The best Chinese New Year takeaways in Singapore for 2024

January 9 to February 25

Place a premium abalone pot (from $398) in the centre of the table and you’ll be sure to hear oohs and aahs. The restaurant’s signature Chinese New Year offering includes ingredients such as five-head abalone, sea cucumber, and fried oyster that are tightly nestled in a pot. Every table needs roasted meat, so opt for the smoky-sweet barbecued char siew ($59), the crispy roast pork belly ($59) or the 48-hour dry-aged barbecued duck ($65) roasted till melting tenderness. For dessert, snack on organic pineapple rolls ($32.80), but the more adventurous can instead try the intriguing mala pineapple rolls or the spicy dried shrimp pineapple rolls.  

Now to February 24

If you’re hosting your reunion dinner at home, you’ll need a stunning centrepiece – nothing beats an elegant Koi Fish Dessert from award-winning Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant. These intricately designed fish aren’t just pretty, but also a good luck symbol for wealth and prosperity. Pick from three flavours: an osmanthus water chestnut cake, fresh mango pudding, and the traditional nian gao. 

You’ll also want to order some of the restaurant’s other handcrafted gourmet goodies, including exquisite golden nian gao tarts ($35 for eight). This year, the tarts come with the familiar ondeh ondeh flavours with the nian gao filling infused with gula melaka (palm sugar), grated coconut, and fresh pandan juice – all encased in a pandan shell tart. These are also available in flavours like yam, pineapple, and purple sweet potato.

Order here.

January 29 to February 24

For a Chinese New Year feast that’s bound to satisfy, Grain is bringing nostalgic old-school flavours to the reunion table – but with a contemporary touch. The menu spans decades, with the taste buds of both the younger folks and older generation in mind. The Heng Heng Chilli Crab Mantou, mini golden mantou buns that come with an addictive chilli crab sauce and poached crab meat, will be instantly devoured. While elegant dishes like the imperial ginseng herbal chicken and Jade Emperor’s Sea Blessings, filled with braised abalone, sea cucumber, and prawns, are sure to impress even the most discerning palates. 

Grain also offers unique dishes such as cereal prawns that’ve been coated in rolled oats, as well as a stir-fried sauerkraut seabass with charred Chinese mustard greens. You can choose to add on a few specialty items such as the roasted duck made with seven special herbs ($80) or the Lunar Egg Tart ($23) that hails from a secret recipe using heng ong hut (pineapple) marmalade. Make sure to order by February 1 for a promotional price on all Chinese New Year buffets and mini buffets. You can also order a Fortune Salmon Yu Sheng at $6.88 per set, a steal in comparison to the regular price of $68. Time Out Singapore readers, you can also use promo code ”TIMEOUTCNY” to get five percent off* Chinese New Year buffets and mini buffet menus.

*Capped at $58.

Order here.

February 1 to 24

Sitting back and relaxing can be a reality this Chinese New Year if you order Yun Nans’ comforting take-home festive set for four to six people ($348) featuring classics that kick off with abalone yu sheng. For your main, dig into the treasure hot pot where a medley of ingredients – including roast pork belly, bamboo pith, sea cucumber, and fish maw – sit in golden broth stewed for six hours. Accompaniments include steamed glutinous rice packets in lotus leaf, which uses specially sourced preserved vegetables from China’s Dabu County, as well as crispy roast chicken served with house sauce made using  seven types of Yunnan chillies.

Now to February 22

Cantonese restaurant Man Fu Yuan is known for their delectable Chinese New Year goodies, and this year’s lineup is no different. One must-try is the new nian gao tarts – these are piped generously with a silky smooth sweet potato filling and topped with shredded coconut and edible gold leaf. With its buttery biscuit-light shell, each tart is a true delight especially when paired with the signature Man Fu Yuan Tea. These tarts are priced at $48.80 for a set of eight, and come packaged in an intricately designed red box. For a more traditional set, you can also pick up the ingot-shaped nian gao tarts as a symbol of prosperity. 

Man Fu Yuan also offers many other takeaway goodies, such as the Man Fu Yuan Abundance Treasure Pot ($498) which features over eighteen premium ingredients like rock lobster and five-head abalone. They also offer pastries such as the Prosperity Pineapple Balls ($53.80) and other baked goods like cashew nut cookies ($46.80) and almond slices ($43.80).

Order here.

January 22 to February 24

The Chairman’s Lounge’s Chinese New Year offerings will adorn your dinner table perfectly with a sprinkle of gourmet on reunion dinner night. Wish for a prosperous year ahead with the signature yu sheng ($188) made with spiky sea cucumber and lobster. Then, dig into the claypot pen cai (from $588) packed to the brim with prized ingredients such as lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, goose web, dried oyster, flower mushrooms, quail egg, cordyceps flower, and roast duck. Your snack options this year need not be basic with multi-layered ingot-shaped nian gao with soya bean crisps ($88), or golden kumquat ‘coins’ ($35) where tangy kumquat jam is encased in a buttery crust.

January 8 to February 24

The elusive fugu (pufferfish) is making a comeback at Si Chuan Dou Hua this CNY in the form of yu sheng ($198) shaped like a dragon. Fugu requires a license to prepare due to its poisonous state if prepared incorrectly, and this restaurant is the only Chinese establishment in Singapore to have one. If you’d prefer not to tread risky grounds, opt instead for the takeaway set menu ($588 for six) featuring salmon yu sheng, pen cai, Spanish pork ribs with orange peel, and pan-fried nian gao. Kueh lapis with prune and homemade bak kwa are also available for order

January 16 to February 24

This year, Tablescape has curated a range of ala carte takeaway items for Chinese New Year to ensure you don’t have to toil in the kitchen all day. The lobster yu sheng ($128) is a showstopper topped with a lobster head, Josper-grilled octopus, salmon sashimi, and crispy fish skin brought together with a honey-sesame dressing. For your main, choose between Irish duck roasted with angelica root ($128) and lotus leaf steamed chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and scallops ($88). The restaurant’s version of pen cai ($188) subverts tradition with the addition of Boston lobster and Avruga caviar for a touch of regality. Alternatively, order the set menu for two ($176) for a no-fuss five-course meal that you could inadvertently turn into date night. 

January 22 to February 25

Paradise Group – which owns beloved restaurants such as Paradise Dynasty, Canton Paradise, and Beauty in the Pot – has devised extensive set menus if you’re after comfort and familiarity for your reunion night. The Abundance Set ($368) comes with abalone yu sheng, pen cai, lotus leaf glutinous rice, and black truffle kampung chicken. We’re also fond of the idea of Beauty in the Pot’s takeaway set ($358) which comes with twin hotpot options such as collagen broth, spicy broth, and Vitamin C tomato sweet corn broth. Twenty fresh ingredients are offered including Hokkaido fresh scallop, dried fish maw, Nagano pork collar, pork dumplings, and more. Plus, you get a complimentary electric pot and disposable tableware with each order. Find out more about Paradise Group’s Chinese New Year set menus across its various restaurants here.