Chinese New Year is a time when friends and family gather to celebrate the start of spring. Just like other festive celebrations, there is plenty of food served during Chinese New Year. 

Food is a central theme during the celebrations, but it's also a busy period due to spring cleaning and decorating. As such, many people choose to buy their food from supermarkets or bakeries. 

Some people worry about buying festive goodies from outside sources because it can spell disaster for the host (especially if the in-laws are coming). However, we have selected some food outlets that we feel are truly the best in town, that even the worst critics would approve of.
 
Pineapple tarts - Go for Glory!

No home is ready for Chinese New Year without these cheerful orange tarts. Our personal favourite is Glory's. At just $10 per pack, it has a generous filling that is of the right sweetness and the pastry is of just the right texture. If you want pastry that is even softer, then you may want to get those from Helen's Deli. However, Helen's pineapple tarts have less filling.

Love Letters from Helen

This is another perennial favourite often found during Chinese New Year. The best love letters are the fragrant crispy ones which use genuine coconut. For that, we have to give the “Best Love Letters” to Helen. It is a little pricey at $16 per pack but it is worth every dollar. You can taste the coconut and the egg and it is baked to perfection.

King of Bak Kwa

Ahhh yes! Sweet, succulent and juicy pieces of minced meat marinated with a special secret-recipe sauce, baked and then grilled to sizzling perfection. We can almost sniff the hunger-inducing aroma of Lim Chee Guan's bak kwa from a mile away. Mr Rod Lim has earned himself the title of Bak Kwa King thanks to his 80-year old family business. International celebrities flying in to Singapore count themselves lucky to even get a little of his bak kwa. What more can we say? Oh, but we have to warn you though. There is almost always an exceptionally long queue which is natural since it is that good. Besides, good things come to those who wait.

Tray of Togetherness

This is a traditional item often found during Chinese New Year. The Tray of Togetherness symbolizes a sweet start to the new year and also acts as a beautiful centerpiece on your living room table. Having it in your house is sure to bring in the festive spirit. The Tray of Togetherness, as it is called, is a tray of sweets consisting of five to eight dried fruits which can be bought from your local supermarket. Of course having eight fruits is the best because eight is a lucky number according to the Chinese custom.

To create the Tray of Togetherness, you get a round or octagonal tray, usually red or gold, that has a maximum of eight compartments. Each compartment is for a certain fruit; red melon seed for happiness, kumquats for prosperity, candied melon for good health, peanuts for longevity, lotus seeds for fertility, longans for many good sons, lychee nut for a strong family, and coconut to symbolise unity.

We hope you have enjoyed our article and know what types of food to get to celebrate the New Year. We believe that with such mouth-watering delights, you'll probably get bragging rights as the best host this year. Enjoy the spread!