Chinese New Year is always an opportunity to feast elaborately, so to know which places in Singapore will best suit your festive celebrations, continue scrolling. Just remember to keep your masks on when tossing your lo hei this 2021; and here’s to an auspicious Year of the Ox. Huat ah!
Cassia (Capella Singapore)
This contemporary Chinese restaurant uses the finest seasonal ingredients to serve traditional Cantonese dishes with a modern twist, so expect the same excellent standard and quality with its CNY ala carte and set menus.
Highlights include the Prosperity Lo Hei, a delightful salad with kumquat sauce and salmon; Dim Sum Trio featuring Steamed Siew Mai Topped with Scallop, Steamed Barbecued Avinyo Omega 3 Pork Bun with Black Truffle, and Deep-fried Lobster Dumpling with Mayonnaise; and Steamed Glutinous and Jasmine Rice with Chinese Sausages served with Grilled Eel.
End your meal on a comforting note with Homemade Red Date Tea with Peach Resin and Sesame Dumpling. Reunion set dinners start from $149 while CNY lunch/dinner menus start from $89 per person.
Crystal Jade Palace
Helmed by resident chef Martin Foo, this fine dining restaurant is a choice pick for those who relish reliable Cantonese classics and innovative dishes. Begin with the Season of Wealth Golden Scallop Yusheng, a healthier rendition of the festive staple that’s prepared with fresh vegetables and fruits such as red dragonfruit and watermelon cubes, pomelo, burdock, quinoa and cherry tomatoes.
Then try other notable dishes such as Crispy Charcoal Grilled Superior Sea Cucumber that delivers a smoky flavour to the palate; Crispy Roasted Chicken with Spicy Szechuan Sauce; and Braised Vermicelli with Scallop and Egg White topped with Crispy Conpoy that is permeated with the flavours of rich seafood stock. End your meal with the Molten Taro Moo-moo Bun, a special dessert that looks almost too cute to be eaten.
CNY dining starts from Jan 25. Dishes are available ala carte or as part of its set menus (from $108 per person) for up to eight persons. Takeaways are also available for order at Crystal Jade restaurants, bakery outlets and its e-store from now till Feb 23.
Ellenborough Market Cafe (Swissotel Merchant Court Singapore)
Why choose when you can have it all? At Swissotel Merchant Court’s Ellenborough Market Cafe, relish an array of flavours with the Prosperity Buffet that features a variety of cuisines including Chinese and Peranakan. In fact, diners will get to try CNY eats such as Crispy Fish Fillet with Tangy Kumquat Sauce and Rice Cracker, Wok-Braised Roasted Pork with Leek and Tofu, as well as Beef Short-Rib with Shoyu-Glazed Sesame Maltose. Freshly prepared at the live stations, these dishes will be served straight to your table, ala carte buffet-style.
The Prosperity Buffet at Ellenborough Market Cafe is available for both lunch and dinner; prices start from $68 per adult.
Feng Shui Inn (Resorts World Sentosa)
Savour a sumptuous repertoire of dishes by executive chef Li Kwok Kwong at this Cantonese fine dining destination. Among the festive menus available is the Eternal Fortune Set Menu ($288 per person with a minimum of four diners), an indulgent spread that includes Abalone Yusheng with Sea Grapes and Japanese Sakura Dried Shrimp; Braised Imperial Bird’s Nest Soup; Fortune Claypot Deluxe with 6-Head Abalone and Golden Sea Cucumber; Steamed Giant Grouper in Hong Kong Style; and Sliced Roasted Chicken with Foie Gras.
If you and your family are more health conscious, consider the Everlasting Happiness Set Menu. It includes Double-boiled Lotus Root Soup with Dried Oyster, Sea Whelk and Bamboo Pith, and Sauteed Hokkaido Scallops. It’s also more affordable at $128 per person (also with a minimum of four diners).
Hai Tien Lo (Pan Pacific Singapore)
Executive chef Ben Zeng presents 10 auspiciously named set menus from Jan 25-Feb 26 that showcase the finest of Cantonese cuisine. It ranges from the Blossoming Spring 6-course set menu ($128) to the Joyous Abundance 7-course set menu ($338.80). Expect a symphony of flavours with highlights such as Sliced Barbecued Beijing Duck with Pan-fried Foie Gras, and Stewed Lobster with Inaniwa Udon in Signature Homemade XO Chilli Sauce.
Your feast wouldn’t be complete without a Hai Tien Lo treasure pot; select either the Classic Treasure Pot (from $268) blessed with 8-head abalone, bird’s nest, Sakura chicken, dried scallops, wontons and broccoli; or the Premium Wealth Treasure Pot (from $468) with 8-head abalone, dried oysters, sea cucumber, dried fish maw, pork knuckle, lobster, goose web, dried scallops, boiled chicken, pork dumplings, bean gluten, Chinese mushrooms, black moss, sliced lotus root and broccoli.
