Media Tasting

Chinese New Year 2019 in Singapore will begin on Tuesday, 5 February and ends on Wednesday, 6 February. In the beginning of a great Year of the Earth Pig, you can expect awesome pig-themed festive dishes, from suckling pig to yusheng, as well as other traditional goodies such as pineapple tarts and more!

Many of you have asked which is my favourite restaurant for Chinese New Year? It’s difficult to mention a particular restaurant, depending on the dishes which I have enjoyed. Here are the five best restaurants that I’ve tried and enjoyed best. If you are having a reunion dinner in a restaurant or at the comfort of your home, you’re well covered.

Pan Pacific Singapore

Pan Pacific presents a series of Cantonese specialities that will entice one’s appetite for more. Also, expect traditional lion dance performances, elegantly-decked interiors this Chinese New Year!

Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore

At award-winning Hai Tien Lo, Executive Chef Ben Zeng has prepared nine sumptuous set menus this festive season. There’s nothing like a steamy bowl of Double-boiled “Buddha Jumps Over The Wall” with Morel Mushrooms. Enjoyed the natural sweetness of the broth, light yet satisfying.

A pleasant surprise to find a plate of Japanese Inaniwa udon at a Chinese restaurant. The Inaniwa udon is easy to slurp, chewy with a perfectly QQ texture stewed in a supreme stock. This complements with the firm springy lobster meat very well. The meat of a lobster’s tail was so fresh and can be easily pulled out of a shell using a fork!

Chinese New Year Set Menus are available until 19 February starting from S$138.80 per diner.

Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner Set Menus on 4 February 2019 starting from S$158.80 per diner.

Everyone enjoyed poon choy because there are enough luxury ingredients to keep everyone happy.

Premium Wealth Treasure Pot includes a whole abalone, dried oysters, sea cucumber, dried fish maw, pork knuckle, fresh prawns, poached chicken, roasted duck, bean gluten, Chinese mushrooms, black moss, lotus roots, white radish, black truffle and homemade meatballs. I’ve enjoyed the most of thick yet tender sea cucumber chunks, chewy abalone, sponge-textured fish maw and roasted duck all soaked up the delicious abalone enriched gravy.

Premium Wealth Treasure Pot starting from S$438 (serves six).

Probably the most symbolic food for Chinese New Year in Chinese culture for jiaozi (dumpling). It has a meaning behind, bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new year. If you wanna HUAT in the new year, you must have more of the dumplings as it is a sign of good luck and prosperity. What’s more these cute steamed crystal dumplings are deliciously filled with tender sea perch and foie gras.

Edge at Pan Pacific Singapore

If you’re too last minute to make a reservation for Chinese New Year, head over for a lavish myriad buffet of traditional Chinese delicacies and contemporary interpretations including Seafood on Ice, Mandarin Orange Scented Smoked Salmon DIY Yusheng, Roasted Five Spice Crackling Pig. And ends off with 年年有余 (May every year ends with ample surplus) sweets such as Orange Lapis Surabaya cake and Nian Gao.

Chinese New Year Lunch on 5-19 February 2019 starting from S$65 per adult and S$32.50 per child.

Chinese New Year Dinner on 4-19 February 2019 starting from S$98 per adult and S$49 per child.

Jiang-Nan Chun at Four Seasons Hotel

Sometimes dining experience offers a unique concept as well. Transport into the springtime of Jiang Nan through its new interiors at Jiang-Nan Chun, the Cantonese fine dining restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel. these poignant elements of Jiang-Nan including fine traditional wood carvings, bespoke entrance centrepiece made of over 600 chopstick holders, touches of rich jade and ox-blood for craftsmanship and culture appear throughout the carpets and furnishings and more.

Sumptuous delicacies and festive menus crafted by Executive Cantonese Chef Tim Lam, with over 24 years of culinary experience in prestigious Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau. Jiang-Nan Chun is awarded One Star in MICHELIN Guide 2018.

