It’s time to gather your friends and family for a toast to a brand new start with over-the-top food offerings. Here are some indulgent options ranging from button-busting buffets to special fine dining sets.
Hearty Buffets
Cherry Garden at Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Skip the dinner crowds and opt for a reunion brunch instead—from $98 per person, this a-la-carte buffet-style spread lets you choose from an extensive menu of dim sum, specials, soups and desserts like roasted crackling pork, drunken chicken with rose wine, hot and sour seafood soup and organic black bean pudding with sesame ice cream. From Feb 1-22, 12-2.30pm.
Mandarin Oriental Singapore, 5 Raffles Ave., 6885-3500.
Halia
Have a major reunion dinner in the works? Invite your extended family to a buffet spread at this chic dining fixture in Singapore Botanic Gardens. Starting from $98 per person, the CNY Buffet Package caters to a gathering of at least 40 people, with East-West dishes like wok-fried striploin beef, tiger prawn cocktail, Norwegian salmon with salted black bean and turmeric and a cured salmon yu sheng. From Feb 1-22.
Ginger Garden, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Rd., 8444-1148.
Lime at Parkroyal on Pickering
Tuck into local and Chinese favorites at this fusion buffet restaurant. Chinese New Year highlights range from pan-fried nian gao, Peking duck, char siew and roasted pork belly, foie gras torchon flambeed with Cognac and desserts like pineapple tartlets and sugee cake, which can all be had from $58 per person for lunch or $88 per person for dinner. Opt for a table booking of four or more (available from Feb 6-9) and you get a complimentary yusheng platter and a surprise dish with a choice of steamed red garoupa or hak lok King prawn. From Feb 6-14.
Parkroyal on Pickering, 3 Upper Pickering St., 6809-8899.
Posh Dinners
Avenue Joffre
Resorts World Sentosa’s newest Chinese restaurant is offering seven different lo hei sets featuring rich favorites like suckling pig, braised abalone and shark’s fin soup, depending on the size of your party. Prices start from $368 for an eight-course meal for four to $2,880 for a 10-course meal for 10—the latter menu comprises lavish dishes like roasted whole suckling pig, marinated black fungus and double-boiled bird’s nest. From Jan 22.
#02-137 Resorts World Sentosa, 26 Sentosa Gateway, 6570-3213.
Hide Yamamoto
Splash your bonus on an upscale seven-course European-Japanese fusion dinner, with creative plates merging modern and traditional influences. The spare-no-expense menu (from $218 per person) comprises signatures like homemade soba noodles with caviar, grilled red grouper and small cheese risotto, chawanmushi truffle egg flan with sea urchin and snow crab and grilled Japanese sirloin. From Feb 5-14.
#02-05 Casino Atrium 2, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave., 6688-7098.
Le Bistrot du Sommelier
If you want a breather from the traditional Chinese menus, French restaurant Le Bistro du Sommelier is giving an Asian spin to authentic French cuisine this festive season. There are meat-heavy dishes like charcuteries maison of duck rillettes and foie gras terrine, and an over-roasted Angus prime beef, all starting from $788 for a party of six to eight. For the requisite tossing of yu sheng, the Prosperity salad with cured salmon and sliced beetroot is also available. From Feb 8-20.
53 Armenian St., 6333-1982.
Summer Palace at Regent Singapore
More lavish Chinese dishes can be had at Summer Palace, which has ten special menus ranging from $238 (per person) to $3,988 (for groups of 10). Highlights from these sets include the abalone in with oyster sauce (Deluxe, $568 for four people), fried glutinous rice with abalone and cured meat (Peony, $998 for 10 people) and barbecued suckling pig (Gold, $3,988 for 10). You can also opt for an upgrade to fancier plates like bird’s nest with lobster ($118 per person) and Buddha Jumps Over The Wall ($118). From Jan 25- Feb 22.
3/F 1 Cuscaden Rd., 6725-3288.
Yan Ting at St. Regis Singapore
Chef Tony Wun Shun has come up with Lunar New Year specialties from the St. Regis’ restaurant’s a-la-carte menu like braised pig’s trotters with fermented bean curd ($32), stewed pig’s tongue with black moss ($42) and stewed lamb belly and preserved duck ($68). There are, of course, set menus available from $118 per person for a six-course dinner, but the highlight has to be the vegetarian eight-course meal ($108 per person) which has yummy creations like braised marrow stuffed with mock scallops and braised mock abalone. Through Feb 22.
1/F The St. Regis Singapore, 29 Tanglin Rd., 6506-6887.
Traditional Favorites
Crystal Jade Golden Palace
Eschewing the typical sashimi yu sheng, the fine dining branch of the Crystal Jade chain serves up a slightly different version with Mexican abalone and red pomegranate ($88 for small, $138 for large). There are other Chinese New Year highlights like chilled asparagus ($20), steamed fish maw with shrimp paste ($22) and The Trio Treasures, a platter of braised duck, roasted suckling pig and foie gram ($16 per person). From Jan 25-Feb 22.
#05-22 Paragon, 290 Orchard Rd., 6734-6866.
Empress
This new 86-seater modern Chinese restaurant at the revamped wing of the Asian Civilisations Museum is dishing out two Chinese New Year set menus for lunch ($68 per person) and dinner ($118 per person), with items like Australian abalone, sauteed King prawns and a Double Happiness roast meat platter. The sets are only available to a group of four and more, but if you’re planning an intimate gathering, there’s still the a-la-carte menu with highlights like peng cai going at $42 per person. From Jan 23-Feb 22.
#01-03 Asian Civilisations Museum, 1 Empress Place, 6238-8733.
Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore
There are four set menus ranging from $168 (for two) to $188 (for eight) and choices which vary depending on the sets include typical Chinese fare like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, braised whole abalone with sea cucumber and barbecued whole suckling pig. You can also choose to add on a peng cai dish, available in two varieties—the Classic Auspicious Treasure Pot ($238 for six and $398 for 10), with ingredients like whole chicken, whole abalone and sea cucumber; and the Premium Wealth Treasure Pot ($368 for six and $628 for 10), with whole abalone, pork knuckle, roast duck and more. From Jan 25-Feb 22.
Xi Yan Private Dining
Diners can choose between six different lunch and dinner sets, which feature new dishes like lobster with crab roe and egg white, pork cheek with pomelo salad and walnut paste with bird’s nest. Prices start from $88 per person for a six-course lunch, which includes items like cinnamon ribs with osmanthus to $188 per person for a nine-course dinner comprising mains like roasted chicken with glutinous rice and grouper in seafood soup. From Jan 25-Feb 25.
38A Craig Rd., 6220-3546.
