Unagi Yusheng Or Tom Yum Pencai? 5 Fun CNY Reunion Dinner Meals To Consider

Mod Chinese restaurant Shang Social Jewel Changi Airport’s first ever CNY celebration sees the restaurant collaborating with Hokkien heritage restaurant, Beng Hiang Restaurant. Look forward to the limited-run Master Chef Cook-Off Chinese New Year Set Menu ($238 for four dishes) that’s perfect for four people. Choose between two main dish options made by Chef Gordon Leung, the Shangri-La Group’s Corporate Chinese Executive Chef, or Chef Tan Hee Ang, founder and resident chef of retro fave Beng Hiang Restaurant. Chef Gordon will be serving up his take on traditional Cantonese pencai with the Prosperous Reunion Poon Choi ($198 a la carte) and Chef Tan will be using a special Hokkien heirloom soup recipe to dish out the Emperor’s Deluxe Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (pictured: $198 a la carte). While Chef Tan’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is the only dish he designed in this special CNY menu, the regular menu includes two of his dishes too, namely the Beng Hiang Claypot Braised Duck ($38) and Beng Hiang Fish Maw Thick Soup with Crab Meat ($38). Too bad Beng Hiang's famous Hokkien mee won't be served here.

Available for lunch & dinner till Feb 9 at #01-219 to 222 Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Blvd, S819666. Contact 6346-0260 or reservations [at] shangsocial.com (reservations[at]shangsocial[dot]com) for reservations.

Soi Thai Soi Nice’s Thai-Teochew menu gets a CNY upgrade. Enjoy a Thai-style yusheng with shredded papaya, mango, fresh vegetables and traditional pickles, all tossed with a house-made sweet and sour Thai dressing in the Prosperous Salmon Yusheng (from $32.80 for 4 pax) or Soaring Soft Shell Crab Yusheng (from $32.80 for 4 pax). Meanwhile, the slow-braised Heng Heng Rui Rui Pen Cai (pictured: from $88.80 for 4 pax) features a variety of ingredients such as abalone, fresh tiger prawns, roasted pork and chicken drumstick, all doused with the eatery’s signature tom yum soup. Perfect for those looking for a pencai with a hot and spicy kick.

Available for lunch & dinner till Feb 8 at two outlets including #03-21 JEM, 50 Jurong Gateway Rd, S608549. Contact 6339-1391 for reservations. https://www.soithaisoinice.com.sg/

Have a fun, funky meal at the gourmet “Anglo-Chinese” Chopsuey Café by the folks behind PS. Cafe. There are two Lunar New Year Set Menus for the whole family. Choose between a seven-course meal for four to six pax at $68 per person or 10-course meal for seven to ten people at $88 each. Included in both menus is the Chopsuey Lucky Lunar ‘Lo Hei’ (from $28 a la carte), which replaces traditional yusheng ingredients with mostly angmoh ones like fresh trout, kale, celeriac, sprouts, red radish, blueberries and wild rice. You can also expect dishes like Chef’s Wok-Fried Claypot Rice (pictured) made with traditional Chinese sausage, water chestnuts and fresh herbs, as well as the Chopsuey Chilli Jam Prawns, which are tossed in a piquant chilli jam and topped with crispy clouds of egg whites. Finish off your meal with the Hot Ginger Root Tea, glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame.

Available for lunch & dinner till Feb 8 at #01-23 Chopsuey Cafe at Dempsey, Blk 10 Dempsey Rd, S247700. Contact concierge [at] pscafe.com (concierge[at]pscafe[dot]com) or 6708-9288 for reservations. https://www.pscafe.com/chopsuey-cafe-at-dempsey-hill

Head to Japanese eel joint Unagiya Ichinoji within Japanese food enclave Eat At Seven for an apparently first-of-its-kind Unagi Yusheng with Crispy Udon (pictured: $88). The dish features the restaurant’s signature grilled unagi that’s glazed with an in-house sauce that’s been passed down from generations. The yusheng also contains ingredients like crispy fried udon, pickled radish, and chuka kurage (sweet and sour jellyfish). The restaurant also presents a special take on the usual pencai with the Ichinoji Seafood Treasure Pot with Ginseng Chicken ($108). The broth is made using pork and chicken bones and contains ginseng chicken, grilled unagi, abalone and black tiger prawns.

Available for lunch and dinner from Jan 18 to Feb 8. Open for lunch only on Jan 24 (11.30pm-3pm). #03-307, Eat At Seven, Temasek Boulevard, Sky Garden Suntec City, S038983. Advance booking of four days required. Tel: 6268-8043.

Mosey over to Forest for culinary couple chef Sam Leong and Forest’s mod Chinese Lunar New Year menu. Back again this year is the Signature Fruit Smoked Salmon Yu Sheng (from $88 for small), adorned with a variety of tropical fruits topped with crispy white bait and tossed with yuzu honey-lime dressing. Also look out for the Pumpkin Bisque with Snow Swallow (pulp of the Pingpao plant that’s apparently similar in texture to bird’s nest) and Alaskan crabmeat, as well as the wok-fried Primrose Pork Ribs (pictured) with crispy garlic and fermented bean curd paste. Too lazy to order a la carte? Get a specially curated set menu, available from $88 per person for a six-course meal.

Available for lunch & dinner till Feb 8 at #01-521 & 522, Equarius Hotel Lobby, 16 Sentosa Gateway, S098133. Contact restaurantsales [at] rwsentosa.com (restaurantsales[at]rwsentosa[dot]com) or 6577-7788 for reservations. https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/restaurants/forest/menus ​​​​​​​