you’re seeking for, rest your eyes on the luscious greenery of the Botanic Gardens instead. At Botanico, your festive feast takes on a European bistro-style flavour, all while tasting the flavours of home—on their CNY four-course set menu, you choose between the Inka fired Iberico Char Siew marinated overnight with housemade char siu sauce, or the Slipper Lobster Tagliatelle cooked in housemade XO sauce. End it off with the sweet tang of caramelised Smoked Sarawak Pineapple, paired with rich coconut gelato and savoury bacon financiers, in between sips of vodka-based Orange Blossom.
Hand over heart, Mandarin Oriental’s Cantonese restaurant Cherry Garden has one of the tastier yushengs we’ve ever had—the Bountiful Yu Sheng ($138-$276) is sweeter than most from plum sauce, and stuffed full with premium ingredients like Alaskan crab meat, fragrant black truffle and caviar, and juicy salmon. The piece de resistance, though, is the Luxurious Pen Cai: a 22kg banquet in a literal basin fit for 10, filled to the brim with 4-head abalone, whole lobsters, scallop, roasted pork belly, roasted duck and much more. There’s also curated set menus starting from $98 per person (minimum two guests) if you aren’t feeling up to drowning in premium seafood.
Savor Chef Damian D’Silva’s tribute to his own Peranakan roots, with the Heritage Peranakan Lunar New Year menu featuring traditional dishes served at his own family dinner table. Get your hands on their popiah, and we mean that literally with the Do-It-Yourself Popiah Set, featuring generous servings of popiah filling, condiments and house-made popiah skins. Satisfy those curry cravings with Sayur Kilo, long bean-pods slow-cooked with pork ribs in rich curry steeped in coconut milk; or Peranakan Mee Siam for a bolder flavour kick. Round off the meal with the glutinous goodness that is the Kueh Platter — showcasing Ang Ku Kueh, Kueh Kosui, Ondeh Ondeh, and Apom Berkuah.
For something a little different, head down south to honestbee’s epic offline lifestyle concept habitat. There’s no single Chinese New Year menu in place—instead, you’re free to pull from the space’s various F&B concepts. Get a Roasted Suckling Piglet ($268) from Campfire; charcoal Beer-Battered Wolfish ($18.80) from Fish; Bak Kwazzz Sourdough ($8.80) from Lazy Loaf; and a festive Mandarin orange variation of Poofy by Riz Labo Kitchen’s crowd-favourite pancakes ($16.80). There’s even yusheng designed in the likeliness of a unicorn ($38.80-$50.80) from Fresh Beets, sure to herald in a magical new year.
At Michelin-starred Jiang-Nan Chun in Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, enjoy a feast fit for the fussiest of taste buds with an array of celebratory dishes like Double-boiled Superior Bird’s Nest with Fish Maw and Chinese Cabbage, Braised E-Fu Noodles with Crab Meat and Straw Mushrooms, Barbecued Suckling Pig and lots more. When it’s time for the Yu Sheng toss, stick to the traditional salmon slices or get the upgrade (we’d recommend it) to the Prosperity Lobster, Salmon and Surf Clams Yu Sheng. Since you’re there, buy home a box of Homemade Pineapple Tarts ($52) that’s guaranteed to keep your belly sweetly satisfied for days.
Yes, you can bring your family and friends to this rooftop favourite at Marina Bay Sands. Feast your eyes on panoramic views of the city all around, while tucking into a decadent CNY spread fit for royalty—indulge in Lavo’s spin on the pork centerpiece with Suckling pig with fingerling potato confit, savour Whole Maine lobster capellini with kombu and caviar, as well as 45 days dry-aged Grilled T-bone with garlic herb butter. If you’re bringing a smaller group of pals, the three-course menu priced $128 per person will surely give you a worthy food coma; choose a main from the Grilled branzino with terragon pesto, Crispy porchetta with truffle mashed potato and salsa verde, or Brasato Al Barolo wagyu short-rib with gremolata. End off the night the right way, with the Yu Sheng Salad featuring Hamachi tuna, smoked salmon and citrusy Meyer lemon vinaigrette.
