19 Must Have CNY Goodies for Chinese New Year 2019!

A large part of Chinese New Year (CNY) is the snacks! From over 100 pineapple tarts, kueh lapis, prawn rolls, kueh bangkit, lover letters, and almond cookies, here are 18 shortlisted favourites to treat your guests to.

1 KUEH BANGKIT

These are crumbly coconut cookies that melt in your mouth before you have had enough time to savour them. They are made with sago, arrowroot flour and tapioca; also lingered with a rich fragrance of coconut flavour that makes them quite memorable. If you are looking for something extremely sweet, you should probably look elsewhere. In Singapore, these delicious cookies can be found at Bing Liang Bakery CNY Goodies Singapore at a good price!

2 ALMOND COOKIES

These are cookies made with almonds. They are quite powdery and melt easily when placed in the mouth leaving you with tiny crushed almond bits. As tantalizing as they are, they strangely taste more like peanut cookies as almond cookies. You can find them at HarriAnns outlets at $19.90 for a 460g pack.

3 PINEAPPLE TARTS

These are small, milky pastries that are encased with pineapple jam. Their petite size makes it easy to flood your mouth with them, one after another. You can find them conveniently at Pineapple Tarts Singapore going for $21.80 for a container of 20 pieces.

4 ALMOND COOKIES 1

If you think heart shaped cookies could not be egg-washed and topped with almond slivers, then you are yet to encounter almond cookies. These cookies have a strong almond taste and fragrance that will linger long after you have had the cookies. They can be found at all outlets of Fancy Delight. They go for $16.90 for a 40g pack.

5&6 KUE LAPIS LEGIT ORIGINAL AND PLUM

These have a soft bite that is chewy coupled with a nutty fragrance that will keep you coming back for more. They are made just right: not too wet, neither sour not sweet; and further complemented with sufficient kueh lapis. They have large slices that are well spread between the layers. They can be found at Indochili and Tanjong Pagar Centre. 1.8kg of original goes for $90 while 1.8kg of plum goes for $95.

7 NONYA PERANAKAN LOVE LETTERS, TIGHTLY ROLLED

Considering the fact that a 100g pack goes for only $26 at Baker’s Well, these are sold truly at a discount. They are somewhat sweet and are both crisp and tightly rolled, with a strong and pleasant fragrance of coconut.

8 COCKTAIL PRAWN ROLLS

These are delicious and salty rolls. They are simply thin skins that are wrapped around hae bee hiam with an umami pronounced taste. A 280g pack goes for $10.30 at Glory.

9 KUEH BANGKIT

These are milky cookies baked with tapioca flour that are light and crumbly. When placed in the mouth, they are sweet and yummy. They melt quite quickly leaving you craving for more and more. They are found at Glory where a 160g pack goes for $10.30.

10 PINEAPPLE TARTS (GOLDEN PILLOW)

These taste wonderful, as ordinary as they may look, with just the right balance between tart and sweet. They have a buttery crust, are thick with a pineapple jam filling. A 650g pack goes for $18.90 at Glory.

11 LAPIS PRUNE

These are prune flavoured, slightly more than is the case with Indochili’s version. This prune flavour helps to cut out the moist richness typically associated with buttery cake. The prunes are chopped in between layers with juicy orbs placed on the top part of the cake. They can be found at Deli Maslina where a 1.5kg pack goes for $58.

12 ALMOND COOKIES 2

These are quite different from the almond cookies 1 reviewed above. They are more generous with almond slivers and are also regarded by some people as being tastier than traditional almond cookies and are much cheaper. A 100g pack goes for $8 at all Antoinette outlets.

13 KUE LAPIS ORIGINAL

These go for $72 for a 1.2kg pack at Ollela. They have a slight grittiness and a strong hint of spices. They are full-bodied addictive for that matter as the spices keep you coming back for more and more with an incredibly rich depth of flavours that is hardly matched by other servings.

14 KUEH LAPIS

These go for $55 for a 1.2kg pack at Bengawan Solo. It has buttery flavour that is rich and which will make you fall in love with it. Spicing is not as obvious as with other servings. It is also moist with even and thin layers that make for easy consumption.

15 SAMBAL PRAWN ROLL (HAE BEE HIAM)

These are quite chunky and crispy. They have a spicy and rich filling that will for sure make you overlook the thick skin that would normally put off people. They can be found at HarriAnns and go for $19.90 for a 360g pack.

16 PREMIUM PINEAPPLE TARTS

These go for $19.95 for 34 pieces at all outlets of Bee Cheng Hiang. The somewhat steep price is justified by slightly more tart pineapple jam than is usually the case with such servings. The preparation is such that it cuts the richness of its crumbly crust making it highly desirable.

17 NONYA KUEH BELANDA

These go for only $14.50 at Glory for a 400g pack. They are quite delightful to consume with an eggy fragrance that is quite discernible from most. They are not very sweet. However, they are thin and crispy and will crumble beautifully with every bite as you graciously chew away.

18 TRADITIONAL PINEAPPLE TART

These can be bought from Antoinette at $15 for a 180g pack. They have a crispy pastry that is fragrant rich coupled with a sweet fibrous jam and a zing that is a departure from the usual crumbly tart crust associated with pineapple tarts.

19 SALTED EGG PINEAPPLE TART

Once again, Pineapple Tarts Singapore time to shine. Their Salted Egg Pineapple Tarts happen to b the best that we have tried and they are S$26.90 per bottle.