One of the best things about Chinese New Year is the festive goodies. Although these days you can get them at any time of the year, it is a real treat to eat them during CNY. These are some recommendations for your consideration:

GWP’s ingot-shaped pineapple tarts are the best I’ve eaten this year. They are not cheap at $38 nett for a box of 10, but the pastry is very thin and buttery, and pineapple jam is rich and gao; it’s really irresistible. I brought a box home at 10pm, and in less than 12 hours, they were all gone.

Besides their tarts, we also highly recommend two other snacks: salted egg yolk lotus roots ($36.80 nett) and their ma la 麻辣 yam chips (they call  it Salted Egg Yolk Yam Chips with Sichuan Spice 四川咸蛋芋头片, $36.80 nett). It’s super spicy and addictive.

They also offer a showstopping centerpiece, which is made with vanilla pound cake, called tree of blossoming treasures ($98 nett, 1kg). How not to huat after eating this?

Local shop New East Kim Tee has been around for more than 40 years, since the 70s, and has expanded to four outlets including Toa Payoh Lorong 8, 51 Old Airport Road, and Potong Pasir Avenue 1. They still maintain the traditional way by using handmade bak kwa grilled over charcoal. The distinguishing aspect of their bak kwa is that it’s thinner and sweeter than other brands’, so it’s suitable for children and the elderly.

The award-wining Chef Daniel Tay who, in 1998, founded Baker’s Inn, now known as Bakerzin, has finally opened a brick-and-mortar shop for the e-business Old Seng Choong. For CNY, he offers five flavors of pineapple tarts: Spicy Nonya (hae bee hiam) Pineapple Tart, Orange Peel Pineapple Tart, Bakwa Pineapple Tart, Yuzu Pineapple Tart, and Original. Prices range from $24.80-$28.80 for 10 pieces.

Besides tarts, there are also red date cake, carrot cake (the Chinese savory kind), yam cake, and nian gao. They are approximately 500g and priced at $24.80 each.

I’m a fan of the local bakery, best known for their lychee martini cake, whose continual and assiduous innovation in its cakes and pastries is so delightful that they were on our Best Desserts in 2016.

Besides their yearly and popular Chinese New Year items, kueh lapis ($26 M / $46 L) and their pineapple tarts (30 pcs, $28.60) with hand-grated pineapple jam, they also offer goodies with reduced sugar: Yuzu Pineapple roll (25 pcs, $30.50) which uses yuzu from Kochi prefecture in Japan and Orange Almond Chiffon Cake (7 inch diameter, $15.50).

Their cookies are really buttery, and, as a result, may crumble at the lightest touch. Recommended: salted egg cereal cookies (300g, $18.90), tom yum cookies (300g, $18.90), butter cookie swirls (300g, $18.90), and Togarashi seaweed cookies (350g, $18.90).

Bakerzin launches four different flavours of pineapple tarts: original ($23.80, 18pc), XO liquor ($32 18pcs), Chrysanthemum, and hae bee hiam. They also come as an assorted box ($23.80, 18pc, 6pc/flavour) without the XO flavour.

Their assorted cookies ($23.80/box) include long jing tea cookie, cereal salted egg yolk cookie, Thai milk tea cookie, and 5 other flavours, rounding up to 8 flavours in a box as an auspicious sign.

The Carvery, the buffet restaurant of Park Hotel Alexandra, will be priced at $46++ onwards and $58++ onwards during 22 Jan to 2 March. But what is exciting is that this year, they offer pulled pork lohei ($38.80, 4-6 persons), available for dine-in and takeaway. The pork is marinated in thyme, rosemary, juniper berries, and bay leaves first before it is roasted for four hours. Other ingredients: fried fish skin, caramelised walnuts, granny smith apple strips, red cabbage, orange pearls, crisp tortilla crackers and fried pickled ginger; drizzled in olive oil, and white balsamic peach dressing.

There is something of everything here–bitter, savory, sweet, vinegar.

You may be interested in…
–Ideas for 2018 Chinese New Year Reunion Dinners & Other 旺旺🐶 Meals

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.