Giving an extra boost at the start of the meal with one of the most luxurious delicacies in Chinese cuisine, superior bird’s nest. The comforting Double-boiled Superior Bird’s Nest is served with Fish Maw and Chinese Cabbage. The soup tasted naturally sweet with Chinese cabbage that has absorbed all the flavours around it. Not forgetting soft bird’s nest and crunch from the fish maw.

Braised Sea Cucumber with Three Head Abalone is definitely one of the best abalones that I had so far for the Chinese New Year menu. Braised sea cucumber was soft and absorbed the essence and flavour of the sauce. It’s so slippery bouncy that I can’t hold using my chopsticks. One of the most amazing tenderised Three Head abalones that you can simply slice through effortlessly.

The texture of Braised Boston Lobster was bouncy with a slight hint of sweetness to the meat in superior stock. The superior stock was perfectly on point without covering the natural taste of the lobster. Notice the lobster is off shell, I can simply ease the meat out of the body of the lobster in one piece.

A very delicate steamed cod fillet texture and almost melts in your mouth with an oily quality. It is brilliant to add sliced Yunnan ham at the side for a nice savoury taste.

Barbecued Suckling Pig’s skin is perfectly crisp at first bite and shattered as brittle as glass. This is served on two thin soft steamed buns and spring onion that is beautifully crafted.

Festive Dining at Jiang-Nan Chun is available until 19 February 2019. Festive menus starting from S$148 per diners for 6 courses and S$1088 per table of 8 diners to S$5688 per table of 10 diners for 8-courses. The vegetarian set menu is available too.

If you wish to order the same set menu as above, it’s 福星高照 FU XIN GAO ZHAO priced at S$2188 for 8 diners and S$2688 for 10 diners.

Li Bai at Sheraton Towers

Just in case you were wondering, Li Bai is under the name of the famous Tang Dynasty Poet, serves Cantonese cuisine prepared in the convention of Grand Emperors under the restaurant’s eminent stylistic layout and lavish table setting of jade, silver and fine bone china. Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a series of comfort reunion feasts and not to miss some of the healthier choice dishes crafted by Chef Chung Yiu Ming.

Pleasing to the eyes with Braised Bird’s Nest Soup served in a mini pumpkin and comforting to the tummy. I adore the taste of the natural pumpkin sweetness found in this soup, which is further drawn out with servings of luxurious soft bird’s nest.

The beancurd skin pocket seemed like a big ingot (元宝) all packed with the best for the year 2019. It is generously stuffed with braised abalone (guaranteed wealth; Bau Yu), dried oyster (great things; 好事) and black moss (be prosperous; 发财). The silky and chewy abalone compliments the sweet beancurd skin alongside with dried oyster and black moss.

Crunchy and juicy Japanese purple wild mountain yam and asparagus wrapped with Pan-fried Kurobuta rolls are delish. This pan-fried Kurobuta roll brings out the taste of Chinese New Year Year of Earth Pig season wrapped in a slice of juicy and savoury pork. It is also served with crispy noodles and matsutake mushroom.

Trio dessert including Almond Cream with Hasma, Pan-fried Nian Gao with Cane Sugar and Water Chestnut Cake. Chef Chung has integrated a healthier way of preparing desserts with cane sugar. Light and smooth almond cream with hasma crunch. The only nian gao that I’ve managed to finish everything. It was very soft, having a texture and taste similar to Japanese mochi with a natural sweetness from the apricot. Refreshing water chestnut cake with lots of mini chestnut crunch and light fragrance of the osmanthus. The trio desserts were well-prepared, not overly sweet and you can keep on munching.

Nian Gao with Cane Sugar & Apricot and Water Chestnut Cake with Osmanthus (S$50 each) are available for takeaway only.

Li Bai’s Lunar New Year Set Menus is available until 19 February 2019.

Prosperity Delights Set Menu starting from S$168 per diners (Minimum 2 diners).

Lunar New Year Set Menu price starts from S$1038 for 8 diners.

Prosperity Reunions 2019 is available until 19 February 2019, price starts from S$888 for a table of 10 diners.

