As the Year of the Horse gallops into view, Singapore’s culinary landscape transforms into a spectacular showcase of tradition, innovation, and gastronomic excellence. Having experienced several of these reunion dinner offerings, I present an in-depth analysis of what makes these menus truly exceptional for Chinese New Year 2026.

The Art of the Modern Yu Sheng

The reunion dinner experience invariably begins with yu sheng, but this year’s iterations demonstrate remarkable creativity. At Cherry Garden by Chef Fei, the Chaoshan-style yu sheng represents a masterclass in regional adaptation. Chef Fei’s decision to incorporate live Australian lobster alongside crispy taro and a house-made sour plum sauce speaks to a deep understanding of textural contrast. The Chaoshan sour plum brings a distinctive tang that cuts through the richness of lobster, while the crispy taro provides structural integrity that prevents the dish from becoming a homogeneous mass.

Jade’s Gold Rush Yu Sheng takes a more artistic approach, with Executive Chef Leong Chee Yeng personally illustrating a galloping horse atop the platter. This integration of visual artistry elevates the ceremonial toss into a multi-sensory experience. The symbolism resonates beyond mere decoration, it’s a reminder that reunion dinners are as much about cultural storytelling as culinary prowess.

Soup as Soul: The Foundation of Prosperity

The soups featured across these menus reveal the technical sophistication demanded by Cantonese haute cuisine. Min Jiang’s Double-boiled Abalone Soup demonstrates the painstaking process of achieving clarity while extracting maximum flavor. The technique of double-boiling, where the soup vessel is placed within a larger pot of water and steamed for hours, requires patience and precision. The resulting chicken broth, enriched with dried scallops and wawa cabbage, achieves an almost crystalline transparency while delivering profound umami depth.

Yi by Jereme Leung’s Double-boiled Spiky Sea Cucumber Soup takes this further with wild termite fungus, sea whelk, and Hokkaido conpoy. The spiky sea cucumber, a premium variety prized for its texture and medicinal properties, requires extensive preparation—soaking, cleaning, and braising—before it can be incorporated into the consommé. The inclusion of termite fungus, rarely seen in Singapore dining, adds an earthy, almost truffle-like complexity that transforms the soup from nourishing to transcendent.

The Abalone Imperative

No proper reunion dinner forgoes abalone, but the preparations vary dramatically in approach and execution. Jiang-Nan Chun’s Braised Six-Head Abalone represents traditional Cantonese restraint. The “six-head” designation indicates size—six abalones per catty (approximately 600 grams)—signifying premium quality. The braising liquid, typically made with superior stock, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine, must be carefully balanced to enhance rather than mask the abalone’s natural oceanic sweetness. The prolonged braising, often eight to twelve hours, achieves that coveted gelatinous texture where the abalone yields to the slightest pressure yet maintains structural integrity.

Cherry Garden’s Charcoal-grilled New Zealand Live Abalone offers a contrasting philosophy. Grilling abalone is technically challenging—too much heat results in rubbery texture, too little fails to develop the Maillard reaction that creates those prized caramelized notes. The use of live specimens ensures maximum freshness, while charcoal grilling imparts a subtle smokiness that complements the abalone’s natural brininess. This preparation style suggests Japanese influence, demonstrating how contemporary Chinese cuisine increasingly embraces cross-cultural techniques.

Decoding the Pork Knuckle

Braised pork knuckle appears repeatedly across these menus, and Min Jiang’s three-hour braising process merits particular attention. Achieving fork-tender pork knuckle requires meticulous temperature control and timing. The collagen-rich knuckle must be braised low and slow, typically at 90-95°C, allowing the connective tissue to break down into gelatin without the meat fibers becoming stringy. The addition of aromatics—star anise, cassia bark, Sichuan peppercorn—must be calibrated to enhance rather than overwhelm the pork’s inherent sweetness.

Madame Fan’s signature pork knuckle in their Abundance Poon Choi represents a different approach entirely. In poon choi, ingredients are layered strategically, with the most prized components on top and absorbent ingredients like radish at the bottom to soak up the enriched braising liquid. The pork knuckle’s placement within this hierarchy affects how it absorbs flavors and maintains texture throughout service.

Lobster: From Cantonese Classic to Contemporary Innovation

The treatment of lobster across these menus reveals divergent culinary philosophies. Shang Palace’s Sautéed Lobster likely follows the classic Cantonese preparation with ginger and scallion, where live lobster is briefly blanched, then stir-fried at scorching heat with aromatic ginger and scallion oil. The technique demands split-second timing—overcooking results in tough, dry flesh, while undercooking compromises food safety and texture.

Yan Ting’s Angel Hair Pasta crowned with wok-baked half-lobster represents a bold fusion move. The pairing of Italian pasta with Cantonese wok techniques challenges traditional boundaries. The “wok-baking” method, where ingredients are cooked in a covered wok creating an oven-like environment, allows the lobster to steam in its own juices while developing those characteristic wok hei (breath of wok) flavors. The angel hair pasta, presumably finished in the lobster-infused sauce, serves as an absorbent vehicle for the concentrated crustacean essence.

Rice: The Humble Finale Elevated

The glutinous rice preparations closing many of these menus demonstrate that even humble staples can achieve sophistication. Jade’s Wok-Fried Glutinous Rice wrapped in thin egg skin showcases technical precision. Creating an egg skin requires perfect temperature control and pan technique to achieve a crepe-thin wrapper that’s pliable enough to fold yet sturdy enough to contain the rice filling. The glutinous rice itself, wok-fried with Chinese sausage and aromatics, develops a subtle crust at the bottom—the prized “socarrat” of Chinese rice cookery.

