This Year of the Tiger, everything seems fast and furious – starting with the almost instantaneous transition of soulful Deck the Halls tunes to exuberant Gong Xi Fa Cai bangers. Before the Christmas pies are even off the shelves, Chinese New Year (CNY) goodies in their signature red-capped containers line the supermarket aisles while tiger motifs seem to roar into action everywhere.
Yet, you’re still recovering from 2021’s end-of-year festivities, and for some, still reeling from the whole back-to-school rush, especially for parents of Primary One children. Before you know it, CNY is knocking at your door…
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Coming to your rescue is Ellenborough Market Café at Swissotel Merchant Court, Singapore, with its bounteous line-up of takeaway Prosperity Bundles and goodies to tide you through this busy festive season. Here’s a look at the hotel restaurant’s CNY offerings perfect for feasting together with family and friends.
Treat your relatives to a reunion they can never forget with Ellenborough Market Café’s Abundance Bundle, at $688, which caters for up to 10 people. This eight-course repast is practically a banquet at home for your loved ones.
Begin with the Fortune Yu Sheng, the de facto Chinese salad luxed up with plump rock lobster, yam nest and a refreshing yuzu speciality dressing with added chia seeds for a salubrious year ahead. Then, dive into the Poon Choy, a layered treasure pot filled with abalone, sea cucumber, XO Chinese sausage, dried oyster, roasted pork belly, fatt choy, dried scallop, flower mushrooms, tiger prawns and Chinese long cabbage – all sizzling in a luscious braising sauce.
Move on to the Golden Crispy Red Grouper with Prosperity Sweet and Sour Sauce, a must-have whole fish dish to usher in a year of abundance as per the Chinese saying, “Nian Nian You Yu”. Equally auspicious is the Pork Knuckle in Red Burgundy Sauce, which is slow-cooked till fork tender, and the Oven-baked River Prawns with cheese, slathered with a scarlet spicy XO sauce.
Carbohydrates are a must too, to satiate those at the table with a healthy appetite. The Wind-dried Waxed Meat Claypot Rice, or as the Cantonese call it, Lap Mei Fan, will surely delight with its comforting and traditional flavours.
Round off the meal with not one, but two, desserts. The Pan-fried Nian Gao dressed with red sugar and coconut floss carries the hopes of a better year as one savours the sticky, chewy glutinous rice cake. Then cleanse your palate with spoonfuls of Snow Fungus with sweet pear, peach gum and chia seed jelly.
If your CNY is usually a quieter affair with just family or a few friends, order the Treasure Bundle, at $488 (serves six to eight). Equally impressive, it features the star dishes of the Abundance Bundle and more.
Have your chopsticks ready to toss to a phenomenal Year of the Tiger with the Prosperity Yu Sheng, which comprises smoked salmon paired with the pleasant jolt of the yuzu chia seed speciality dressing. Next is indeed chicken soup for the soul, with a wholesome Double-boiled Chicken Soup with cordyceps flower and sea conch – this soothing dish is not available in the Abundance Bundle.
The stars then make their appearance: Begin with the swimmingly fresh Golden Crispy Red Grouper with Prosperity Sweet and Sour Sauce, followed by Oven-baked River Prawns with cheese and spicy XO sauce. Meat dishes join the parade, with Slow-cooked Pork Knuckle in Red Burgundy Sauce and Wind-dried Waxed Meat Claypot Rice.
The Pan-fried Nian Gao with red sugar and coconut floss heralds the end of your convivial celebration.
If you’re planning to whip up your own signature items for CNY and just need help with a few dishes, Ellenborough Market Café provides a robust selection of a la carte takeaways.
Order the Yu Sheng, which comes in either the Prosperity, at $78 (with smoked salmon) or Fortune, at $188 (with rock lobster) versions, which serve up to 10, and are drizzled with the hotel restaurant’s yuzu chia seed speciality dressing.
You can also take home other festive entrees, which include the above-mentioned stars:
- Poon Choy at $338 (serves up to 10)
- Oven-baked River Prawns at $78 (10 river prawns sliced to halves)
- 1.3 to 1.4kg Slow-cooked Pork Knuckle in Red Burgundy Sauce at $68 (about 1.3 to 1.4kg)
- Golden Crispy Red Grouper with Prosperity Sweet and Sour Sauce at $78 (about 1kg)
- Wind-dried Waxed Meat Claypot Rice at $78 (serves up to 10)
There’s also the whole Roasted Crispy Chicken with Red Fermented Bean Curd at $68, which, with its umami notes, would make a delightful add-on to your Abundance Bundle; and a jazzed up version of Lap Mei Fan in the form of Wind-dried Waxed Meat and Abalone Claypot Rice at $106 (serves up to 10). Add another $28 to top off this dish with 10-head abalone.
Don’t forget dessert. Ellenborough Market Café’s Durian Lava Cake with 24K Praline Tiger, at $88 (1kg), is a yellow-and-black striped showstopper with a stack of “gold bars” and resplendent chocolate figurine. If the King of Fruits is not for you, slice into the hotel restaurant’s Caramelised Pineapple & Chocolate Banana Butter Cake, at $58 (1kg), a duo of flavours that the whole family will enjoy.
You can conveniently place your orders for your takeaway feast online here from now till 10 February, 6pm.
DBS, Citibank, HSBC and Maybank card holders also enjoy up to 25 per cent off takeaway Prosperity Bundles and Treats with the promo code “CNY” upon checkout.
Just make sure you place your order at least five working days in advance. The last day of collection is 15 February, which is the 15th day of CNY. Islandwide delivery and pick-up options are available.
Brought to you by Swissôtel Merchant Court