Chinese New Year Dining: 8 Most Impressive CNY Set Menus

Let's face it: having Chinese New Year reunion dinners at restaurant are basically an excuse for some families to splurge and impress all those present. If you belong to the aforementioned category or have (potential) in-laws that you need to rub the right way, these eight restaurants will bring all the fireworks to the table. The rest is up to you. 

Jiang-Nan Chun at Four Seasons Singapore

Start off your meal on a good note - Jiang-Nan Chun's Yu Sheng comes with the option of the addition of bird's nest. 

Chinese New Year is never quite complete without the dinner table essentials of Yu Sheng, hearty soups, and roast meats, and Jiang-Nan Chun at Four Seasons Singapore does all of this with much flair. A selection of menus offer well-done favourites like Steamed “Soon Hock” with Soy Sauce, Roast Crispy Chicken with Garlic Sauce, and Sautéed Scallops and Prawns in Bean Sauce. 

Price: From S$108 per person for a six-course meal to S$1,688 per table of 10 for a eight-course meal

Availability: From now to February 24

Jiang-Nan Chun, Four Seasons Singapore, +65 6831 7220, jnc.sin@fourseasons.com

JING

One of the highlights on JING's seven-course festive menu is its roasted Beijing duck with pancake and condiment.

Specially for the festive season, executive chef Yong Lai Fatt has created an array of menu named after auspicious quotes. The most indulgent of the lot, the seven-course Glorious menu, features creations such as a lobster sashimi, snow pear, and golden mushroom lo hei, double-boiled bird's nest, and roasted Beijing duck served with pancake and condiment. 

Price: From S$98 per person for a Prosperity menu, to S$2,388 per table of 10 for a seven-course menu

Availability: From now to 24 February (closed for lunch on 10 February)

JING, One Fullerton, #01-02/03 1 Fullerton Road +65 6224 0088

Guy Savoy

In commemoration of The Final 100 Days of the Year of the Dragon exhibition at Marina Bay Sands, Guy Savoy has created a special Kraemer's Dragon Menu, befitting of an emperor.

If you've always fancied yourself a bit of an anti-traditionalist, Guy Savoy's six-course Kraemer's Dragon Menu will offer all of the grandeur of Chinese New Year feast, without the ubiquitous festive dishes. The menu, presented in conjunction with The Final 100 Days of the Year of the Dragon exhibition displayed at the Marina Bay Sands hotel lobby, presents exquisite dishes such as an artichoke and black truffle soup, lentils and black truffle, as well as pan-seared duck breast. 

Price: S$250 per person

Availability: From now to 28 February 2013

Guy Savoy, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Atrium 2, L2-01, +65 6688 8513

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant

Customary seafood favourites are the highlight of new seafood restaurant Majestic Bay's Chinese New Year menus.

New seafood restaurant Majestic Bay, helmed by Majestic Restaurant and JING's chef Yong, will bring his popular modern Chinese cuisine to the tables of Chinese New Year-revelers. A total of seven different set menus are available, some of which features prized ingredients such as freshwater Empurau fish, Chinese black truffles, and lobster in its selections of Yu Sheng. 

Price: From S$388 for a four-person meal to S$2013 for a 10-person meal

Availability: From 4 - 24 February 2013

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant, Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive #01-10 Singapore, +65 6604 6604, reservations@majesticbay.sg

Click on to the next page for more delectable Chinese New Year menus. 

Park Palace at Grand Park City Hall

The Prosperity Flambé Pen Cai is one of the highlights at Grand Park City Hall this Chinese New Year.

The ubiquitous Pen Cai is given a luxurious makeover this year at Grand Park City Hall's Park Palace, and comes filled with 18 ingredients like sliced abalone, whole conpoy, roasted duck, and more, infused with Cognac, then flambéed to bring out the rich flavours and tastes of its ingredients. This dish will form the highlight of two available set menus of the Prosperity Flambé Pen Cai Set Dinner held at the Grand Ballroom on 9 February; other dishes include its signature double-boiled chicken soup with sea whelk and diced pork, steamed live red grouper with light soya sauce, and fried glutinous rice. 

Price: S$528 for six persons and S$838 for 10 persons

Availability: Only on 9 February for the Prosperity Flambé Pen Cai Set Dinner. Other set menus for the month of February are also available. Email parkpalace.gpch@parkhotelgroup.com for more information. 

Park Palace, Grand Park City Hall, +65 6432 5543, parkpalace.gpch@parkhotelgroup.com

Summer Pavilion at Ritz-Carlton Singapore

The Golden Crab Roe & Sea Urchin Yu Sheng at Summer Pavilion kicks off the Platinum set menu on a decadent note.

Nothing says decadence quite like an entire Chinese New Year menu of seafood delicacies, and Summer Pavilion's Platinum seven-course menu is an impressive presentation of creations such as Double-boiled Lobster Soup with Chicken, Bamboo Pith and Chinese Cabbage, Sautéed Scallop with Fresh Wild Mushrooms & Seasonal Vegetables, as well as Braised Whole Abalone with Chinese Mushrooms and Seasonal Vegetables. Even the Yu Sheng comes sprinkled with golden crab roe and sea urchin.  

Price: From S$868 for a eight-person, eight-course meal, to S$2,288 for the eight-person, seven-course Platinum menu

Availability: From 28 January - 24 February 2013

Summer Pavilion, Ritz-Carlton Singapore, +65 6434 5286, rc.sinrz.summerpavilion@ritzcarlton.com

Szechuan Court at Fairmont Singapore

One of the highlights this Chinese New Year at Szechuan Court is the braised whole abalones, which are cooked in rich stock for intense flavours.

We can always rely on Szechuan Court to bring familiar favourites to the table, and as always, their set menus for Chinese New Year promise to showcase the most opulent flavours to create a memorable reunion dinner with the folks. Featured highlights in the premium 10-course Fortune set include delights like crispy tiger prawns with wasabi mayonnaise and black sesame seed, steamed turbot fish, and traditional roasted duck with angelica herb. 

Price: From S$288 for a 4-person, 8-course dinner, to S$888 for a 10-person, 10-course dinner

Availability: From 28 January to 24 February 

SzeChuan Court, Fairmont Singapore, +65 6431 6156, dining.singapore@fairmont.com

Yan Ting at St. Regis Singapore

The Steamed Sea Perch Fillet with Special Coral Sauce is one of the most impressive dishes at Yan Ting.

For a truly impressive festive meal, Yan Ting's offering of ten set menus feature a mix of customary favourites (such as a decadent, power-packed Pen Cai) and new creations (like the delectable Black Glutinous Rice served with Ice-Cream) that will wow even the most traditional of parents. Just for the occasion, the St. Regis' mixologists have also concocted a festive cocktail, comprising of Bombay Sapphire, Lustau Manzanilla, Schweppes and Monin Grenadine, called the Red Slangur (or "red snake" in Danish) in celebration of the year of the slithery one. 

Price: From S$98 per person for a six-course meal, to S$2,888 for a eight-course meal for a table of ten

Availability:  From 1 - 24 February 2013

Yan Ting, St. Regis Singapore, +65 6506 6866, dining.singapore@stregis.com