Shisen Hanten’s Wok-fried Glutinous Rice with Canadian foie gras, white truffle oil, and black truffle shavings represents luxury taken to its logical extreme. The inclusion of foie gras introduces a buttery richness that transforms the rice into something approaching risotto territory, while the dual truffle application—oil for pervasive aroma, shavings for textural and visual appeal—creates a dish that straddles Chinese tradition and modern gastronomy.

The Korean Departure: Cote’s Bold Gambit

Cote Singapore’s Feast of the Fire Stallion represents the most radical departure from traditional reunion dinner formats. The progression from Gogi Cha (beef bone consommé) through five premium beef cuts to Tteok Mandu Guk demonstrates how Korean culinary traditions can honor the reunion dinner spirit while maintaining cultural authenticity. The inclusion of Korean 1++ Hanwoo BMS 9 Ribeye from Jeju Island—the highest grade of Korean beef—offers a direct comparison to Japanese A5 wagyu. The marbling score of 9 indicates exceptional intramuscular fat distribution, resulting in that characteristic buttery mouthfeel and rich, almost sweet flavor profile.

The table-side grilling ritual, central to Korean steakhouse culture, transforms the meal into a participatory experience. This aligns perfectly with reunion dinner’s communal ethos, where the act of eating together matters as much as what’s being consumed. The conclusion with Tteok Mandu Guk, a traditional Korean Lunar New Year soup symbolizing renewal, creates cultural symmetry—different traditions, shared values.

Thai-Chinese Synthesis: Thanying’s Cultural Bridge

Thanying Restaurant’s Thai-Chinese fusion approach, helmed by Chef Tamawat Itthipornwithool, offers fascinating insights into Southeast Asian-Chinese culinary exchange. The Phad Kra-Praw Pla (fish maw stir-fried Thai-Chinese style) exemplifies this synthesis. Fish maw, a prized ingredient in Chinese cuisine valued for its collagen content and texture, receives the Thai holy basil (kra-praw) treatment. The dish likely incorporates the characteristic Thai flavor trinity—chilies, garlic, and fish sauce—creating a preparation that would feel simultaneously familiar and novel to both Chinese and Thai diners.

The Chu-Chi Goong, featuring river prawns in Thai curry sauce, demonstrates how Thai curry techniques can elevate traditional reunion ingredients. Chu-chi curry, a coconut milk-based curry with a distinctive red-orange hue, derives complexity from roasted spices and shrimp paste. Applied to succulent river prawns, prized in Chinese cuisine for their superior sweetness and texture compared to sea prawns, the dish becomes a celebration of shared ingredients through different culinary lenses.

Technical Excellence and Innovation

What distinguishes these reunion dinners from ordinary Chinese fine dining is the integration of premium ingredients with exacting technique. Summer Pavilion’s Steamed Dong Xing Grouper with minced pork, preserved vegetables, and black bean exemplifies Cantonese steaming mastery. Steaming fish requires precise timing—calculated by the fish’s thickness and weight—to achieve flesh that flakes cleanly while remaining moist. The minced pork and preserved vegetable topping serves multiple functions: adding savory depth, protecting the fish from direct steam exposure, and creating textural contrast.

The increasing incorporation of Western luxury ingredients—Canadian foie gras, white truffle, Oscetra caviar—reflects evolving consumer expectations and global ingredient access. Yet the most successful preparations, like those at Shisen Hanten and Yi by Jereme Leung, integrate these ingredients thoughtfully rather than gratuitously, ensuring they enhance rather than overshadow foundational Chinese flavors.

Value Proposition and Accessibility

The pricing spectrum, ranging from Madame Fan’s accessible S$108++ to Cherry Garden’s premium S$238++, reflects different positioning strategies. The value equation extends beyond ingredient cost to encompass technique, setting, and service. Restaurants like Jiang-Nan Chun and Summer Pavilion at Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton respectively justify premium pricing through ambiance, refined service protocols, and the expertise of veteran chefs.

Mid-range options like Violet Oon Singapore offer compelling alternatives by focusing on Peranakan-influenced reunion dishes—Hee Peow Soup, Chap Chye, Ayam Buah Keluak—that represent Singapore’s unique Chinese diaspora cuisine. These dishes carry cultural significance that transcends ingredient cost, offering value through authenticity and regional specificity.

The Verdict

Singapore’s 2026 reunion dinner landscape demonstrates remarkable breadth and sophistication. Traditional Cantonese bastions like Man Fu Yuan and Jiang-Nan Chun continue setting standards for classical technique and premium ingredients. Meanwhile, innovators like Cherry Garden by Chef Fei and Shisen Hanten push boundaries through ingredient experimentation and cross-cultural techniques.

The most successful menus balance reverence for tradition with contemporary sensibilities. They understand that reunion dinners serve dual purposes: honoring ancestors and traditions while creating new memories for evolving families. Whether through Jade’s artistically rendered yu sheng, Cote’s Korean steakhouse interpretation, or Thanying’s Thai-Chinese synthesis, these restaurants demonstrate that cultural traditions remain vibrant precisely because they adapt and evolve.

For diners, the choice depends on priorities. Traditionalists seeking impeccable Cantonese technique should gravitate toward Yan Ting, Summer Pavilion, or Jiang-Nan Chun. Those valuing innovation alongside tradition will find satisfaction at Shisen Hanten or Cherry Garden by Chef Fei. Diners seeking novel experiences might explore Cote’s Korean interpretation or Thanying’s Thai-Chinese fusion.

Ultimately, these reunion dinners succeed not merely through culinary excellence but through their ability to facilitate connection—between past and present, tradition and innovation, family members gathered around a table laden with dishes both familiar and surprising. In the Year of the Horse, Singapore’s dining scene demonstrates that when technique, ingredients, and cultural meaning converge, the result transcends mere sustenance to become something genuinely meaningful.