Food

Along with the log cake and turkey, the festive ham is another must-have dish during Christmas. The huge chunk – usually pork but may also be chicken or turkey – is either wet or dry cured and may or may not be smoked. There are many variations of ham available and all are generally considered acceptable for Christmas. There have also been deviations from the original honey-glazed hams. Some restaurants and hotels have rolled out hams with a local flair for instance, and I’ve aimed to list some of the noteworthy ones down below.

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  other F&B and travel-related promotions.

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The mid-autumn or mooncake festival 2024 (中秋节) will fall on 17th September 2024, a Tuesday. In the lunar calendar, the mid-autumn festival is celebrated every 15th of the eight month.

Mooncake Festival 2024

With inflation easing somewhat, this looks to be another year filled with noteworthy and even some unusual flavors. This guide will be regularly updated with 2024’s catalog of the best mooncakes in Singapore as well as ongoing promotions and mooncake delivery options. The most common types of mooncakes include:

• Traditional baked mooncakes which come with lotus paste or occasionally with red bean paste. These baked mooncakes may also come with one or two salted egg yolks at the center. Sub-specialties include low-sugar baked mooncakes or those that replace the traditional lotus paste with something else, such as pandan.
• Snowskin mooncakes, which need to be chilled and have a shorter shelf life, usually come in fruit flavors with sub-specialties including durian mooncakes and even alcohol infused ones. Snowskin mooncakes are not baked and the crust is made with glutinous rice, enabling a texture similar to mochi. These mooncakes are usually considered less oily than the traditional baked ones.
• Teochew mooncakes are also baked but differ in the sense that the crust is made of filo pastry. Instead of lotus paste, the filling is made with yam, green bean or red bean.

I will also aim to show what the containers look like, so that you’ll know which hotels, Chinese restaurants and bakeries have the best and most beautiful mooncake boxes for 2024.

Mooncake Fairs in 2024

While you can expect mooncake fairs to occur in places such as Takashimaya in 2024, online mooncake fairs are expected to persist and even become the preferred method of purchase for many due to lower prices stemming from vendors’ lower overheads and ability to hold flash deals. The list below contains some exclusive mooncake promotions and deals not found elsewhere so check them out.

You can also join our newly-launched telegram channel here and receive updates on mooncake flash sales, exclusive promotions not found anywhere else as well as other F&B and travel flash deals.

Without further ado, check out these mooncakes for the 2024 season. All the brands listed below direct to their official online stores or their designated authorized e-commerce marketplaces. With the rise in mooncake scams, it is not advisable to purchase from Facebook or WhatsApp.

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There seems to be great interest from chefs overseas to leave their imprints in Singapore. I am not just referring to those large franchises of well-known names. Even the independent ones are eager to set up an outlet here due to the strong foodie culture of the Lion City.

Recently, I got to try Sushi Zen which is located along the Keong Saik area, in Teck Lim Road to be precise. Sushi Zen is founded by Chef E Ran who has developed a loyal following over the years.

Sushi Zen is actually the offshoot of a popular sushi restaurant in Beijing which has the same name. In the 8-seater Singapore outlet, ingredients are sourced fresh from Toyosu Market, four times a week.

Sushi Zen offers both a lunch and dinner omakase. The lunch omakase starts from S$150 which comes with 10 pieces of sushi, miso soup and dessert while the higher-tier S$258 lunch omakase comes with additional appetizers. For dinner, one can order between the same S$258 omakase or higher-tier S$388 and S$588 which more premium sushi.

For this occasion, I tried the S$258 omakase which featured a combination of cooked items and sushi.

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I walked into Omakase @ Stevens on a midweek evening and was surprised to find the dining counters facing the chef’s area almost full. It is no secret that many omakase places have been hit hard by the runaway inflation of recent years, with many local diners opting for that omakase experience in Japan or elsewhere. Omakase @ Stevens seemed unperturbed by this and remains as well-received as ever.

The restaurant is helmed by Executive Chef Kazuki Arimoto who hails from Osaka and has 12 years of culinary experience. The menus in Omakase @ Stevens are defined by the seasons and at the time of my visit, they were offering their summer menu. This is served in 6 or 8 courses, priced at S$280++ and S$333+ respectively. 

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I did not know what to make of Kun when I first heard that this Sichuan omakase opened in Amoy Street in Singapore. This regional variety of Chinese cuisine is not by any means new here but its manifestations abound mostly in mala venues that the thought of it being offered as an omakase – a domain I typically relegate to Japanese cooking – seemed unusual at first. 

kun restaurant

Indeed, Kun’s dining space does make it seem Japanese at first glance. Entering the Amoy street shophouse that accommodates it, I was transported into a sense of zen. The wooden sliding doors, counter seating with the chef preparing dishes in front of diners and smartly-dressed staff members waiting on us all serve to remind that this is very much an omakase venue. 

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