Food

Whether presented as gifts or left at home as snacks to offer guests, delectable goodies usually come to define CNY celebrations at home. These snacks are undoubtedly good to eat but there is actually a reason why people mainly have them during Chinese New Year. There are many popular CNY goodies and snacks and these are the major ones:

• Pineapple tarts – In Hokkien, pineapples are called “ong lai” which also means “luck is coming.” Because of this, pineapples are frequently displayed in homes during the Lunar New Year period and pineapple tarts / balls are frequently eaten or given as gifts as a means of bringing in the luck. You can check out my more detailed guide on this topic here.
• BBQ pork – This is probably the most sought after goodie to try during CNY, especially in Singapore. Although available year round, strips of BBQ pork are most popular during Chinese New Year because of their red color, symbolizing luck. This tasty snack also originated as an expensive food item and as such, people consume them during this period to signify prosperity for the coming year. You can check out my separate guide on the best BBQ pork to try in Singapore.
• Nian gao – Literally translated as the “year cake,” nian gao is usually eaten during Chinese New Year because its sticky and glutinous quality is traditionally believed in Chinese mythology to seal the Kitchen God’s mouth shut. Offering nian gao keeps him from badmouthing you to the Jade Emperor in his annual CNY report. 
• Shrimp rolls – Cylindrical-shaped snacks such as shrimp rolls are also popular during Chinese New Year. Their golden color coupled with the cylindrical shape are akin to gold bars and as such, symbolize wealth.
• Radish cake – This savory goodie is another popular food to eat during CNY because its Hokkien name (“chai tow”) sounds similar to the Hokkien word for prosperity and rising fortunes.

You can also join our newly-launched telegram channel here and receive updates on price drops, exclusive promotions not found anywhere else as well as flash deals for CNY goodies and other F&B promotions.

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The coming Chinese New Year in 2026 – the Year of the Horse – will fall on the 17th February 2026. Given the current situation, you can expect an abundant selection from some of the top Chinese restaurants and hotels for pen cai  for your reunion dinner. As with previous years, there are establishments offering takeaway or islandwide delivery services for Chinese New Year reunion dinners. If you choose to dine-in, try to reserve early as many of the popular restaurants get booked out weeks in advance. 

Pen cai or Poon Choi is a traditional Cantonese dish comprised of a number of ingredients including meat, seafood and vegetables. Contrary to popular belief in Singapore, pen cai is not just consumed during Chinese New Year by Cantonese communities. Traditionally, pen cai is eaten during major festivals, religious rituals and even wedding banquets. In Singapore however, it is mostly eaten during the Lunar New Year as a symbol of harmony.

Without further ado, I’ve tried my best to list them down here for your convenience. This list will be expanded over the next few days as new establishments come onboard with their pen cai for CNY 2026 so bookmark this page for future reference.

You can also join our telegram channel here and receive updates on price drops, exclusive promotions not found anywhere else as well as flash deals for CNY dishes and other F&B promotions.
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Bak Kwa or 肉干 is a form of dried meat that originated in China. A popular snack in Singapore, especially during the Chinese New Year season, the manufacturing of bak kwa entails preservation and the infusion of ingredients such as salt, sugar, sauces and spices thrown into the mix. In more recent years, bak kwa manufacturers have become more creative as well, infusing herbs, honey, chili and even minerals into the bak kwa to differentiate themselves from other brands. There has also been increased preference for more authentic looking bak kwa – which means less on the redness and the sugar.

Bak Kwa is extremely popular in Singapore, with some brands even ingrained internationally as being iconic of the Lion City. As such, it can be said that Singapore is at the forefront of innovation as well when it comes to this snack. Bak Kwa is also commonly used as an ingredient in some everyday dishes such as fried rice, claypot rice, etc; thus allowing it to a stand as a year round item even outside of Lunar New Year.

