7 Chinese New Year Food & Snacks That We Can’t Wait To Indulge In!

7 Chinese New Year Food & Snacks That We Can’t Wait To Indulge In!

Lifestyle Food
By Sophie Hong on 12 Jan 2022
Senior Editor

A highlight during Chinese New Year - besides getting to spend time with the extended family and collecting ang pows - is the scrumptious Chinese New Year food and snacks, some of which are only available once a year. 

From hearty reunion dinner dishes to snacks to munch on between rounds of Blackjack, here are some of our favourites to indulge in during Chinese New Year! 

Read on for our favourite Chinese New Year food, in no particular order! 

Yu Sheng

Fortune Smoked Salmon Yu Sheng, from $48+, Lime on the Go. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Chinese New Year wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory Yu Sheng toss. Whether you believe that auspicious phrases will bring you good luck or not, you cannot deny that Yu Sheng - with its assortment of fresh and pickled vegetables and thin slices of abalone or salmon - is an easy and light dish to kickstart your Chinese New Year feasting. If you have family members who are not fans of raw salmon, why not opt for PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering’s version of Yu Sheng that uses smoked salmon instead? 

Get the Fortune Smoked Salmon Yu Sheng here.

Pen Cai

Treasure Pot Reunion Pen Cai, from $318+, Lime on the Go. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Brimming with rich and hearty ingredients, the Pen Cai is one luxurious dish that we look forward to every reunion dinner. Lime Kitchen’s mouth-watering Treasure Pot Reunion Pen Cai includes baby abalone, roasted pork, fish maw, tiger prawns, scallop, roasted duck and more. It serves up to ten, but we won’t judge if you eat enough for two. 

Get the Treasure Pot Reunion Pen Cai here. Orders must be made 3 days in advance. 

Pineapple Tarts

Pineapple Tarts, Love Letters and Peanut Butter Cookies, Lime on the Go. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Another staple at every household during Chinese New Year, these delicious morsels of rich, buttery pastry with pineapple jam are a favourite with both the young and old. It’s impossible to stop at just one pineapple tart, so you might want to have a few tubs on standby! 

Get the Pineapple Tarts, $40+ for 330g, here

Love Letters

Traditionally, Love Letters are lovingly baked over a charcoal fire and then quickly folded or rolled into shape. As it turns out, these crispy egg wafers go well with a myriad of sweet and savoury ingredients, resulting in modern variations of this Chinese New Year goodie. Try Lime Restaurant’s take this year, which comes stuffed with a layer of umami seaweed chicken floss. Yum! 

Get the Seaweed Chicken Floss Rolls, $28+ for 330g, here

Butter Cookies

As kids, our mums warned us not to indulge in one too many butter cookies because the “heaty” snack would give us sore throats. But now that we’re adults, we’ll gladly accept that as a trade-off for these fragrant, melt-in-your-mouth cookies. For those who are looking for something slightly different, try these delightfully crumbly Peanut Butter Cookies from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering. 

Get the Peanut Butter Cookies, $40+ for 290g, here

Nian Gao

Pan-fried New Year Cake With Soya Bean Crisps, $36.80+, Lime on the Go. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

According to Chinese customs, eating nian gao (glutinous rice cake) during the Lunar New Year will bring good luck because its name sounds like “higher every year” in Chinese. For extra huat, why not get these fried nian gaos that are shaped like ingots? 

Get the Pan-fried New Year Cake With Soya Bean Crisps here

Bak Kwa

Tiers of Joy, $88.80+, Lime on the Go. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Another Chinese New Year classic, bak kwa is a perennial favourite even outside of the festive period. This beloved sweet and smokey barbecued meat is used in many ways, such as bak kwa bread, cookies and even ice cream! 

During this Lunar New Year period, Lime Restaurant has included Bak Kwa scones in their popular Tiers of Joy afternoon tea set, available for takeaway. Other sweet and savoury bites in this set include: Crabmeat Remoulade, Truffle Coque Monsieur, Yuzu Meringue Tart and Rainbow Cake. Each set is served with 6 selections of Bacha Coffee and TWG Tea of your choice. 

Tiers of Joy is available for takeaway here, till 15 February. Orders must be made 1 day in advance.

Chinese New Year Buffets at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Feasts of Fortune at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, Lime Restaurant. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Planning a Chinese New Year meal with your friends or colleagues? Lime Restaurant’s Feasts of Fortune is happening from 24 January to 13 February, featuring mouth-watering dishes such as Braised Eight Treasure Duck, Salt-roasted Tiger Prawn with Garlic Butter Sauce and Wok-fried Baby Crawfish with Mala Sauce. For desserts, look forward to festive sweets such as Deep-fried Golden Nian Gao and Tang Yuan.

Feasts of Fortune starts from $69++ per adult. For more information on timing and prices, click here.

Joyful Reunions at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, Lime Restaurant. Photo from PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering

Festive periods should be about spending time with your loved ones, so take the hassle out of reunion meals by eating out instead! Lime Restaurant is available for Joyful Reunions, happening from 31 January to 2 February and 14 to 15 February. Your family will be well-taken care of, with signature Chinese New Year dishes such as Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, Braised Premium Pot, Steamed Halibut and more. 

Joyful Reunions starts from $109++ per adult. For more information on timing and prices, click here.

 

 

This post is brought to you by PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering.