What's the silliest thing you've done with your siblings during Lunar New Year?

What does Lunar New Year mean to you? Is it a time for feasting, house visiting, getting red packets or just a holiday? For me it is about "Bonding" - spending time and sharing the fun and laughter with your families, friends and loved ones. Most of us are usually too busy with our individual commitments or may have been living/working abroad. Lunar New Year is the time for us to catch up with one another, to reminisce and strengthen the bonds with one another. This is the time to gather and re-ignite that emotional attachment with your families, friends and loved ones.

In our family, during Lunar New Year, this form of bonding is always fun and at times comes with many silly moments. For example, my siblings and I love pineapple tarts and we will be fighting to see who can eat the most. During our younger days, we would even imitate lion dancing in the house. Now we are too old for it but that does not stop us from joining in the fun with our nieces sometimes.

What's the silliest thing you've done with your siblings during Lunar New Year? Share your stories on HSBC Singapore’s Facebook page and stand to win S$100 worth of dining vouchers from Conrad Centennial Singapore or a festive hamper from DEAN & DELUCA.

Do take this Lunar New Year to spend time with your families, friends and loved ones, with some of these great offers for HSBC Credit Cardholders.

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Swissotel Merchant Court – Ellenborough Market Cafe

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Usher in the Year of the Rooster at Ellenborough Market Cafe with a sumptuous spread specially curated for the Lunar New Year. The newly refurbished restaurant offers a selection of fresh seafood on ice such as Teochew Steamed Crab and Chilled Drunken Canadian Black Mussel. Not to miss are hot starters such as BBQ Bak Kwa Coins and Soft Shell Crab with Thai Basil Sauce. Famed for their Nonya food, the feast continues with the signature Ayam Buah Keluak, Babi Pongteh, Kueh Pie Tie and Waxed Duck Rice.

For dinner, diners can savour a selection of roasted meats including Roasted Duck, Roasted Char Siew, Roasted Crispy Chicken and Roasted Pork. A must try is their signature Durian Pengat while festive goodies such as Tempura Fried “Nian Gao”, Durian Cheese Cake and Mandarin Orange Chocolate Fountain will guarantee a sweet ending to your celebrations.

Buffet Lunch (Mon to Sun): $62 per adult; $31 per child
Buffet High-Tea (Sat, Sun & PH): $48 per adult; $24 per child
Buffet Dinner (Mon to Sun): $78 per adult; $39 per child

In addition, celebrate with panache and raise a toast with free-flow of Moët & Chandon Champagne at just $45 per person or red/white wine at $35 per person.

HSBC Cardholders enjoy:
- 18% off total bill 
- Offer valid till 28 February 2017

Ellenborough Market Cafe 
Swissotel Merchant Court
20 Merchant Road
Singapore 058281
Tel: 6239 1767

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DEAN & DELUCA

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This Lunar New Year, DEAN & DELUCA (New York gourmet retailer) will tantalise your taste buds with their traditional Lunar New Year goodies such as Pineapple Tarts and Almond Cookies. The pineapple tarts and almond cookies are available in individual tins at $18 each. Great for gifting is the beautifully packed Harmony, Abundance and Treasure Gift Sets (ranging from $58 to $88). The gift sets are available for pre-order online or via e-catalogue.

HSBC Cardholders enjoy:
- 10% off festive hamper purchases.
- Offer valid till 11 February 2017

DEAN & DELUCA
Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road
#01-09/10/15
Singapore 238896
Tel: 6509 7708

HillV2
4 Hillview Rise
#01-01
Singapore 667979
Tel: 6710 7282

Far East Square
47 Pekin Street
#01-01
Singapore 048777
Tel: 6536 2460

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JW Marriott Singapore South Beach - Beach Road Kitchen

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JW Marriott Singapore South Beach is one of the newest hotels recently opened in Singapore and has a total of five dining establishments and bars, which includes Beach Road Kitchen, the all day dining buffet restaurant. The 247 seater restaurant showcases fresh offerings and boasts a variety of live stations, offering a stunning international spread that will delight the diners. Highlights from the buffet’s feature stations include a seafood room, vertical salad bar, pizza oven and a dessert showcase. For an exclusive dining experience, guests can book a Chef’s Table session and dine in the heart of the kitchen. They also have a take-out window for grab and go items and premium coffee.