Man Fu Yuan at InterContinental Singapore

Exhibits a specially curated eight auspicious festive menus by Executive Chef Eric Neo and his team until 19 February 2019. The Chinese New Year incorporate festive traditions including perennial favourites and restaurant signatures and priced from S$108 per diner. Staying true to the city’s rich heritage and multi-faceted cultures inspired by the surrounding locale. You might also spot food served on a reflective of the Peranakan tablewares.

Double-boiled chicken consomme with nameko mushrooms, sea cucumber, fish maw, and bird’s nest served on a beautiful Peranakan soup bowl that is fit for a king! This soup is flavour-packed and yet, it’s light on texture. Also enjoyed these textural ingredients including nameko mushrooms, sea cucumber, fish maw, and bird’s nest.

One of my favourite dishes, Roasted pork belly roulade with minced seafood is good for takeaway to share with your family and friends. The melted fat seemed to keep the lean meat juicy and tender. Stuffed with minced seafood which adds a nice sweet touch to the roasted pork belly. Not forgetting the highlight, pork belly skin. It’s irresistibly crisp and delicious.

Roasted pork belly roulade stuffed with minced seafood (4kg) at S$368.

Dig into Man Fu Yuan’s Abundance Treasure Pot featuring braised pig’s trotters, 10-head whole abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber, Hokkaido scallops, roast duck, goose web, dried oysters, prawns, sea whelk, chicken wing, flower mushrooms, cabbage, fried beancurd skin, fried yam, cured meat sausage, liver sausage and fatt choy.

Various herbs penetrate deeply into the meaty and tender rolled chicken with a nice scent of the lotus leaf. I can see the herbal goodness of the sauce splashed on in generous proportions. The strong herbal sauce was tasty enough to be slurped by itself!

Various Chinese New Year goodies prepared by pastry Chef Ben Goh Kai Chuen and his team. Ranged from the sweet prosperity pineapple balls to savoury steamed yam cake with roasted duck meat are available until 19 February 2019. Chinese New Year goodies may be placed online at InterContinentalShoppe.sg and collect from the Man Fu Yuan Shoppe located at the entrance of InterContinental Singapore from Bugis Junction is available until 3 February 2019, and at Man Fu Yuan restaurant on Level 2 of the hotel from 4 to 19 February 2019.

Yan Restaurant at National Gallery

Happy reunions swarm with tasty festive manifestations at Yàn this Lunar New Year. Enjoy a dazzling choice of auspicious set menus starting from S$128 per diners and À la carte menu, specially curated by Executive Chinese Chef Lai Chi Sum to celebrate the Year of the Pig. This Chinese New Year Menu is available until 19 February 2019.

Superior Chicken Broth with Fish Maw, dried scallops, and goji berries. The secret behind thick and rich collagen chicken broth goes to the long preparations. The broth is boiled for about 10 hours using 老母鸡 (old hen). Double-boiled first and cooked over high heat to achieve the smooth consistency. Old hen soup is not only rich in nutrient (as compared to the normal chicken) but also richer and sweeter in taste. Notice the thick fish maw? It’s smooth and full of collagen.

À la carte at S$24 per person

Signature Roast Crispy Suckling Pig where you can enjoy it in three ways. The crisp skin is served with house-made pancake, plum sauce, cucumber stick, and spring onions. If you think this is the end of the story? Nope, you can further enjoy this roast suckling pig by glazing the meat and grilling it with lemongrass and BBQ sauce. It’s absolutely one of the best ways to ensure that not a single scrap goes to waste.

À la carte at S$288 (whole).

This lobster delicacy is steamed together with nu er hong rice wine. Half lobster was fresh with sweet briny flavours remain in the meat and I can easily tug out the tail meat in one piece. Not forgetting the perfect soft lobster roe.  It is served with an additional serving of nu er hong rice wine that you may enjoy on its own or enhance the taste of the lobster. Never thought of nu er hong rice wine and its minerality marries perfectly with the lobster.

Steamed Half Lobster with 18yrs Nu Er Hong Rice Wine À la carte: S$20 per 100 grams, minimum order of 1kg.