Some of the common types of bak kwa include:

• Sliced pork / beef / chicken / duck / lamb
• Chili sliced pork / beef / chicken / duck / lamb
• Coin-shaped slices using pork / beef/ chicken / duck / lamb
• Pork belly (think: similar to bacon but undergoing the same preservation and cooking technique as the usual bak kwa)
• Flavored bak kwa – can be infused with fruits, additional herbs, seaweed, minerals, etc

If you are wondering which is the best bak kwa to buy as an everyday snack or during Chinese New Year, I have tried to sum it up here for your convenience. You will find here the most comprehensive list of bak kwa in Singapore! Do note this list is not arranged in order. Most of these bak kwa brands also sell online and even deliver, giving an added convenience. For next Lunar New Year, you won’t need to waste a considerable amount of time queuing!

You can also join our newly-launched telegram channel here and receive updates on price drops, exclusive promotions not found anywhere else as well as flash deals for other CNY goodies and other F&B promotions.

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Tucked along Amoy Street, Hayop is where Filipino flavors are given both respect and attitude. Opened in mid-2024, this overseas outpost of the popular Filipino chain Manam has solidified itself as probably the best Filipino restaurant in Singapore. A couple of months before my visit, they were listed in the Michelin guide.

For those familiar with Manam in the Philippines, do take note – this is not nostalgia cooking, nor is it Filipino food diluted for comfort. It’s bold, confident and unapologetically rich, yet executed with a level of refinement that feels deliberate rather than showy. It’s deliberate in the sense that one could make out an attempt by the team to cater to the local palate, with twists that one does not find in Manam or in traditional interpretations of the dish in the Philippines. As such, the food here brings something new to both the Singapore dining public and to Filipinos residing here.

I have been to Manam a couple of times since they opened, as I’ve longed to find a decent Filipino restaurant Singapore for years but to no avail. Other than the fast-food joints I find in Lucky Plaza, I can’t seem to find those serving restaurant-standard food like those in the Philippines. Finally, there’s one.

As it’s been more than a year since they opened, the restaurant has introduced some new dishes to complement their bestsellers. I got to try some of the new dishes during my recent visit.

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Desserts are an essential part of any festive dinner table and no other sweet treat is more evocative of the Christmas season than log cakes. Dessert chefs are known to be very competitive by rolling out highly creative pastries each year. It might still be quite early for Christmas but a few bakers in Singapore have already started rolling out their log cake selections for 2025.

This year, many establishments are consolidating their log cake offerings. For instance, I see fewer of the fancier/exotic flavors and many hotels have reverted to offering only their bestselling flavors. Many are also reducing the number of flavors in their repertoire to just 1 or 2 whereas they had offered 5 or more in past years.

Without further ado, here is the list for the year – I will update it as and when more brands come online with their offerings.

You can also join our telegram channel here and receive updates on price drops, exclusive promotions not found anywhere else as well as flash deals for log cakes and other Christmas goodies.

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For the month of November and December, many hotels are deep into their Christmas buffet offerings, featuring quintessential festive dishes such as roasted turkey, gammon ham, beef wellington and more. For 2025, a common pattern seen is that most hotels are switching to deeply traditional offerings. While you can still find some uniquely-flavored roasted turkeys here and there, most, if not all will also have the traditional ones on offer. 

You can also join our telegram channel here and receive updates on NEW buffet offerings, exclusive promotions not found anywhere else as well as other F&B flash deals.

Without further ado, here are some noteworthy hotel buffet dining promotions to check out for the month of November and December 2025:

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QIN is the inhouse restaurant of The Clan Hotel. Opened by Tunglok Group, the restaurant serves Chinese food but with a modern twist. In Chinese, the restaurant name is 亲 which means kinship, in keeping with the overall theme of The Clan Hotel.

Located at the 4th floor of the property, the venue boasts of sweeping views of Singapore’s CBD owing to QIN’s high loft-style layout and floor-to-ceiling windows. QIN is comprised of two levels – the lower level is where the restaurant is located while the upper loft level is a bar where guests can unwind before or after their meal. The walls here are quite notable with their TCM medicine cabinets – inspired design.

I have been to QIN numerous times, from the time they launched their inaugural menu in 2021 down to my latest visit last week to check out what new Chef Marvas Ng has in store for this prized Tung Lok outlet. While other Tung Lok restaurants focus on traditional Chinese cooking, QIN is where they allow their chefs to exercise greater creative control. Chef Marvas Ng is of course no stranger to Singapore’s culinary scene, having come from Path, a restaurant which I also wholeheartedly enjoyed.

Here are some of the dishes I tried:

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