We share our fave CNY menus this year from the traditional to the edgy and the downright epic…
Now that Christmas is over, CNY has been quietly sneaking up on us. Yes, it’s officially time to go knee deep in yusheng, pineapple tarts and all the reunion dinners. We’re ushering in the Year of the Rat with lotsa good food. Here, we’ve selected the Chinese New Year menus that are made to impress…
Chopsuey Cafe
Available from 13 Jan to 8 Feb 2020
One of our Dempsey Hill faves, Chopsuey Cafe is back with its CNY feasts, starting with a healthy Lucky Lunar Lo Hei including ingredients like fresh trout, kale, celeriac, sprouts, red radish, blueberries and more. Then there’s the house special of chili jam prawns topped with crispy egg clouds, which is bound to be a hit at any table with its savoury freshness and dash of heat. Have it with a serving (or two) of the homely and satisfying work-fried claypot rice for the familiar wok hei aroma we know you love. Craving the white pepper espresso pork ribs from last year’s CNY menu? Rejoice, because it’s back with the distinct peppery and garlicky goodness. Delish.
Lunar New Year set menu, from $68++ per pax
Chopsuey Cafe, #01-23, 10 Dempsey Road, Singapore 247700
Summer Palace
Available from 13 Jan to 8 Feb 2020
Take yusheng up a luxurious notch with ingredient options like smoked salmon or lobster and truffle at Summer Palace. (If you’ve never tasted the umami-rich meaty chunks of lobster with truffle flakes, now’s your chance!) Follow that up with braised South African abalone with fish maw and sea cucumber, or stewed pork leg with sea cucumber and sea moss to get everyone’s appetite going for the rat-themed highlights to come.
We’re talking about the stir-fried mouse tail noodles (for the uninitiated: It’s not literal, don’t worry) and, of course, the deep-fried garoupa in sweet and sour osmanthus sauce, cleverly cut and arranged such that the fish head resembles that of a rat. The latter is definitely one for the ‘gram, but also a delicious dish for the table too – the tangy sauce complements the chunks of fried fish, giving a savoury, refreshing bite. Finish off with the unmissable traditional glutinous rice cakes for a satiating start to your Lunar New Year.
CNY set menus start from $98 per pax (min. 4 to dine)
Summer Palace, Level 3, Regent Singapore, 1 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249715
Cassia
Available from 24 Jan to 8 Feb 2020
A spontaneous getaway might not be on the horizon for you this CNY, but you can always journey to Sentosa for a celebratory day trip with the fam. While you’re there, Cassia has the perfect reunion dinner menu to offer: A classic fine dining affair that draws inspiration from ancient spice routes. Fitting for a restaurant named after an Asian spice! Dive into refined and comforting Cantonese dishes like the double-boiled thick chicken broth with fish maw, scallops and flower mushroom; stewed ee-fu noodles; and stewed abalone with sea cucumber and dried oyster. As for the lo hei, Cassia serves up a premium toss with abalone, lobster, black truffle and salmon all in the auspicious mix.
Still in the festive mood? The chefs will keep the bountiful dishes coming with special set menus available till February. Highlights include dim sum delights like steamed crystal dumpling with black truffle and fresh mushrooms, steamed kangaroo meat dumpling with bitter gourd, and a suckling pig experience to boot.
CNY Eve dinner, 24 Jan, from $139 per pax; special set menus, 25 Jan – 8 Feb, from $89 per pax
Cassia, Capella Singapore, 1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island, 098297
Grand Shanghai
Available from 17 Jan to 9 Feb 2020
Grand Shanghai is welcoming the Year of the Rat with a fresh look (it was recently refurbished) and a stunning new menu. This riverside restaurant transports you into a setting inspired by 1930s Shanghai, while serving up a spread of elevated reunion classics. We’re talking about dishes like the Prosperity yusheng with Australian lobster and abalone, the crispy smoked duck infused with osmanthus tea leaf, and the abalone fortune pot that’s filled with a medley of abalone, sea cucumber, scallops, prawns and pork knuckle. As for sweets, a plate of traditional pan fried nian gao will see you off for a prosperous CNY.
