The upcoming Year of the Ox will bring about change in how we usually celebrate the annual Chinese New Year festivities – home gatherings of no more than eight pax and angbaos via PayNow are just some of the examples. But one thing remains tradition: reunion dinners.
Whether it’s with your family members or clique of seven other pals, CNY reunion dinner restaurants are bound to get booked up quickly. Check out where to get your reservation in pronto, with options including private dining rooms and ox-shaped yusheng.
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For an unconventional Chinese New Year reunion meal, The Real Peranakan offers dinner set meals with a twist. Bring the whole family down to share Prosperity Set A at $98.80++/pax, that includes classic Peranakan dishes like Ayam Buah Keluak and Babi Pongtay. Prosperity Set B ups the ante with Ngoh Hiang added into the mix, priced at $128.80++/pax.
Every set menu order also comes with a free Prosperity Yusheng, that features a slightly spicy Peranakan sauce. Else, get it a la carte starting from $33.80++. For even more CNY feasting, order the Auspicious Pen Cai (from $198++) that bursts with ingredients like abalone, scallop and crab. As a token of extra huat, the restaurant is even giving away two TOTO tickets to customers for every order of the dish to try their luck!
Dates: 29th Jan – 26th Feb 2021
The Real Peranakan @ Hillcrest
Address: 73 Hillcrest Road, Singapore 288945
Telephone: 9783 1118
The Real Peranakan @ Kim Yan
Address: 46 Kim Yan Road, Singapore 239351
The Real Peranakan website
Birthday dinners, company gatherings, parents’ anniversaries – a meal at Jumbo Seafood is the mark of any Singaporean celebration, and Chinese New Year is no exception.
This year, the seafood chain is offering six different Reunion Set Menus specially on 11th Feb 2021, starting from $298 for 4-pax to $888 for 8-pax. All options come with a classic Prosperity Salmon Yusheng.
A visit to Jumbo Seafood isn’t complete without their signature Chili Crabs and fried mantous – all included in any of their nine Celebration Set Menu options, with prices varying according to the number of diners. Other menu highlights include Supreme Seafood Fried Rice With X.O. Sauce and 5-Head Abalone Braised With Spinach And Shitake Mushroom.
Dates: 11th Feb 2021 for Reunion Set Menus. Now till 28th Feb 2021 for Celebration Set Menu (excluding 11th Feb 2021)
Check out Jumbo Seafood’s full list of outlets
Jumbo Seafood website
Reunion dinners can burn a hole in your pocket, but SO Sofitel’s Xperience Restaurant’s Chinese and European fusion set dinner will prevent that from happening. Available daily from 5.30PM-8PM for $38++ for three courses or $48++ for four courses, you’ll be treated to dishes like Steamed Fish with Thicken Prawn Bouillabaisse – a seafood stew – and Spaghetti in Pork Zha Jiang – a soy bean paste.
To make your experience even sweeter, the courses also include free-flow Chinese tea and three types of assorted dimsum for 90 minutes.
Dates: 12th – 26th Feb 2021. Yusheng available 25th Jan – 26th Feb 2021.
Address: SO Sofitel Singapore, 35 Robinson Road, Singapore 068876
Telephone: 6701 6800
SO/ Singapore Xperience Restaurant website
Image credit: Soup Restaurant
Soup Restaurant’s Samsui Ginger Chicken is one of my all-time favourite dishes, but Chinese New Year also gives me an excuse to check out others on their Celebration and Prosperity set menus.
The Celebration set menu starts from $118 for two pax, with classic Chinese dishes like Stir-fried Prawns in Sweet Sauce and Braised Mushroom with Fish Maw and Broccoli. If you and the family want to go big, order the Prosperity set instead, priced from $168 for two pax. It includes the Golden Collagen Treasure Pot with Abalone pen cai, made with pumpkin collagen – an ingredient believed to nourish skin.
All set menus also come with FOC Handmade Lotus Fortune Bao – suitable as an appetiser or post-dinner treat.
Dates: Now till 28th Feb 2021
Check out Soup Restaurant’s full list of outlets
Soup Restaurant website
Image adapted from: @mouthrestaurant
With social distancing to adhere to, your best bet to be safe is a private dining room. Mouth Restaurant has these for group gatherings of eight pax per table, complete with air-conditioning, free WiFi and private washrooms.
Image credit: @mervyn6
They’ve even got a stage and audio/visual equipment to give toasts or speeches – apt for overdued family reunions or a company meal with colleagues.
8-pax sets come with an entire suckling pig and double boiled bird’s nest for extra prosperity, but you can also scale down your menu to 2- to 6-pax sets (from $198++), with standout dishes like Sauteed Scallop with Celery & Mushroom in X.O. Sauce and Braised E-Fu Noodles.
Dates: 1st – 28th Feb 2021
Address: 38 Maxwell Road, #01-01/02 Airview Building, Singapore 069116
Telephone: 6438 5798
Mouth Restaurant website
Between family gatherings and workplace celebrations, some of us might have multiple lo heis. But the same old ingredients can get repetitive after a while. Enter the Triumph Yusheng from Cherry Garden at Mandarin Oriental, included in the Wealth dinner set for $288/pax.
Boasting scallop, truffle and black caviar on top of the standard salmon slices, it’ll be a twist on the usual yusheng for an extravagant affair. Other variations available include the Prosperity Yusheng that has crispy fish skin for a crunch in every bite, and the vegetarian-friendly Garden of Health Yusheng that only has fresh fruits and vegetables.
Besides the food, the oriental interior design of the restaurant and floor-to-ceiling glass windows with views of lush greenery outside will truly get you into the celebratory CNY mood.
Dates: 8th – 26th Feb 2021
Address: Mandarin Oriental Singapore, 5 Raffles Ave, Singapore 039797
Telephone: 6885 3500
Whether their name is intentional or not, Hua Ting Restaurant will let you huat, quite literally with an ox-shaped yusheng dish.
Priced at $188 and requiring orders one-day in advance, the Ox-picious Yusheng is filled with abalone and will delight both kids and elderly diners. For the health-conscious, there’s the Healthy Organic Seasonal Green Lo Hei ($78 for small, $138 for large), while those that want to zhng their meal up can opt for the Live Australian Lobster, Salmon Roe, Whole Abalone Lo Hei Yusheng ($628) to share.
If your family wants to be extra traditional, get the Hua Ting Signature Fortune Pot ‘Pen Cai’ ($328 for five pax; $598 for 10 pax). It is chock-full of ingredients like Fish Maw and Dried Oysters, and is even served in a chio, red container as a sign of prosperity.
Dates: 11th-26th Feb 2021
Address: Orchard Hotel Singapore, 442 Orchard Road, Level 2, Singapore 238879
Telephone: 6739 6666
If you’re looking for a reunion dinner location minus the crowds, Mimi Restaurant has secret rooms for groups of at least five pax. These are available by request only, and on a first-come-first-served basis, so early bookings are recommended.
Set menu prices start from $128++/pax, and includes premium dishes like Braised Boston Lobster Bisque With La Mian and Orh Nee With Red Bean Pancake.
Dates: 27th Jan – 28th Feb 2021
Address: 3A River Valley Road, #01-02, Singapore 179020
Telephone: 8879 0688
It’s no secret that this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations will look and feel slightly different. But you don’t have to compromise the joy of meeting up with loved ones by booking your gatherings at CNY reunion dinner restaurants.
With the latest safety measures in place, do remember to wear your masks during lo heis and keep the volume of your auspicious sayings to a minimum!
If you’re celebrating CNY at home, these might help:
Cover image adapted from: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, Hua Ting Restaurant
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