Have a belly-full Lunar New Year with our top picks

Forget the weighing scales and embrace the endless spread of delectable Chinese New Year goodies. Here are our nine top picks for delicious and auspicious yu sheng, pen cai and Chinese New Year menus.

Lunar New Year menus

Head down to Forest 森 at Resorts World Sentosa to enjoy an opulent Modern-Cantonese affair with the Luxury Celebration set menu ($888/person). Highlights include the scrumptious Buddha Jump Over the Wall, a 10-head supreme Australian dried abalone slow cooked for 8 hours and served with abalone sauce and truffle oiled, and the premium A3/M8 Kagoshima Wagyu striploin chargrilled served with sautéed assorted mushrooms and topped with seared foie gras. End it with the sweet Imperial Bird’s Nest double boiled with cream of almond served in a Thai coconut. #01-521-522, Equarius Hotel, 16 Sentosa Gateway. Tel: 6577 7788

Jiang Nan Chun’s new executive chef Tim Lam has upped the ante this festive season with his take on Cantonese classics. Indulge in time-tested dishes such as the delectable Roasted Kurobuta Pork Belly with Honey Glaze ($29), and Deep-fried Prawn with Sliced Almond and Crispy Rice ($16/person), as well as refreshing vegetarian creations like the Greenhouse Tomato in Plum Sauce (only available in the six-course vegetarian set menu, $108/person). The nourishing Double-boiled Pork Ribs Soup with Sea Whelk, Maka and Dried Scallops ($38/person) is another must-try. Level 2, Four Seasons Hotel, 190 Orchard Boulevard. Tel: 6831 7220

Lime Restaurant’s Feast of Pawsperity buffet ($60/person for lunch, $80/person for dinner) will leave you fully satisfied and in a food coma that may last until next year. After a complimentary welcome drink, head straight to the live cooking stations. You wouldn’t want to miss their Peking Duck with Hoisin Sauce, Half Shell Scallop with Garlic Butter, and Roasted Pork Knuckle. The wide spread also includes beloved old-school fare like the juicy Slow-cooked Soy Braised Pork Belly with Fatt Choy. PARKROYAL on Pickering, 3 Upper Pickering Street. Tel: 6809 8899

Yu Sheng

Hai Tien Lo’s executive chef Lai Tong Ping’s Wealth and Health Yu Sheng ($128 for four to six persons, $188 for seven to 10 persons) is a sight to behold, with the lo hei ingredients assembled to resemble a cute canine. What’s included: julienned carrots, cucumbers, daikon, Imperia Swiftlet’s Nest, Boston lobster and baby abalone. Available till 2 March. Order at least three days in advance. Level 3, Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard. Tel: 6826 8338

Restauranter-chef Akira Back has given a modern and Japanese-Korean twist to the traditional Chinese New Year Yu Sheng in his eponymous restaurant located at JW Marriott. His AB Yusheng ($88 for four to six persons) contains decadent caviar, crisp chicken skin, julienned carrots and radish, and premium salmon. The star of the dish, however, is the house-made ume plum dressing – tangy and sweet all rolled into one that unifies all the ingredients. Level B1M, JW Marriott Singapore, 30 Beach Road. Tel: 6818 1914

Si Chuan Dou Hua has given the traditional yu sheng a different spin with its’ unique fugu versions. The Bountiful Blessings Yusheng with Fugu is served with thinly sliced Japanese puffer fish sashimi shaped in the likeness of a dog ($178) or a crane ($198). Directly imported from the capital of pufferfish, Shimonoseki, you can expect fugu at its freshest possible. The Lunar New Year salad also includes seasonal vegetables like daikon, telegraph cucumber, edible flowers and fruits – fresh and cured – to complement sliced abalone and raw flounder. Available till 2 March. sichuandouhua.com

Pen Cai

Complementing the season of abundance and prosperity, Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant at Sheraton Towers Singapore has prepared a gastronomic pen cai – the Lobster and Abalone Fortune Pot ($398 for six persons). With a luxurious medley of Boston lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, and goose web to symbolise wealth and abundance. Order three days in advance. Lower Lobby Level, Sheraton Towers Singapore, 39 Scotts Road. Tel: 6839 5623

Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant’s signature three-layer Longevity Poon Choi ($408 for six persons, $688 for 10 persons) will get a unanimous thumbs up from the whole family It is first layered with Tianjin cabbage, radish and yam, followed by a layer of pork shank and roasted duck. Topped with black moss, pan-fried live prawns, whole abalone, dried oysters, juicy fishballs and sea cucumber, this truly a treasure pot to savour. Order three days in advance. Level 2, Carlton Hotel Singapore, 76 Bras Basah Road. Tel: 6349 1292

Created by Racines’ master chef Andrew Chong, the sumptuous basin feast ($198 for six to eight persons) is filled with delightful ingredients such as abalone, sea cucumber, king prawn, Hokkaido scallop, dried oyster, flower mushroom, fish maw, roasted Kurobuta pork, roasted French duck breast, truffles, Chinese gluten and black moss to impress even the most discerning family member. Order three days in advance. Lobby Level, Sofitel Singapore City Centre, 9 Wallich Street. Tel: 6428 5000