Besides the reunion dinner table, the second most anticipated table is the ‘snacks table’ laden with Chinese New Year goodies and confections. Keep your festive platters looking prosperous and full with an array of sweet and savoury bites from these luxury hotels.
Origin + Bloom offers a line-up of festive chocolate showpieces, mini cakes and baked treats by executive pastry chef Antonio Benites.
Inventive sweet treats include the Longevity Bunny Bank featuring a belly of chocolate gold bars, coins, ingots and Chinese dried fruits. Just as special are the Prosperity Money Pouch overflowing with gold-foiled chocolates as well as the Fortune Gold Bar, a creative twist on the traditional pound cake. Alternatively, tuck into the Vitality Peanut Cake, filled with Californian almonds and premium peanut pralines.
Look out for themed mini cakes at Origin + Bloom’s counter available from 10.30am daily. Savour the Auspicious Bi Thang (wooden rice bucket), a Carnaroli rice pudding elevated with Okinawan sugar caramel, Tahitian vanilla and cinnamon, or the Lucky Fan, made with house-made black sesame paste with yuzu zest and Japanese preserved kumquat, topped with a fan-shaped puff rice biscuit. Bread lovers can munch on the Happiness Brioche, a rabbit-shaped French brioche mixed with mandarin zest.
Guests can pre-order online and collect their festive goodies at Origin + Bloom, located at Marina Bay Sands Hotel Lobby Tower 3.
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This year, Shangri-La Singapore’s selection of handmade nian gao features four flavours: the new Red Date Nian Gao with Bird’s Nest, Three Layers Nian Gao, Radish Cake with Dried Scallop, Shrimp and Preserved Meat, and Traditional Nian Gao with Coconut Milk and Brown Sugar. Executive Chinese chef Daniel Cheung elevates the Hong Kong-style red date nian gao with luxurious bird’s nest. This sublime sticky cake is made with naturally sweet premium Xin Jiang red dates. Returning for the third year is the popular Three Layers Nian Gao comprising purple sweet potato, pumpkin, and coconut milk and brown sugar. Don’t forget to top up your serving trays with Shangri-La Applewood minced pork bak kwa, yuzu pineapple tarts, and salted egg with curry leaf cookies.
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Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza is famed for its Golden Nian Gao Tarts — bite-sized tarts filled with the glutinous rice cake, which is a staple of Chinese New Year festive food. Instead of having to fry or steam the nian gao, the rice cake is smartly packaged in a tart and layered with fillings such as purple sweet potato, pineapple and yam. Making its debut this year are the Golden Nian Gao Tarts with Cempedak Custard. The dainty tart is packed with rich and fibrous cempedak fruit beneath the layer of mellow sweet nian gao custard.
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Strike gold with these auspicious-looking Golden Pineapple Ingots from two-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Shisen Hanten by Japanese ‘Iron Chef’ Chen Kentaro. The golden parcels are stuffed with sweet and spicy pineapple filling encased in a buttery soft crust. Other goodies include the Four Treasure Mini Nian Gao, each comes in a pudding-sized bowl and boasts different flavours such as Traditional Red Sugar, Japanese Pumpkin, Red Date and Japanese Purple Sweet Potato.
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Jade’s executive chef Leong is rolling out a special Lion Dance Eight Treasures Cookies (box of six). Handcrafted to resemble the head of a lion dance costume, each buttery shortbread cookie is generously filled with pineapple paste, white lotus paste, osmanthus, peanuts, white sesame seeds, melon seeds, pickled winter melon, and white peppercorn.
Meanwhile, executive pastry chef Siddharth Prabhu has created a trio of single-portion cakes: the Mandarin compose of mandarin curd and lychee mousse, layered with raspberry chiffon and almond frangipane. The Firecracker is filled with 70% dark chocolate mousse, hazelnut praline cremeux and crunchy feuilletine. And the Jasmine Yuzu Brew is shaped as a delicate Chinese teapot; within this treat is yuzu and jasmine tea-infused mousse, grapefruit jelly and citrus financier. Pair these cakes with your favourite Chinese tea after your reunion feast.
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Pan Pacific Singapore is once again offering its best-selling Pineapple Pastry Combination. The handmade pineapple tarts are beautifully shaped in different ways like cute mahjong tiles, pineapple, and mandarin fruit (16 pieces). Just as beautifully made are the Lunar New Year Prosperity Macarons and Mandarin Orange Pralines.
If you’re looking for a gift for your business associates, order the Prosperity Hamper which is filled with Hai Tien Lo tea leaves, pineapple rounds, chocolate pralines and melting almonds, along with superior abalone, premium dried scallops, a bottle of wine and others.
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This year, Peach Blossoms is bringing back a variety of popular Chinese New Year goodies such as the radish cake topped with Hokkaido premium dried scallops and three types of shrimps. Laden your reunion table with the three-layered nian gao, made of traditional coconut milk, Japanese purple sweet potato and Okinawan brown sugar. Alternatively, choose the fragrant Okinawan Brown Sugar and Black Tea Nian Gao, or the Harvest Japanese Purple Sweet Potato Nian Gao. Complement these steamed cakes with a selection of savoury or sweet cookies such as almond and nut Florentines and cashew nut cookies.
Find out more here.