Price:
• Lunch Buffet S$58++ per adult; S$29++ per child (6 to 12 years old)
• Dinner Buffet S$78++ per adult; S$39++ per child (6 to 12 years old)
*Child aged 5 and below dines free

HSBC Cardholders enjoy: 
- 15% off Lunch and Dinner Buffet. 
- Offer is valid till 28 February, except on 14 February 2017.

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The Marmalade Pantry

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Ring in the Lunar New Year with The Marmalade Pantry's limited edition Pineapple Tarts ($28.80++/bottle) made with moist pineapple filling encased in a buttery, smooth pastry that comes with a kick of cinnamon and star anise.

Promotion available 11 January to 11 February 2017
- 2 bottles pf Pineapple Tarts ($50.80++)

HSBC Cardholders enjoy:
- 10% off festive goodies. 
- Offer is valid till 11 February at all Marmalade Pantry outlets.

The Marmalade Pantry
ION Orchard, Unit
#03-22
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6734 2700

Oasia Hotel Novena
8 Sinaran Drive
#01-02/04
Singapore 307470
Tel: 6664 0348

100 Peck Seah Street
#01-01
Singapore 079333
Tel: 6385 0741

Take this opportunity to meet up or visit your families, friends and loved ones during the Lunar New Year. Be it asking them out for a meal or visiting them with a gift, you can save more with up to 15% cash back on local dining and local grocery spend with your HSBC credit cards (capped at S$100 rebate). On top of that you can even redeem free abalone sets, valid up to 28 February. Find out more at https://cardpromotions.hsbc.com.sg/lny-2017

Terms and conditions apply for all promotions herein.

This post was brought to you in partnership with HSBC

Min Jiang Restaurant Chinese New Year 2017 @ Goodwood Park Hotel

For this year's Lunar New Year at Goodwood Park Hotel, the team at Min Jiang has created pineapple-themed delights and irresistible savoury specials to usher in the Year of the Rooster. All these will be available from 10 January to 11 February 2017 for a friends, families and business associates to celebrate this significant season of joy and abundance.

Prosperity Amberjack Lo Hei 4.2/5

New on the menu is the Prosperity Amberjack Lo Hei ($168 for large portion) that comes with a drawing of an elegant rooster standing majestically against a bamboo forest. Most restaurants nowadays preferred to use abalone, crabmeat or smoke for their Yu Sheng. Hence the delicate amberjack is welcoming sight.

Festive Appetiser Takeaway Platter 4/5

For those that is planning to celebrate the occasion at home, Min Jiang has also put together a Festive Appetiser Takeaway Platter ($155.55 nett) which comprises of five delicious bites of deep fried chicken with sesame chilli sauce, deep fried prawns coated with salted egg yolk, deep fried ngoh hiang, sauteed kurobuta pork loin with coffee sauce and marinated jellyfish.

Doubled Boiled Wild Chicken Consomme 4.2/5

Rich but yet comforting is the Double Boiled Wild Chicken Consomme with Abalone, Fish Maw and Wanton in Claypot ($228 Dine-in). Boiled for hours, the soup has extracted the essence of the quality ingredients like braised Australian 10-head abalones, fish maw, spring chicken and Tianjin cabbage. This is also available for takeaway.

Braised Pork Belly with Sea Treasures in Claypot 4.5/5

A good celebratory dish is the Braised Pork Belly with Sea Treasures in Claypot ($268 dine-in) which is available for both dine-in and takeaway. The pork belly which has been painstakingly prepared for almost 4 hours, poached and steamed, in order to achieve that mouth-wateringly tender piece of meat. This is further complemented with premium ingredients such as Australian 10-head abalones, sea cucumber, dried oysters, dried scallops, flower mushrooms, black moss, gluten puffs and Tianjin cabbage.

