(Credit: Anthony Leow / Flickr)
With Chinese New Year 2024 coming up soon, it can only mean one thing — more feasting! After all, it is a centuries-old Chinese belief that if you eat well at the start of the year, you will be eating well throughout the year. One such festive and luxurious CNY dish is definitely a deep dish of pen cai (also spelled as ‘peng cai’). While most families might make their own, there’s also a wide variety of pen cai delivery and takeaway options if you’re not up for all that prep and cooking. Here are our recommendations for the best pen cai in Singapore this CNY 2024.
When it comes to the best pen cai in Singapore, you’ll definitely want to get one from a place that specialises in seafood. That’s why the Yi Jia South Village Prosperity Claypot Pen Cai (available on Yijia Seafood Official Store) is a great choice given that it comes with all your favourite seafood such as dried scallops, sea cucumbers and abalones. Of course, it also comes with a generous portion of meat, including roasted chicken and roasted duck. Additionally, Yi Jia Seafood also offers pen cai takeaway from their stall in MacPherson — great for those who want to eat in the comfort of their own homes!
Serves: 6 – 12 pax
Pen cai takeaway details in Singapore (2024):
Self pick-up only
*Minimum advance order of 2 days required
Another frontrunner for the best pen cai in Singapore this year has got to be Tunglok Group! As a leading restaurant group in Singapore, you can expect them to deliver on quality. We especially love the Tung Lok Golden Pen Cai that comes with all the ingredients worthy of a great pen cai — roasted pork belly, lotus root, oyster mushroom and more! If you have more people at your CNY party, then you can consider the Tung Lok Prosperity Pen Cai (both available on Tunglok Group) which serves up to 10 pax and comes with two free packets of walnut paste cream that can be added to the pen cai to complement the overall taste.
Serves: 6 – 10 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
Free delivery for orders over $100
Huddle with your loved ones over a warm dinner that consists of one of the best pen cai this 2024. Xin’s Traditional Pen Cai contains premium ingredients that are perfectly suited for a family of five. Think whole abalones, dried oysters, fish dace and more! Feeling bougie? Go for their Imperial Pen Cai that’s elevated with more atas ingredients. We’re talking about deer tendons, bird’s nest and a whole Australian three-headed abalone too!
Serves: 5 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
31 Dec 2023 – 24 Feb 2024
*Self pick-up and dine-in available
*Minimum advance order of 3 days required
As an award-winning Cantonese restaurant, we can expect the pen cai from Peach Blossom to be one of the best in Singapore this year. After all, pen cai is a traditional Cantonese dish! Their Blossoming Abalone Treasure Pot is a majestic feast with 11 high-quality ingredients making up the pot. There are pig trotters, sea cucumbers, scallops, abalones and more in this pot of gold.
This pen cai is also available in a vegetarian version. The Vegetarian Deluxe Treasure Pot serves up the same level of decadence with braised vegetarian abalones, honshimeji mushrooms, bamboo pith and other ingredients. Other than being the best pen cai for your vegetarian friends, you can bet that this vegetarian version will also send everyone else’s taste buds into a frenzy!
Serves: 10 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
12 Jan 2024 – 24 Feb 2024
*Minimum advance order of 3 days required
The Man Fu Yuan Abundance Treasure Pot probably stands out in the crowd because of its variety of ingredients. We’re talking about some preserved Kurobuta sausage, liver sausage and many others! And that’s not all. Man Fu Yuan truly spoils us this Chinese New Year with so many goodies as you’ll be digging into some lobster, scallops, pig trotters and more! As one of the best pen cai in Singapore, you’ll be asking for a second serving faster than you can say “Huat!”
Serves: 5 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
$50, free for orders above $600
*Self pick-up available
*Minimum advance order of 3 working days required
As its name suggests, the pen cai from Crystal Jade Singapore is definitely a treasure pot. With 18 different premium ingredients including whole 10-head abalones, sea cucumber, superior fish maw, oyster and scallops, you’ll love how everything comes together in this pen cai. Pen cai takeaway is available at various outlets in January 2024, although it will be frozen at the time of collection. But don’t worry — the heating up process is as easy as ever. Just heat it over one of the best induction cookers and you’re good to go!