There are also five yu sheng platters available for dine-in or takeaway, ranging from the Abundance Yu Sheng with Abalone and Lobster (from $128) to the luxurious Blossoming Treasures Yu Sheng with Gold and Silver Flakes, Lobster, Scallops, Black Caviar and Shredded Vegetable Salad in Passion Fruit (from $168).
Madame Fan
This CNY, Madame Fan on Beach Road continues to marry classic Cantonese cuisine with modern touches to cater for various reunion dinner occasions at The NCO Club.
See the dining experience come together in the Kurobuta Pork Belly with Bourgogne Blanc and green pepper sauce; Braised South African 6 Head Abalone; and Steamed Chilean Seabass with kombu and homemade black bean sauce. There’s even the Fire Cracker Champagne Mousse Cake, a thoughtful creation that symbolises the tradition of expressing happiness and an invitation of good luck for the year ahead.
Madame Fan’s Lunar New Year Set Menus start from $98 per person.
Min Jiang (Goodwood Park Hotel)
The newly renovated Min Jiang at Goodwood Park Hotel welcomes guests with the Joyful Blessing Lo Hei (($188) this CNY. This artful yu sheng embodies the season with edible flowers, goldfish-shaped Japanese pickles ‘migrating to a new Spring’, and a hand-illustrated Chinese character ‘春’ (Spring) signifying happiness, life and newness.
Raw salmon slices are delicately arranged in a circle to symbolise harmony and unity, along with wasabi flying fish roe and dried kombu on top, then finished with sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The yu sheng also features jellyfish, agar agar strips, an array of vegetables and fruits, and a dressing made from plum sauce, strawberry jam and calamansi juice.
For family members who cannot do without rice, the Stewed Rice with Minced Chicken, Dried Scallops, Baby Abalone and Liver Sausage in Stone Pot (from $78) is comfort food at its best.
If you are celebrating at home, consider elevated classics such as Double-boiled Abalone Soup and Eel Fish Maw with handmade Prawn Dumplings and Minced Pork Balls in Claypot ($265), and Slow-braised Spicy Oxtail with Pickled Mustard and Enoki Mushrooms in Claypot ($255). These will be delivered in a piping hot claypot that retains the full flavours of its premium ingredients.
Nest (One Farrer Hotel)
For a decadent CNY feast conveying the meaning of prosperity, head to none other than One Farrer Hotel’s Nest which offers the 6-course Premium Menu ($208 per person). Besides tossing to good fortune with the hotel’s Prosperity Yu Sheng comprising king salmon slices and fish skin crisps, diners will also get to enjoy executive Chinese chef Wong Yaw Vun’s Supreme Broth brimming with jumbo crab meat and Avruga Caviar, and succulent Dong Po Rou with cordyceps mushroom and poached garden greens.
The indulgent meal concludes with bird’s nest served alongside Japanese snow pear and kumquats—perfect for those hoping to give their complexion a little boost this year.
Park Hotel Clarke Quay
Usher in the Year of the Ox with four festive menus and a sumptuous spread of CNY delights at Park Hotel Clarke Quay.
The 8-Course Golden Fortune Menu would be a wise choice for a table of seven to eight ($698) with eats like Superior Braised Fish Maw with Crabmeat and Homemade Stuffed Crab Claw as well as the Steamed Red Garoupa with Yellow Bean Paste. Of course, the refreshing Prosperity Tuna Yu Sheng Platter is also a highlight that’s not to be missed; simply enjoy the lo hei that features a colourful vegetable medley topped with generous yellowfin tuna slices.
Summer Pavilion (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore)
Dinner affairs are always lavish and luxurious at the one-Michelin star Summer Pavilion, and you can bet on this theme for their CNY menus as well. Here, feast on exclusive highlights such as the sauteed Japanese wagyu beef with black truffle, double-boiled sea whelk soup with fish maw, and even baked wagyu beef puff. As for lo hei, just toss to a prosperous Year of the Metal Ox with the restaurant’s caviar yu sheng, topped with an Australian greenlip abalone.
Yan
As this National Gallery stalwart brings back its unique, Shunde-style yu sheng inspired by the affluent Chinese city itself, Yan gets our vote this CNY as the place for elegant reunion dinners.
But besides the appetising lo hei that promises a heap of crispy vermicelli, the restaurant will also serve up classic Cantonese fare featuring auspicious ingredients to satisfy both children and grandparents alike. Try the Braised Spring Chicken with 6-Head Whole Abalone and the luscious Wok-fried Local Lobster with Superior Sauce and Shrimp Egg and Ee Fu Noodles; these dishes are prepared as part of the luxurious set menus that range from five to eight courses (from $128 to $228 per person).
Families can even opt for an 8-course vegetarian menu ($78 per person), which includes ample servings of Sweet Corn Broth with Diced Vegetables and Stir Fried Mock Abalone with Asparagus.
