Foie Gras Pineapple Tarts

Looking for something unique? This unusual handcrafted French-meets-Chinese pineapple tart was created by executive pastry Chef Sam Leong and is true to the culinary spirit of Racines, a restaurant which features both French and Chinese cuisines.

In this pairing of foie gras with acidic fruits, the clever use of rich foie gras butter in the dough gives a well-rounded savouriness to the pastry and helps balance the sweet and, at times, sharp flavours of the pineapple. Takeaway items are available online. Collection only available from Jan 21 to Feb 22.

Racines, Sofitel Singapore City Centre, 9 Wallich Street, Singapore 078885

Hong Bao

Antoinette’s take on the customary red packet differs slightly in nature. The seemingly meek loaf packs a punch with its whimsical combination of hidden ingredients. Made with both French and Japanese baking techniques, the resulting creation is suitably fluffy and chewy, and infused with red dragon fruit for a light sweetness.

Cut open the bread, and one will find it stuffed with ingredients such as mochi or nian gao (made with black sugar and fried shallots) as well as candied yam, sweet potato, fluffy pork floss and salted egg.

Antoinette, Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road, #02-33/34, Singapore 238897

Purple Sweet Potato Pineapple Tarts

To usher in the year of the pig, Kele has come up with their own unique and unusual reinterpretation of the traditional tart: Purple Sweet Potato Pineapple Tarts. These mouth-watering baked goods (sweet, gold pineapple paste orbs encircled by buttery, lilac-coloured crust) are sure to stand out from the Chinese New Year goodie spread, and are made from natural dried purple sweet potato – notes of which complement the pineapple paste.

Kele, 2 Smith Street, Chinatown Singapore 058917

Nian Gao with Apricots

Besides perennial favourites such as Radish Cake with Conpoy and Preserved Meat and Water Chestnut Cake with Osmanthus, renowned Cantonese restaurant Li Bai is also offering a traditional Nian Gao treat with a fruity twist. The new Nian Gao with Cane Sugar and Apricot draws natural sweetness from cane sugar and apricots. A refreshing take on a Chinese New Year classic. Available for dine-in and takeaway.

Li Bai, Sheraton Towers, 39 Scotts Road, Singapore 228230

Drum of Fortune Pound Cake

Decorate your snack table with this decadent and intricate cake. The body of this majestic confection proves hefty, weighing 1.3 kg. Made out of chocolate marble cake, the drum is blanketed by fondant in the auspicious colours of red and gold. A stack of mini gold ingots surrounded by a ring of mandarin oranges (all crafted from dark chocolate) top the pound cake to add finishing touches of resplendence.

The Deli, Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Rd, Singapore 228221

Janice Wong Chocolate Piggy Bank

Besides a delectable twist on traditional goodies, such as Chocolate Strawberry Love Letters and Chocolate Chip Bakkwa Cookies, another highlight of celebrated local pastry chef Janice Wong’s Chinese New Year collection is this playful Chocolate Piggy Bank, complete with three edible gold coins. This lovable creation takes on a more modern porcine form and comes in myriad of vibrant pinks and reds.

Janice Wong has several locations.

Yoku Moku Limited Edition Chinese New Year Gifting Tins

The 2019 Chinese New Year limited edition tin box by renowned Japanese confectionery brand Yoku Moku is made for gifting. It contains an assortment of three flavours of cookies; Cigare (rolled butter cookie, eight pcs), Billet au chocolat au lait (butter-vanilla cookies covered in milk chocolate, eight pcs) and Billet aux amandes chocolat (butter cookies coated with a milk chocolate base and topped with almond slivers, four pcs) with individually wrapped gold films. The box’s intricate design with motifs of lanterns and flowers celebrate the beginning of the new year, while the pine, bamboo and plum which are drawn as decorations of lanterns represent longevity (pine), prosperity (bamboo) and beauty and nobility (plum). These are three auspicious symbols in Japan, and especially associated with New Year celebration. Chinese New Year Daruma Cigare Polybag and Chinese New Year Fortune Sea Bream Cigare au chocolat Polybag options are also available.

