Woot! Chinese New Year just looming round the corner, are you busy buying all the CNY Goodies? Stay calm as we bring you the list of 10 recommended CNY goodies to choose from!
1. Bak Kwa
What is Chinese New Year without Bak Kwa (barbecued pork jerky). Savoury and decadent, once you start, it’s almost too hard to stop. In Cantonese, bak kwa is “long yoke”, which means having a robust fortune ahead. Some recommended bak kwa stall to buy everyone favorites! Kim Joo Guan, Bee Cheng Hiang, Lim Chee Guan, and Kim Hwa Guan. This four Bak Kwa brand all can are located around Chinatown.
2. Pineapple Tart
With Chinese New Year just round the corner, you can find pineapple tarts just about everywhere and every bakery that churns them out is claiming that its tarts are the best. A good pineapple tart should have the perfect balance of buttery crumbly pastry and a sweet yet tangy pineapple jam. Good pineapple tarts are hard to come by, i will be recommending some pineapple tart stall to choose from, Le Café Confectionery & Pastry, Bengawan Solo, and BAKERZIN.
3. Love Letters
What a curious name! Love letters are tubes of eggy goodness that crumble into your mouth (and all over your lap) with each bite. Because of their feather-light texture, they’re easily consumed in the dozens. Be Careful, it may be very addictive!!
4. Melon Seeds
It’s believed that eating plenty of melon seeds is good for your ancestral and financial outlook. Of course, some of your family members just enjoy munching on them because they’re just plain tasty and don’t make it tougher to talk.
5. Peanuts
One of the adult/old people favourites, as they can enjoy peeling and enjoying munching on them when they chit-chatting. Some of them will even go it with beer!
6. Taiwan Jelly
If you walk down the Chinatown street bazaar, it won’t be too exaggerating to say that 30% of the stalls are selling some Taiwan goodie, such as Mochi, fruit jelly, pineapple tarts, peanuts and anchovies. The flavours are aplenty. You can get Taiwan jellies from mango, lychee, and strawberry, green apple to lychee, green tea and black sugar. They make the otherwise boring and predictable new year goodies different. The packaging is all so pretty and cute, each item individually wrapped in colourful paper. Definitely will attract the kids attention!
7. Prosperity Sweets
All time kid’s favourites! The prosperity sweets came with attractive colorful paper that sure will get the kids attention and is the only way to let the kids be obedient!
8. Dried Fruit
Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Eating dried fruit is associated with improved health and provides many of the essential minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients and fiber that you need every day. Dried fruit doesn’t spoil as quickly and is an easy snack to pack, especially for activities like hiking! But keep in mind that dried fruits are higher in calories because they are more concentrated once the water has been removed
9. Waxed Sausages
Waxed sausages known as Lap Cheong. It’s a much loved feature on the domestic New Year tables. There’s no wax involved in their preparation of this Chinese charcuterie, rather the term refers to their appearance. They are steamed and all the fats that exude in the process are carefully reserved to be mixed with steamed rice. Larp mei farn (savoury rice with waxed meats) will not do anything for your arteries but it is a total joy to eat, incredibly fragrant, rich and savoury!
10. Colorful Cookies
Traditional cookies are good but why not go for colorful cookies that will attract people attention and they might snack it! Most of the time, when people house visiting, they will tend to not eat the cookie as they will prefer pineapple tarts or bak kwa etc. A colorful cookie might get their attention to give it a try.
The above-mentioned goodies are high in calories, they should be consumed in moderation as to prevent gaining much weight! I hope you have found this splendid compilation useful for your festive shopping. May you enjoy good fortune and an abundance of wealth for the Lunar New Year!
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