We’ve sussed out the best restaurants in Singapore with pen cai on the menu for Chinese New Year.
We’re slithering into the Year of the Snake as the Lunar New Year rolls around. Eat your fill of CNY snacks at reunion dinners complete with the epic yusheng toss, but don’t forget the pen cai (or poon choy as it’s known in Cantonese). This traditional communal dish typically enjoys the spotlight during Chinese New Year in Singapore. It’s a hefty pot brimming with layers of luxurious ingredients – including abalone, roast pork, fish maw, and scallops – to symbolise the abundance of wealth and harmony. Ready to unearth some treasures?
Best pen cai in Singapore for Chinese New Year 2025
1. Path
Celebrated chefs Marvas Ng and Ang Song Kang have come together to create the Chefs’ Harmony pen cai. This limited edition pot is your last chance to taste retired chef Kang’s food. It features kampung chicken, prawn rolls, roasted pork belly, braised oysters, soon hock fish, eight-hour braised abalone, and Japanese scallops on a base of crisp daikon, cabbage, and shiitake mushrooms.
Path, from $318, available for takeaway, orders to be made 7 days in advance
2. Ju Signatures
Ju Signatures is offering a bunch of Chinese New Year goodies, expanding out of its typical dim sum fare. We’re talking yushengs, yam cake, nian gao, and yes, pen cai. This hefty pot is brimming with 12 premium ingredients including dried oysters, scallops, and abalone. It even includes a free claypot, a warmer bag, and a pot of lotus leaf rice with Chinese sausage.
Ju Signatures, from $313.92, available for delivery
3. Peach Garden
Notable household name Peach Garden is known for its authentic Chinese cuisine with multiple restaurants ranging from swanky fine dining spots to casual eateries, and it probably has one of the biggest arrays of pen cai in Singapore. We’re talking pots with shark bone cartilage broth, topped with lobster, and one featuring six-head abalone. It even has a vegetarian pot available for anyone with a family of vegetarians!
Peach Garden, from $288, available for delivery and takeaway
4. Jumbo Seafood
Craving a solid plate of chilli crab? Chances are, you’re heading straight to the nearest Jumbo Seafood restaurant to get your fix. The seafood is always fresh and delicious, so you know the pen cai is going to be amazing. Braised in a rich superior stock, it’ll be the true centrepiece of your reunion dinner. For takeaways, the pen cai comes vacuum-packed and frozen so you can reheat it at your convenience.
Jumbo Seafood, $298, available for dine-in and takeaway at all Jumbo Seafood outlets, order to be made a minimum of 3 days in advance
5. Tam Kah Seafood
Nothing beats homemade dishes during Chinese New Year, but sometimes you need a little help. While stocking up on your hot pot ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, and fish maw from Tam Kah Seafood, consider taking the stress off your shoulders with its takeaway pen cai. Available as either a hot or cold pot, you’ll get treats like 10-head Tam Kah abalone, braised chicken wings, pork hock, and dried Japanese scallops.
Tam Kah Seafood, $168, available online for delivery and takeaway at multiple locations including Jalan Kelulut and Chinatown, order to be made a minimum of 2 days in advance
6. 8 Crabs
Created over eight hours, the pen cai by 8 Crabs is meticulously prepared before being delivered to your doorstep. Each ingredient (think abalone, mushrooms, prawns and roast pork, amongst others) is individually prepared before being simmered together in a braising sauce made with a decades-old heirloom recipe. And while you’re on the website, we suggest ordering some crabs in a black pepper or salted egg sauce to go along with it?
8 Crabs, $268, available online for delivery and takeaway
7. Home Fiesta
Created by the same brand behind Tung Lok Signatures, Dancing Crab, and Ushio, Home Fiesta is your solution for restaurant-level dining at home. Each product is created with recipes from Tung Lok’s award-winning culinary team and was developed for ultimate convenience. Depending on how big your family is (or how much you can eat) you can pick the Golden Pen Cai or the Prosperity Pen Cai.
Home Fiesta, from $220, available for delivery and takeaway at multiple locations
8. Yan
Have you ever seen a prettier pot of pen cai in Singapore? Yan translates its enchanting dining quarters even into its takeaway dishes which will steal your heart. Classic recipes are given modern spins, adapting to the ever-evolving culinary landscape. Have no fear if you’re a traditionalist at heart because the Harvest Pen Cai is as classic as it gets. An assortment of delicacies like king grouper, whole conpoy, roast pork, and live prawns will be ready and waiting in a braised duck gravy and served in a pretty claypot for easy reheating.