Serves: 5 pax
Pen cai takeaway details in Singapore (2024):
19 Jan 2024 – 25 Feb 2024
*Dine-in available
As one of the best pen cai options in Singapore that offers both takeaway and delivery options, the pen cai from Yummy Food will definitely impress with its extensive range of ingredients and superior aesthetics. Furthermore, there is up to 2.5L of broth which is great for large families! Additionally, this pen cai comes with a complimentary electric cooker and thermal bag worth $90. This will definitely help you in the prep before CNY as you can heat up the pen cai the moment it arrives. But what’s best is that you can even use it after the new year festivities – what a steal!
Serves: 6 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
$30 delivery fee
*Self pick-up available
*Minimum advanced order of 3 days is required
We can’t talk about the best pen cai in Singapore without mentioning Peach Garden. Known for their premium ingredients like shark bone cartilage and lobster, their Mini Deluxe Pen Cai is one that’s just as atas. There’s a bountiful of braised ingredients like baby abalones, dried oysters, sea cucumbers, scallops and prawns. You definitely won’t have anything to complain about as you feast on this pen cai. Furthermore, the overall presentation of this bowl is top-notch and it’ll surely look great when you post it on your Instagram stories!
Serves: 5 – 6 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
8 Jan 2024 – 24 Feb 2024
*Minimum advance order of 1 day required
*Self pick-up available
With five different types of pen cai available at Tam Kah Seafood, you can be assured that they offer nothing but the best. The Tam Kah Seafood Pen Cai (available on Tam Kah Seafood) can feed up to 10 people and includes all your favourite premium seafood such as fish maw, fresh scallops and prawns. There is also a vegetarian option available where you’ll love the generous servings of vegetarian abalones, Japan vegetarian sea cucumber and Taiwan vegetarian ham.
Serves: 5 – 10 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
Contact seller for delivery arrangements
*Self pick-up available
The OmniMeat Fortune Pot from Sheraton Towers stands out from the crowd because of its variety of ingredients. We’re talking about their premium ingredients featuring Australian abalone, lobster meat, fried fish, dried scallop, duck and more. With its luxurious ingredients, it’s therefore no surprise that the OmniMeat Fortune Pot is one of the best pen cai in Singapore this Chinese New Year.
Serves: 6 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
8 Jan 2024 – 24 Feb 2024
*Minimum advance order of 3 days required
The Yan Harvest Pen Cai showcases an impressive array of 18 meticulously prepared ingredients and served in a claypot that you can keep. Look forward to their six-head abalone, live prawns, whole conpoy, pork tendon, cod, scallops, roast pork, and other premium components, all soaked in a sumptuous braised duck sauce. This is surely a must-get as one of the best pen cai in Singapore this Chinese New Year!
Serves: 5 pax
Pen cai delivery details in Singapore (2024):
*Minimum advance order of 2 days required
Pen cai (盆菜) is a traditional Cantonese meal that dates back to the Song Dynasty. The dish is made up of many layers of different ingredients in a stewed chicken gravy. It is usually served in a large bowl or metal basins for communal sharing. This is because its Chinese name (also spelled as poon choi) translates to “big bowl feast” or “basin cuisine”.
While you should pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables when choosing ingredients for your pen cai, the most important thing is to pick the ingredients you like. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of ingredients that are commonly included when making pen cai in Singapore:
During the CNY festive season, more premium seafood ingredients such as abalone, sea cucumbers and prawns are included in the pen cai as well.
One perk of getting pen cai takeaways is that the preparation process is really simple. First, you have to ensure that the entire pen cai is completely defrosted. After a few hours, all you have to do is pour boiling stock over the pen cai and simmer it over low heat for about an hour and voila! Your pen cai is ready to be served!
We hope your stomachs are ready to indulge in the best pen cai in Singapore this CNY! Feel like dining in? Head over to these best Chinese restaurants that are open during Chinese New Year! And get all glammed up with these best modern cheongsams. But most of all, remember to stock up on CNY goodies to keep your visitors filled. We recommend these best love letters and best pineapple tarts to get the ball rolling. For other festive deals and discounts, be sure to check out Shopee’s CNY Sale!
This article was updated on 10 January 2024. Additional research done by Ong Tze Kym.
Time to jingle his bells!
‘Tis the season to be jolly and a little competitive!
For a-meow-zing staycays.
Ending the year with a blast (of fireworks).
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