CNY set menus, from $588 for 4 pax
Grand Shanghai, King’s Centre, Level 1, 390 Havelock Road, Singapore 169662
Jiang-Nan Chun
Available from 6 Jan to 8 Feb 2020
It’s a seafood fiesta at Jiang-Nan Chun as the Michelin-starred restaurant serves up daily sourced lobster, abalone and salmon accompanied with refreshing seasonal veggies and homemade condiments. With exclusive highlights such as wok-fried Boston lobster in black bean sauce and braised rice vermicelli with three head abalone, you’re surely in for a treat.
Six-course menu from $158; eight-course menu per table of 8 pax from $1,158
Jiang-Nan Chun, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, 190 Orchard Boulevard, Singapore 248646
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
Available from 3 Jan – 8 Feb 2020
Enjoy Cantonese cuisine with Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant’s auspicious set menus that’ll please everyone on the table. Think mini abalone, salmon and crispy fish skin, yusheng, braised Boston lobster with black truffle, double-boiled fish maw with cantharellus mushroom and roast duck marinated in ginseng. There are healthier options available too – we’re eyeing the braised assorted mushroom stuff in tomato. To amp things up, the restaurant is also debuting a pot of prosperity, packed with 15 ingredients (Australian three-head abalone, drunken chicken and crispy dried oyster, just to name a few), each with auspicious meanings.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant, from $108.80++ per pax for 4 to 8 pax, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, 320 Orchard Road, Singapore 238865
The Dragon Chamber
Available from 11 Jan to 8 Feb 2020
Skip your usual reunion dinner and enter the Dragon Chamber. Getting here is quite an adventure itself as you step in through a fridge door at an ordinary kopitiam. At the other end, you’ll discover an underground resto – not your average CNY dinner for sure. There are three set menus for you to choose from, accommodating groups of four to ten people, with two hours of free-flow beer, wine, soft drinks or juices. Highlights include dragon slaw lo hei (lobster yusheng), celestial ocean treasures broth (mixed seafood fish maw soup), ancient Chinese vanity soup (chicken broth with collagen and fish maw) dragon mountain (fried lobsters in Sichuan seasoning) and wagyu truffle beef hor fun.
Set menu one: 4 pax from $398++, 6 pax from $528++; set menu two: 8 pax from $968++, 10 pax from $1138; set menu three: 8 pax from $1368++; 10 pax from $1598++
The Dragon Chamber, 2 Circular Road, Singapore 049358
Yan
Available from 1 Jan to 8 Feb 2020
Need a spot to impress the in-laws? Yan’s your place. Elegant Shanghai aesthetic aside, the restaurant’s whipped up quite a CNY feast. Think everything from double-boiled Peru maca soup with dried seafood that’s almost equivalent to a warm hug; steamed star grouper with preserved veggies and cordyceps flower that’s known to replenish energy; a sweet-savoury sauteed prawn dish accompanied by deep-fried mango and scallop roll; and a gorgeous taro carving of two birds to signify good luck. And, of course, the grand Yan harvest pen cai is quite a delight, boasting an assortment of 18 ingredients. You’ve got abalone, roast pork, fish maw, prawns and a whole conpoy… it’s quintessentially CNY in a pot.
Six set menus from $98++ per pax; Yan harvest pen cai at $280 for 5 pax, $560 for 10 pax; a la carte menu available from 25 Jan 2020
Yan, #05-02, National Gallery Singapore, 1 Saint Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957
Blue Jasmine
Available on 24 Jan
Blue Jasmine rocks a fab buffet-style dining experience with a Thai twist. But first, begin your meal with the Thai Chin yusheng topped with house-cured salmon gravlax and tangy green mango and papaya (amongst your standard yusheng ingredients). Soon after, tuck into mains like steamed grouper, spice braised duck, claypot rice and braised ee-fu noodles. But all your attention will be on the wat tan hor fun live station. Enjoy bowls of silky smooth noodles with light egg gravy and a touch of fragrant wok hei.
$58++ per adult; $29++ per child (6-12 years old), 6.30pm – 10pm
Blue Jasmine, Level 5, Park Hotel Farrer Park, 10 Farrer Park Station Road, Singapore 217564