SINGAPORE — Ah, Chinese New Year is once again around the corner, and we’re all licking our lips in anticipation. Sometimes delicacies also reflect the year’s zodiac animal: Much can be achieved with pig, ox, goat or even the rooster (okay, chicken) — although I’ve often wondered if eating rabbit in the Year Of The Rabbit isn’t in bad taste. (And, to be sure, not even Peng Zu, with help from an elite band of iron chefs, could make rat appetising.)

Of course, clever presentation helps heaps. For the Year of the Dragon, chefs showed off creative dexterity, carving and shaping brilliant visual representations of the mythical beast using only the ingredients that would be consumed.

This year, of course, we herald the Year of the Snake. And not unlike the Year of the Dog, the arrival of the Snake Year had some diners anxious and left some chefs scratching their heads.

Most, thankfully, did not disappoint when it eventually came to designing delectable dishes. Creative liberties were taken, naturally, to satisfy the most important criterion — that the dishes, novel or otherwise, are scrumptious. In short, this year’s new additions appear to be fine reinterpretations of “prosperity” dishes, sans tacky references to the slithering reptile.

A toss-up

The yu sheng, or lo hei, is arguably the most colourful staple at the New Year table. It’s also a dish that has enjoyed many worthy variations. This year, there are at least a couple of firsts. Over at Gourmet Carousel (Royal Plaza On Scotts, tel: 6589 7788), diners — particularly fans of this group-toss raw fish salad — might want to tuck into its new (and Halal) Treasures Of Spring yu sheng. At S$88 for serving up to six people (S$118 for up to 10 pax), and in a brave decision to embrace the year’s zodiac animal, the dish comprises snakehead fish, pickled snakeskin fruit and snake gourd. Other unique alternatives that complete the dish include chukka wakame and kombu, next to strips of fried ginger and lotus root, crispy salmon skin and silverfish, all to be tossed with a kumquat-yuzu sauce. Three days advance notice is required for this dish, and the last order is on Feb 22.

Of course, there is also good reason to splurge at Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant (Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay, tel: 6604 6604) for its indulgent empurau yu sheng. Priced at S$228 (up to 6 pax) with 60g of sliced empurau fillet, and S$328 (up to 12 pax) with 120g of the prized fish, the dish is available from Feb 4 to 24 (the restaurant is closed on Feb 10). According to chef-owner Yong Bing Ngen, the market price for this freshwater species is around S$800 per kilo, so having it in a yu sheng dish is therefore a more affordable option for customers looking to sample the affectionately dubbed “king of fish”. The dish is also available as part of select set menus, starting at S$688 (seven-course set for a minimum of six diners).

treasure trove

Another significant feature in any New Year spread is the treasure pot, or pen cai. Said to be dating back to the late Song Dynasty, lore has it that the dish was invented by the Chinese escaping the invading Mongol army. The locals collected all their best food available, cooked it and, because there were not enough containers, put the resulting dishes all into wooden washbasins.

This traditional dish has been given a revamp at Peony Jade (Clarke Quay, tel: 6338 0305; and Keppel Club, tel: 6276 9138). A new seafood-packed variation has been added to their list, and it is a medley of quality hauls that include whole four-head Australian abalones and lobsters (10 pieces). The addition of pan-seared unagi (freshwater eel) not only lends another dimension of flavour, but is also representative of this year’s Chinese zodiac. Completing the Everlasting Happiness, Longevity and Abundance Prosperity treasure pot (S$498.88, serves six) is the inclusion of a whole sakura chicken, Cantonese roast duck, fatt choy (black moss), premium fa gao (fish maw) and shiitake mushroom, pork knuckle, and broccoli, all stewed in superior stock for six hours. Available for dine-in or takeaway unitl Feb 24.

New at Min Jiang (Goodwood Park Hotel, tel: 6730 1704) and Min Jiang at One North (Rochester Park, tel: 6774 0122) is chef Goh Chee Kong’s Stewed Pork Belly And Sea Treasures (S$218 serves six), available until Feb 24. This is an elaborately textured dish, with abalones, sea cucumber, scallops and dried oysters sharing the limelight, and requires nine hours to perfect, according to Goh. Also, the addition of winter melon is a clever counterpoint to the dish’s rich flavours. One day advance noticed is required for both restaurants.

Set and match

It’s no surprise that more popular Chinese restaurants are staying open right through the Chinese New Year. What is pleasantly unexpected is the number of festive proposals from non-Chinese eats.

Who knew renowned French toque Daniel Boulud had a flair for Oriental cookery? Okay, so this offer is really a family-style Chinese New Year menu, available for dinner from Feb 9 to 11 at his db Bistro Moderne (The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, tel: 6688 8525), but why quibble? Choice picks would be the restaurant’s roast stuffed suckling pig (S$128 for two, S$268 for four, S$388 for the whole pig) and lotus leaf wrapped whole red snapper (S$128, serves two). There is also an option to add an additional serving of abalone and Sri Lankan mud crab, priced at S$58 each. But then you’d be better off sharing a seafood platter (oysters, lobster, shrimp, clams, whelks, scampi and scallop ceviche, S$145).

For flavours a little closer to home, a Peranakan prosperity meal at Indocafe — The White House (Chateau TCC on Scotts Road, tel: 6733 2656) could just be the break from the norm you crave. It is, in fact, a nine-dish set menu that caters to parties of four (S$338, inclusive of a bottle of wine), six (S$448, including a bottle of wine) and eight (S$668, including two bottles of wine), available until Feb 24.

Aside from an abalone and salmon yu sheng, more familiar standouts include a choice between the hu piow th’ng (fish maw soup) and the classic bakwan kepiting (crab and pork meatball soup), as well as the ayam buah keluak (braised chicken with Indonesian black nut) and tao cheong hu (silver pomfret cooked in bean paste sauce).