The Huat! Tart 3/5 and Auspicious Golden Pineapple 3/5

We also sampled some of these year's Lunar New Year goodies. One of them is the enlarge version of the quintessential bite-sized pineapple tart. Named as The Huat! Tart ($40.65 nett), this is a whole pineapple tart measuring 6.5 inch!

The Auspicious Golden Pineapple ($94.15) is a majestic work of art. The 9-inch tall five layer vanilla pound cake sandwiched with butter cream symbolises an abundance of wealth.



Wrapping up the dinner, we have 3 different types of nian gao creation. There is the popular Durian Nian Gao Roll, Deep Fried Yuan Yang Sesame Nian Gao and Ondeh Ondeh Inspired Nian Gao. My all time favourite is the Durian Nian Gao which is comes with layers of luscious D24 durian paste and gula melaka infused nian gao sprinkled with coconut flakes.

For reservations and takeway at,
Min Jiang Goodwood Park - call (65) 6740 1704 or email min_jiang@goodwoodparkhotel.com.
Min Jiang One-North - call (65) 6774 0122 or email mj1n@goodwoodparkhotel.com
The Deli - call (65) 6730 1786 or email deli@goodwoodparkhotel.com
Alternatively, guests may also visit http://festivepromotions,goodwoodparkhotel.com for online takeaway orders.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Min Jiang
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road
Singapore 228221
Tel: +65 67301704
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Orchard (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Lunch & Dim Sum: 1130am – 230pm (Mon to Sat), 11am – 230pm (Sun)
Dinner: 630pm – 1030pm (Daily)

Direction:
1) Alight at Orchard MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk down Scotts Road to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

Seasonal Tastes @ The Westin Singapore - A Taste of Taiwan

For a limited period of 10 days only (6-10 March and 13-17 March 2016), Seasonal Tastes at The Westin Singapore will bring the taste of Taiwan to Singapore. Playing host to W Taipei's Sous Chef Daniel who will be preparing authentic dishes from his home city on top of the International buffet spread.

Oyster Vermicelli 4/5

Oyster Egg Omelette 4/5

Mentioned Taiwan cuisine the first thought would be their popular street food. Bringing the night market snack such as the Oyster Vermicelli and Oyster Egg Omelette to the buffet table, means I need not buy an air ticket to fly to Taiwan to enjoy these well loved snack.

Braised Beef Noodle Soup 4.2/5

The highlight of the Tasty Taiwan has to be the Braised Beef Noodle Soup. The broth was rich and flavourful with a hint of spiciness. The chewy and stringy noodle, soft beef and most important the salted vegetable made this a delicious bowl of noodle.

Vegetable, Pork Strip, Crispy Fried Egg Soup 4/5

An interesting dish is the Vegetable, Pork Strip, Crispy Fried Egg Soup. This is a dish that I have not seen before. The thicken soup is hearty and comforting. The starchy soup reminds me of the Taiwanese Geng, soup thicken with starch. A popular street food in Taiwan.

There are many other Taiwanese cooked dishes among the buffet spread such as the Five Spices Cold Pork Sausage, Taiwanese Run Spring Roll, Popcorn Chicken, Four Assorted String with Herbs. Fried Bee Hoon etc.

Dragon Phoenix Leg 4/5

A classic Taiwan dish is the Dragon Phoenix Leg or simply Crispy Stuffed Pork Drumstick. Back then chicken was considered expensive, hence the local created the dish using minced pork in lieu of chicken thigh.

Milk Tea 3.5/5

Besides the well-loved Taiwanese street food, Milk Tea is also globally popular, especially with the youth. Hence it is not surprise to see many milk tea stalls even in Singapore. Therefore it is fitting to have these popular drinks available for diners showcasing the taste of Taiwan.