Yoku Moku, B4-39 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, Singapore 238801 / B1-50 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Road, Singapore 189768

Pineapple Pastry Combination

This pineapple pastry combination from Pan Pacific would make an unusual, and welcome, addition to the snack table. Besides traditional pineapple filled pastries, this combination features Japanese matcha tarts (stuffed with a sweet red bean paste, the coarseness of which adds texture to each bite), as well as charcoal pineapple tarts with korean yuzu tea filling (which lends a tart flavour to the treat).

Pan Pacific, 7 Raffles Blvd, Marina Square, Singapore 039595

Nasi Lemak Cookies

HarriAnns, a homegrown brand that specialises in traditional Peranakan delicacies, has always been a hot favourite for CNY snacks. Their pink Tingkat Cookies Set (Pineapple Tarts, Sambal Prawn Rolls, and Almond Cookies) is especially popular. The latest addition to their ever-growing list is the Nasi Lemak Cookie. This crunchy cookie contains fragrant anchovies, spicy sambal and creamy coconut milk, and you can taste the savoury ikan bilis and the heat of the sambal chilli gently burning on your tongue.

HarriAnns, #01-416A, Suntec City Mall Tower 5, 3 Temasek Boulevard, Singapore 038983

Curry Cookies

We never thought we would see the day that Old Chang Kee sells cookies, yet here we are. The much-loved local heritage brand has two local flavoured cookies prepared for this CNY – Curry and Nasi Lemak. The savoury Curry cookie is made using the same curry recipe as Old Chang Kee’s coveted Curry’O, and we can already imagine the familiar curry puff taste in a bite-sized cookie. The Nasi Lemak cookie is a bright amber cookie topped with crispy fried anchovies and peanuts.

Available at select Old Chang Kee and Curry Times outlets from Jan 6 to Feb 28

Valrhona Chocolate Piggy Bank

SweetSpot’s Valrhona chocolate Piggy Bank is too cute to resist. Sitting atop a treasure chest filled with luscious dark, white and milk chocolate truffles, this bright pink piglet makes a perfect centrepiece. Crack it open with the accompanying wooden hammer to reveal more chocolate ingots and coins, symbolising an abundance of fortune for the new year. Available from Jan 13 to Feb 10.

SweetSpot, Marina Bay Sands, Hotel Lobby Tower 3, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956

Osmanthus Water Chestnut Cake

Osmanthus water chestnut cake

Here’s a perfect refreshment for weary souls, tired out from visitation. Refreshing and cool, this treat is made out of osmanthus (a flower, which contains antioxidants that help improve complexion), water chestnut and wolf berries. Light and bouncy in texture, this cake is ideal as a dessert and is best served chilled.

The St. Regis, 29 Tanglin Rd, Singapore 247911

Chicken Bak Hu Lapis

Choux pastry specialists, Ollella, have a variety of Lunar New Year treats to tempt your guests. Kueh Lapis is one of their specialties and these are made the traditional way from a recipe passed down generations. Their 20-layer cakes come in a variety of flavours, and available in limited quantities this year is the Chicken Bak Hu Lapis. This sweet-savoury decadent treat has halal chicken floss compressed between Dutch butter-rich layers of lapis cake. A sure-fire winner for its unique take on a traditional kueh.

Ollella, B2 Takshimaya Square, Lunar New Year Fair

Yam paste Nian Gao

A Chinese New Year staple, the Nian Gao — glutinous rice cake — is usually served simply steamed or pan-fried and it is a symbol of prosperity for the year ahead. In a bid to make this sticky-sweet dessert easier to serve and eat, Jade at The Fullerton Hotel’s Chef Leong’s creation is the Baked Yam Paste Nian Gao Tart. Here, glutinous rice cake and orh nee (yam paste) are served in a buttery tart shell. This is a version of nian gao that even kids will love, and each tart comes topped with a sliver of gold leaf for added prosperity.

Jade, The Fullerton Hotel, 1 Fullerton Square, Singapore 049178

Earl Grey Pineapple tarts

A fervent favourite for the festive season, pineapple tarts split the population between those that swear by either open-faced versions, and those that hide their filling in a buttery shell. SPRMRKT is championing the latter, with an aromatic rendition that perfumes buttery shortcrust pastry with the bergamot fragrance of Earl Grey tea, and spikes the pineapple filling with a hint of lemongrass.

SPRMRKT, 501 Bukit Timah Road, 02-13 Cluny Court, Singapore 259760