Unique yusheng

You know that Chinese New Year is around the corner when you start hearing tables of people at restaurants hollering at the top of their voices: "Huat ah!"

If volume can really bring fortunes, we will all win the lottery this week.

Still, it is a fun activity and a good way to release pre-holiday stress. And if you are in the mood to toss some food around and bellow, here are some choice places.

GOLDEN PEONY

Golden Peony (Conrad Centennial Singapore, Tel: 6432-7489) is always dependable when it comes to providing a tasty Chinese New Year meal, and its yusheng is no exception.

While you will need to be artistic to present it as beautifully at home, you can always try. The restaurant offers a takeaway set that should be good enough for a meal, with its signature Fortune Salmon and Crispy White Bait Yu Sheng, Prosperity Abalone 'Pen Cai', traditional Nian Gao and Kueh Lapis for $488.

If you prefer to get yusheng on its own, the Salmon and Crispy White Bait version starts at $68. The Chinese New Year menu will be available from Jan 21.

MADAME FAN

Madame Fan (The NCO Club, Tel: 6818-1921) celebrates its first Chinese New Year with a dine-in-only Prosperity Yu Sheng (from $88) featuring ingredients such as crispy rice noodles, purple cabbage and silver fish. You can add more items for a price, such as live abalone from South Africa ($68 for 100g) and Kaluga caviar ($170 for 50g).

MAN FU YUAN

For a show-stopping yusheng, head to Man Fu Yuan (InterContinental Singapore, Tel: 6825-1131). This year's offering is 1.5m in diameter and contains ingredients such as abalone, Hokkaido scallops and crisp pork crackling, priced at $388. The yusheng is shaped in the form of the Chinese character "hai", which refers to the Year of the Pig in Chinese.

MIN JIANG AT ONE-NORTH

If you prefer a fruitier yusheng, the one at Min Jiang at One-North (Tel: 6774-0122) should do it for you.

It is called the Fruitful Abundance Yu Sheng with Whole Abalone in Raspberry and Sour Plum Sauce (from $118) and is filled with fruits such as peaches, dragon fruit and kiwi, ingot-shaped yuzu jelly with strawberries, topped with six baby abalones.

This dine-in yusheng is available from Jan 18.

 

KEYAKI, SUPPLY & DEMAND

It need not always be a Chinese restaurant when it comes to yusheng.

Keyaki (Pan Pacific Singapore, Tel: 6826-8240) offers one at $328 from Jan 22. The price may be daunting for some, but it does contain luxury ingredients such as sea urchin and lobster.

Casual Italian restaurant chain Supply & Demand is also offering the S&D Yu Sheng (from $40).

You get a choice of smoked salmon or smoked salami with a fruit-base bed of items such as apples, pears and preserved ginger.

The yusheng is only available at the Orchard Gateway (Tel: 6702-6218) and Novena Lee Kong Chian (Tel: 6734-9588) outlets.

HABITAT BY HONESTBEE

This is for the millennials - a unicorn-shaped yusheng (from $38.80) from habitat by honestbee (34 Boon Leat Terrace), with a plum and yuzu sauce and candied bacon, along with swordfish sashimi, hamachi and salmon.

You can either eat it there or buy it as a takeaway, but you will need to drop them an e-mail at preorders.habitatsg@honestbee.com a day in advance.

It is mind-boggling that an app-centric business like honestbee asks that you write in to them instead of being able to order this via the app, but if you want your Instagram moment, suck it up.

ANTOINETTE

For those who don't want a traditional yusheng, there is Antoinette's Queen's Yusheng ($88, with three days' notice).

It is a golden chocolate egg with lots of fun stuff inside, including mandarin orange butter cake, meringue kisses and Thai green mango, and a dressing of mandarin orange, plum and gula melaka.

It is available at both the Penhas Road (Tel: 6293-3121) and Mandarin Gallery (Tel: 6836-9527) outlets.