Peanut Mochi 3/5

Wrapping up the journey to Taiwan is a selection of the desserts such as The Peanut Mochi and Pineapple Cake. These are iconic Taiwan pastry even holiday makers will bring back as souvenir for friends and family members. Now you can eat to your content at Seasonal Tastes.

Pineapple Cake 3/5

Tasty Taiwan is available for dinners only from 6-10 March and 13-17 March 2016 from 6pm to 10pm at Seasonal Tastes, Level 32 at $78++ per adult.


Seasonal Tastes
The Westin Singapore
Level 32
12 Marina View
Asia Square Tower 2
Singapore 018961
Tel: +65 69226968
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Downtown (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 630am - 11pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Downtown MRT station. Take Exit E. Turn left and walk down Marina View. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

SUCRE Handmade Pineapple Truffles & Artisanal Cookies

SUCRE is a creator of Singapore artisanal pastries with design packaging. For the year of the goat, SUCRE has launched its 8 Happiness Pineapple Truffles and Artisanal Cookies.

For this lunar new year, SUCRE has created 4 new Pineapple Truffles which are all made in Singapore. The 4 new creations are Seaweed, Cheese Lite, Blueberry and Raspberry.

The Cheese Lite Pineapple Truffle is made from the finest Australian Cheddar cheese, resulting in a butter pastry. The Seaweed Pineapple Truffle incorporates the finest Japanese seaweed into its aromatic butter pastry. The Blueberry and Raspberry contains pineapple fillings blended with 100% pure blueberry and raspberry puree respectively.

Prices for Pineapple Truffles range from $17.80 for each cylinder in the Gourmet Tall Collection (18 pieces X 16g truffle) to $24.80 per box (18 pieces x 25g truffle) from the Premium Large Collection. 

SUCRE also launches 4 flavours for its 100% handmade Artisanal Cookies. These flavours include Almond, Almond Chocolate, Green Bean and Macadamia & Cranberry. The green bean and almond flavours are both ideal for vegetarian. Prices for Artisanal Cookies range from $19.80 to $21.80.

From February 4 to 17, SUCRE 100% handmade Pineapple Truffles and Artisanal Cookies will retail at JEM Shopping Mall, Level 1 Atrium as well as online at www.ruedusucre.com


SUCRE
Tel: +65 66800295
Email: order@ruedusucre.com
Website: http://ruedusucre.com/

Crowning the Best Pineapple Tart 2014

A great thanks to Pickat SG for organising this Pineapple Tart tasting session to crown the Best Pineapple Tart of 2014. A total of 20 different brands of pineapple tarts that comes in different shapes and sizes were being judged in the following five criteria, Taste, Texture, Fragrant, Appearance and Packaging.

Don't feel jealous that we can try so many different pineapple tarts. It is really too much to eat in one seating. I have to cut them into smaller pieces so that I could sample all of them for the final verdict.

Any of the above 20 brands of pineapple tarts is your favourite? Among all that I tried, my personal top 3 went to Le Cafe Confectionery, Mr Bean and Bengawan Solo. I realized everyone has their different favourite. Ones liking may not be the others preference.

Nevertheless we still manage to come to a conclusion. After the final vote counts, the King of Pineapple Tart 2014 goes to Bake Inc. Followed by Le Cafe in second and Mr Bean in third. Bake Inc is a great surprise, the dark horse among the 20 brands. Most of us have not heard of this brand but it won most of our hearts with its melted in the mouth super soft pastry. The famous Le Cafe golf sized pineapple tart was my favourite with its sweet pineapple jam and flaky pastry. However the voters has mixed view about the size as the portion is too much for some to finish. Another household name but not known for its pineapple tart was Mr Bean which delighted us with its balanced sweetness and light soya crust.

Thank you Pickat SG for organising the event. You can download Pickat SG at
AppStore: http://bit.ly/19g9Uzx
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/1ixTFYf

Pickat SG
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PickatSG
Website: http://www.pickat.com.sg/main.php