Chasing on the tail of Christmas and new year festivities is the Year of the Dragon, about to breathe some warm tidings.
This Lunar New Year celebration is set to be an especially auspicious one as the Chinese community will be ushering in the Year of the Dragon, the fifth animal in the Chinese zodiac and the luckiest, most auspicious beast out of the entire bunch.
The arrival of such a momentous year – which often leads to a bumper crop of babies – calls for lavish celebratory set menus worthy of the occasion.
Head to these old-school Chinese restaurants for some time-honoured Lunar New Year dishes.
1. Lai Wah Restaurant
Lai Wah Restaurant is one of the island’s oldest Cantonese restaurants, having been founded in pre-independence Singapore circa 1963 by the late Wong Kok Lum with two of Singapore’s so-called Four Heavenly Kings (luminaries in Cantonese cooking), Tham Yui Kai and Lau Yoke Pui.
The stalwart is a shoo-in for this Chinese New Year list, given that one of the restaurant’s claims to fame is that it popularised the convivial tossing of yu sheng (also known as lo hei) during the festive season for good luck and prosperity. Lai Wah Restaurant’s rendition of the festive delicacy – laden with whole abalone and drizzled with an indulgent sweet-tangy sauce – is available for dine-in and takeaway ($43, feeds five to seven; $80, feeds eight to 10). The luxurious Poon Choi Treasure Pot loaded with abalones, dried Japanese conpoy, sea cucumbers, fish maw and more ($248) feeds five.
Those who prefer to ring in the Year of the Dragon from its premises on Bendemeer Road can also enjoy a lavish 10-person set menu at $648, with highlights including shark’s fin soup with crab meat, steamed Teochew-style red garoupa, baked prawns and Kyoto pork chops.
Lai Wah Restaurant
Location: 44 Bendemeer Road, #01-1436, Singapore 330044
Opening Hours: Daily, 11:30am – 2:30pm, 6pm – 9:30pm
Tel: +65 6294 9922
Website: https://www.laiwahrestaurant.com/
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2. Ban Heng Restaurant
Ban Heng Restaurant was founded close to half a century ago, boasting a varied menu that pays homage to Hokkien, Cantonese and especially Teochew culinary traditions in Singapore. Its original flagship in Boon Keng still operates to this day, though its various expansions around the island have closed, leaving an outlet at Orchid Country Club in Yishun as the only other alternative.
The restaurant has quite the exciting line-up for the Year of the Dragon, with four reunion set menus ranging from $568 to $1,188 for a party of 10. The kicker? The restaurant has kept to its commitment of waiving service charge to this day – meaning you’d save quite a substantial amount.
Highlights include steamed Teochew-style white pomfret, barbecued suckling pig, shark’s fin soup and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (an indulgent festive treat stuffed with expensive ingredients like three-headed abalone, sea cucumber and shark’s fin).
The Buddha can also jump over the wall and head home with you (takeaway at $498 for five pax, $788 for 10) along with a seafood and meat-laden pen cai claypot (think cold crab, dried oyster, braised and waxed meats and roast chicken; from $288).
Ban Heng Restaurant
Location: 22 Boon Keng Road, #01-21, Singapore 330022
Opening Hours: Daily, 11:30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10:30pm
Tel: +65 6291 0407
Website: https://www.banheng.com.sg/
3. Spring Court
The grande dame of Singapore’s Chinese banquet scene, Spring Court, has been dishing out labour-intensive Cantonese delights since 1929 (some of us might know it better by its old name, Wing Choon Yuen).
While it is best known for its old-school signatures like roast chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and a beautifully arranged platter of steamed chicken, Jinghua ham and kailan doused in superior chicken stock, it is worth visiting the restaurant during Chinese New Year for its curated reunion day set menus, catering to groups as small as four (from $338) all the way to parties of 10 ($888). Seasonal delights, depending on which menu one opts for, include braised shredded fish maw soup laced with crabmeat and mushrooms, crispy fried cod fillet, stir-fried live lobster with spring onion and ginger, and roasted whole suckling pig with fermented bean sauce.
There are also promotional Chinese New Year menus for the rest of the festive period (from $788), along with takeaway plates like salmon or abalone yu sheng and whole steamed herbal chicken.
Spring Court
Location: 52 to 56 Upper Cross Street, Singapore 058348
Opening Hours: Mon – Thu, 11am – 2pm, 6pm – 10pm; Fri – Sun, 11am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 10pm
Tel: +65 6449 5030
Website: https://www.springcourt.com.sg/
4. Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant
Established by immigrant Lim Yew Hoon in 1949, Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant specialises in traditional Chinese Hokkien dishes like prawn ball ngoh hiang, kong bak bao (braised pork buns) and oyster omelette, all executed with the same unerring attention to tradition.
They continue to serve comfortingly nostalgic plates in a spacious dining room on the fifth floor of the OCBC Centre – perfect if you’re looking for a Fujian-style twist in lieu of the standard Chinese New Year set menus (from $198 for two to three to $1,518 for 12), complementing signatures mentioned above with suitably festive Hokkien fare like braised duck and sea cucumber, crabmeat fish maw soup and black pepper lobster with vermicelli.
Beng Thin Hoon Kee Restaurant
Location: 65 Chulia Street, #05-02 OCBC Centre, Singapore 049513
Opening Hours: Daily, 11:30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Tel: +65 6533 2818
Website: https://bengthin.com/
5. Asia Grand Restaurant
Despite Asia Grand Restaurant’s relative youth compared to others on this Chinese New Year list – it was founded in the ’80s as Tsui Hang Village Singapore under the management of native Hong Kongers Andy Chau, Jacky Ma and Danny Sin, before rebranding in 2004 – the Cantonese restaurant has earned an ardent following for its consummate grub and especially its value-for-money Peking duck lunch deal ($58, with a minimum spend of $100).
Having settled in Fairmont Singapore after a number of moves, this is the place to go for a reunion dinner if you’re willing to splurge for a little festive pizazz. The Chinese New Year menus run all the way from $248 for a single diner to a grand $3,688 for a group of 10.
Depending on the size of your group, you’ll be able to sample their famed Peking duck as long as you opt for a set that’s at least one tier up from the most basic option ($498 for three to four, or $898 for five to six) with the chance to munch on other Lunar New Year goodies like steamed fresh dragon garoupa, braised whole 6-head abalone with veggies or sauteed scallops with broccoli and black bean sauce.
Asia Grand Restaurant
Location: Weekdays, 11:30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm; weekends, 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Opening Hours: Daily, 11:30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Tel: +65 6887 0010
Website: https://asiagrand.com.sg/