Yan, from $289, available for delivery and takeaway at #05-02, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957, order to be made a minimum of 2 days in advance
9. Mouth Restaurant
While this restaurant may be known for its yum cha menu, its authentic Cantonese dishes are nothing to scoff at. The roasted meats and sizzling claypot options will warm your soul for Chinese New Year. And like any Chinese restaurant, this spot offers reunion set menus for dine-in and takeaway. The best part of it all? When you order the pen cai from Mouth Restaurant, you’ll get a salmon yu sheng for free. That way you’ll kill two birds with one stone for your next CNY gathering.
Mouth Restaurant, from $328, available for takeaway at Airview Building, 38 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069116
10. Yummy Food
Yummy Food is all about embracing traditional Chinese fine dining. Dining here will evoke all senses, bring back memories of togetherness and spark a sense of reunion. Its pen cai comes in a complimentary electric cooker and thermal bag too so all you need to do is set it up to reheat and enjoy it hot with your family. The plus side is you now have an electric cooker for next year’s hot pot reunion dinner!
Yummy Food, from $288, available for delivery and takeaway at multiple locations including Defu Lane and Bedok North
11. East Ocean Restaurant
Known for its heritage recipes, this Teochew restaurant has won the hearts of many. Thanks to its use of high quality ingredients, these piping hot dishes will satisfy any voracious appetite. It has even introduced fusion offerings like pan-fried wagyu beef and goose liver. Order a feast which includes the Prosperity Pen Cai, whole suckling pig, soya sauce chicken, and glutinous rice with Chinese sausage.
East Ocean Restaurant, from $338, available for takeaway at #05-08/09, Takashimaya, 391 Orchard Road, Singapore 238872
12. Yu Cun Curry Fish Head
Dubbed one of the best curry fish head spots in Singapore, trust Yu Cun to hit all the right notes when it comes to seafood. And yes, that includes your pen cai cravings. Good for six to eight people, the pot comes with the usual suspects like abalone, prawn, sea cucumber, scallops, fish maw, and other roasted meats. And if you’re looking to have a whole family feast prepped in advance, check out its other CNY set menus.
Yu Cun Curry Fish Head, $298, available for takeaway at multiple locations including Paya Lebar and Sultan Gate, order to be made a minimum of 3 days in advance
13. Wo Peng
The man behind Wo Peng is chef Julian Tam, who’s touted as the person to bring the first-ever pen cai into Singapore. He’s also the first to ever convert this delicacy into a dish that can be enjoyed daily! So your pen cai orders are in safe hands with the team at Wo Peng. It comes with braised whole abalone and assorted dried seafood, giving it the ultimate umami flavour.
Wo Peng, from $248, available for takeaway at multiple locations including Eu Tong Sen Street and Chin Swee Road
14. Crystal Jade
This much-loved Singaporean brand has been a go-to for many tea-time dim sum sessions with loved ones, so it only makes sense to turn to it for all your upcoming Chinese New Year needs. We’ve got our eyes on the crispy roasted pork belly, abundance yam cake, and the abalone pen cai. A true feast for royalty, you’ll be tucking into dried oysters, dance fish rolls with black moss, roasted duck, and more.
Crystal Jade, from $422.90, available for takeaway at multiple locations including Crystal Jade Palace, Crystal Jade Golden Palace, and Crystal Jade Pavilion
15. Bee Cheng Hiang
You might be surprised to find out that bak kwa brand Bee Cheng Hiang also offers pen cai on its online store, but we think it’s the best kind of surprise! Now, while you order your snake-inspired Chinese New Year snacks and stock up on kilos of bak kwa for your festive feasting, you can include this treasure pot in your cart. It comes frozen in its own clay pot, so all you have to do is thaw and reheat it before serving.
Bee Cheng Hiang, $238, available online for delivery
16. Yang Ming Seafood
Enjoy fuss-free reunion dinners with this restaurant’s festive set menus that include abalone yusheng, lobster, fried grouper, stewed chicken, and more. Of course, the highlight of the meal has to be the Luxurious Feast Pot. This pen cai dish brims with amazing ingredients including prawns, abalone, scallops, and more.
Yang Ming Seafood, $361.80, available for delivery and takeaway
Pick your favourite pen cai dish and share it with the family at your CNY celebrations in Singapore!