If you’re going back to the roots for this year’s CNY feast, Madame Fan’s playful take on traditional Cantonese cuisine is the way to go. Stuff yourself with good dimsum this season, and try their signature dim sum offerings from their curated lunch set menus ($78 per person), such as Scallop Siew Mai and Sri Lankan Mud Crab Wanton. For your reunion gatherings, choose from the six and seven-course dinner menus, with premium dishes including the Four Treasure Soup with Supreme Stock, Double Boiled Sea Conch, and Cordyceps Flower Soup. For maximum prosperity, of course, the Prosperity Yu Sheng ($88 for small, $128 for large) is the perfect wrap-up, and those with a bit more room in their angpaos can add on premiums like Live Abalone from South Africa and Boston Lobster.
Away from the jostle of Chinatown CNY crowds, enjoy your feast in the tranquility of hotel-in-a-garden ParkRoyal on Pickering’s buffet restaurant. Dig into classic dishes like Baked Seabass with Homemade Spicy Glaze and Stir Fried Sliced Pork with Leek and Spicy Bean Sauce, and stick around for dinner for the unlimited servings of Baby Lobster in Hollandaise Espuma and Pan-Fried Foie Gras with Cherry Morello and Sweet Bun. If you want to feel extra special, try the specially-curated festive menu, featuring upgraded seafood dishes you’ll want to be shellfish about—like the Cognac Flambe Shellfish in Crustacean Bisque, and 65 Degree Whole Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce. For dessert, let the good fortunes gush in with their bright Orange Chocolate Fondue Fountain, and forget your diet for a while. If the food coma’s too real, you can even book a Lunar New Year Escape for the night, and sip bubbly in the morning.
There are two choices for your lohei — a classic Prosperity ‘Fa Cai’ Yu Sheng ($168) with homemade bak kwa, available at Min Jiang at Goodwood Park Hotel or an all-fruit variation with whole abalone in raspberry and sour plum sauces ($118-$168) at Min Jiang at One-North outlet; both divine and available for dine-in only. For mains, picture a perfectly pork-filled menu for this Year of the Pig—the Prosperity Duo of Deep-fried Pork Knuckle and Slow-baked Honey Butter Ribs ($147.65) serves six, possibly more, with decadently prepared Australian meats. Available for takeaway at Min Jiang at Goodwood Park Hotel, the pork knuckle is brined in water with Sichuan peppercorns, boasting a slight spice to its crispy bite; while the honey butter ribs will keep all ages happy. A braised pork belly-filled pencai ($298) available for both dine-in and takeaway at Min Jiang at One-North includes generous heapings of lotus root pork patties, 10-head abalones, dried oysters, and dried scallops, for a truly indulgent claypot. If you’ve still got room, order the Trio of ‘Nian Gao’ ($32-$52). Available for dine-in at Min Jiang at Goodwood Park Hotel only, it steals the show with durian nian gao so creamy it tastes like you’re eating the flesh straight from the fruit.
At Sofitel Singapore City Centre’s French-Chinese restaurant, indulge in set lunch and dinners that kicks things off with Traditional Homemade Cured Trout Yu Sheng before serving hits like Baked Caramelised Black Cod Fillet with Soy Glaze, Slow-cooked Compressed Chicken with Trumpet Mushroom, Braised Abalone and Superior Foie Gras Sauce and more. Their Magnifique Pen Cai ($298-$488) is an indulgent treat that will have you reeling after chomping down ingredients like abalone, Hokkaido scallops, roasted pork, black moss, king prawn, among other premium eats. Pace yourself to get to the end.
What better way to feel like a rich tai tai than to indulge in high tea from within the iconic Marina Bay Sands? Recline in your leather chair while daintily sipping on a cup of tea you self-selected with the help of the Renku Tea Master, paired with light eats like the French Baguette with Bak Kwa for a savoury bite, or Osmanthus flower praline and Pineapple manage mousse for teatime sweet treats. $48 per person, and available every afternoon till Feb 13, so grab that high-brow friend and bring your matching shawls.
For a special halal yu sheng toss, look no further than Bay Hotel Singapore’s Rumah Rasa. Start with their Zhen Zhu Pearl Lo Hei ($28-$38), a yu sheng that seems usual at first, until you see the golden bubble tea pearls placed atop the bed of vegetables and drizziled in their chef’s homemade gula melaka and tamarind sauce. Then enjoy the buffet spread of Indonesian cuisine, with eats like sambal seabass, braised duck, Indomie with chicken char siew sauce and more. Come during dinners for a live BBQ offering too.
Go luxe at one-Michelin-starred Summer Pavilion at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Chinese Executive Chef Cheung Siu Kong is pulling out all the stops with star items like the suckling pig with black caviar and the unique jelly fish yu sheng. Then be further impressed with inventive dishes like the wholesome Iberico pork dumplings with cabbage in superior stock, and the eye-catching braised prickly sea cucumber stuffed with Iberico pork, among many other dishes. And since you’re at the Ritz, be sure to bring home some goodies (like their pineapple tarts and love letters) from Colony Bakery.
No better time for pork-lovers than now. At Butcher’s Kitchen, pork takes centre-stage on their CNY menu, and is incorporated into pasta dishes for an unconventional celebratory meal—try their Char Siew Pasta with Truffle ($18.80), or Mala Pasta with Roasted Pork Belly ($18.80) for mala lovers. Grab a slice of Hebi Hiam Pizza ($18.80) too while you’re at it, where the fried crispy pork lard marinated with prawn chilli and heaped with a snow of dried sambal prawn will give you that satisfying savoury crunch. No meal is complete without Yu Sheng, and this 3 Treasures Porky Yusheng comprising golden roast pork belly, pork lard and char siew is one your stomach will remember.
We all love cute animals and good food, and when it’s fused together and served on a platter for prosperity, who can resist? The Gold Rush Yu Sheng not only features top-shelf ingredients like lobster and Australian abalone, but comes also as a pink-radish masterpiece, painstakingly arranged into a chubby piglet you’ll want to snap a picture of. The Jade Restaurant won’t let its cuteness distract you from their other festive offerings though; the Crispy Roasted Suckling Piglet Skin and Caviar with luscious Kaluga Queen caviar provides a rich, satisfying contrast of texture and flavour, while the Pork Tripe Soup with Hennessy X.O. Cognac makes for a rich, nourishing soup to further fuel feasting.
Remaining ever regal throughout the years, Holiday Inn’s Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant serves up a mean reunion dinner for a traditional meal with the family. The five-course set menu starts from $188 for two, and includes classics like the Barbecued Meat Platter, Baked King Prawn with Chinese Wine, and Xin’s Abalone Treasure Pot—a pen cai of roasted duck, prawns, and the restaurant’s crackling pork belly. All the dishes are available for takeaway too, but if you’re dining in, you get to end off with the Mango Pomelo Sago with Dragon Fruit and a nutty side of nian gao.
Here at Yan you can eat your fill of Cantonese fare, chicly plated and adapted for the modern palate. For a refined version of the classic roast suckling pig, enter the Signature Roast Crispy Suckling Pig, its crispy, succulent meat a red shade for good luck. The Kaleidoscope of Prosperity (Shun De Style) is both artistically pleasing and auspicious for the new year, its mountain of crispy fried vermicelli topped with gold leaves akin to the good fortunes sure to roll in this 2019; topped off with chunks of deep-red bakkwa. Further seal in your hopes for a better year ahead at the dinner table, with Pan-fried Nian Gao accompanying Chilled Peach Resin.
Offering up a selection of eight luxurious dine-in menus named after the different wishes for the New Year, you’ll find one that will satisfy all your picky family members. From $138 per person for six courses, fill yourself with starred fusion dishes like Pan-seared Kurobuta Pork with Homemade Sauce and Braised Japanese Noodles with Crab Meat. Bigger families can come in tables of ten, $1288 per table, to savour the Braised 10-head Abalone with Prosperity Oyster and Black Moss, and Hong Kong-style Steamed Russian Halibut Fillet. There’s also a Vegetarian menu, making sure everybody goes home stuffed and content.
