As the imperial Year of the Dragon is fast approaching, the pressure builds on what to prepare for your reunion dinner feasts. Just admit it, you’ll need to spend a lot of time and effort. To make planning a breeze, why not check out the range of Chinese New Year iHEAT mini buffet sets from How’s Catering instead?
There are 4 CNY iHEAT Mini Buffet options, each perfect for 10 persons, catering to various tastes. Take your pick from: Auspicious Beginnings 龍轉乾坤 (S$324.82), Auspicious Future 飛龍在天 (S$368.42), Auspicious Prosperity 龍鳳呈祥 (S$433.82) and Auspicious Success 龍腾盛世 (S$542.82).
Since Lunar New Year only happens once a year, I decided to experience the Auspicious Success 龍腾盛世 for our office festive get-together. Because, you know, go big or go home, right?
Ditch the jitters! How’s Catering has you covered with a user-friendly 6-step instruction card, featuring illustrations and detailed descriptions to make the self-heating mechanism a walk in the park.
When you’re ready to kickstart the feasting and warm the dishes up, simply lift the food container to reveal 2 heating bags and 2 packs of water stored in a heating tray.
Next, empty out the 2 water packs onto the heating tray.
Proceed to retrieve the 2 heating agents from their pack and place them in the water side-by-side. (Ensure your hands are not wet when handling the heating agents). Then, place your food over the heating tray.
Within 10 seconds, you’ll begin to hear the sizzle and hot steam will begin to rise. Cover the food by closing the lid tightly and heat up for at least 15 minutes. If you want your guests to enjoy a piping-hot feast, remove the covers only after 20 to 30 minutes.
A word of warning: Steam generated is exceptionally hot, posing a high risk of burns. Do not place your hands over it while the heating process is ongoing.
What I tried at How’s Catering
The Auspicious Success 龍腾盛世 has a total of 12 offerings including the quintessential yu sheng, soup, main dishes and 2 desserts.
Don’t worry about table set-up and cutleries, as the good folks of How’s Catering have conveniently provided disposable plates, bowls, paper napkins, serving tongs, cutleries and even a table mat— their attention to detail is spot-on!
What better way to start off the Lunar New Year feasting than to toss to good fortune. Each of the CNY iHEAT Mini Buffet sets come with a Prosperity Yu Sheng with Condiments that contains smoked salmon slices.
Chinese New Year 2024: 12 best catered meals for your home reunion dinner feast
No need to fret about auspicious phrases while pouring out ingredients, the sides of the box feature pictures and corresponding words for your guidance— so thoughtful, indeed!
We kicked off with the comforting Braised Fish Maw Crab Meat Soup. The thick, flavourful broth brimmed with crab meat, fish maw, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and wolfberries. Each sip of the perfectly-seasoned soup warmed my soul, perfect with the massive thunderstorm happening outdoors.
The Eight Treasure Braised Chicken was soaked in a viscous gravy and topped with chestnuts, mushroom, wolfberries, whole garlic cloves and carrot cubes.
With a gentle pull of my serving spoon and fork, the chicken effortlessly fell apart. As I took my first bite, my teeth encountered no resistance, a testament to the perfectly-braised texture. It featured subtle herbal notes, delicately balanced and not overpowering.
If there weren’t other guests, I would have gladly finished this dish all by myself— this was one of my favourites!
The Angelica Root Roasted Irish Duck was lightly perfumed with the herbaceous angelica root glaze. It went hand-in-hand like a dynamic duo with the moist and aromatic duck.
The Deep-Fried Grouper Fillet with Golden Pumpkin Broth featured thiccc and fresh slices of grouper with a naturally-sweet pumpkin gravy slathered on top.
The crispy rice crumb for the Typhoon Shelter Style Slipper Lobster was so generous that it almost camouflaged the dish. The crayfish meat was firm and sweet, pairing seamlessly with the savoury, crunchy rice that boasted a sandy texture.
The HOWS Signature Spinach Tofu with Duo Mushrooms may look like an ordinary mixed mushroom dish with sliced carrots. However, upon scooping, it unveils a delightful slab of tofu adorned with an emerald-green spinach topping.
The Wok-Fried US Asparagus & Scallop in Homemade XO Sauce featured fresh scallops, asparagus, red and green capsicum pieces, and red onion tossed in a umami-rich XO sauce, leaving a lingering hint of heat on my tongue.
The Deep-Fried Shrimp Wontons with Garlic Chilli Sauce had a crispy and flakey exterior and were tossed with fried curry leaves and chilli padi. The garlic chilli sauce which was served alongside packed some heat and possessed a punchy, garlicky taste.
For your carb option, choose between the Steamed Lotus Leaf Rice with Diced Chicken & Chestnuts and the Wok-Fried Ramen with Assorted Seafood & Ginger Onion Sauce. We selected the latter and the noodles were fried with prawns, sotong, cabbage slices, tau geh, egg and carrot strips.
Finally, we transitioned to the duo of desserts, starting with the Red Velvet Cake with Mandarin Orange. Featuring a citrusy, tangy Mandarin orange yogurt centre between 2 moist red velvet sponge cakes, it was adorned with edible flowers and surrounded by a red velvet crumb coating.
The second dessert was Purple Sweet Potato with Sago & Riceberry Soup. Resembling pulut hitam, riceberry is a purple rice variety from Thailand with a chewy texture. Purple sweet potato cubes, sago and jelly pieces offer an array of textures. The coconut milk had taken on a pale lilac shade, likely coming from the riceberry and sweet potatoes.
Final thoughts
For those with a hectic schedule and little time for Chinese New Year preparations, entrust How’s Catering. They offer a seamless and convenient solution, delivering quality food with an extensive variety.
Click here to explore the CNY iHEAT mini buffet sets or for larger gatherings of 25 to 40 people, consider the Chinese New Year Buffet sets.
To find out more, call How’s Catering at +65 6852 2852 or visit their official website.
Expected damage: S$30 – S$50 per pax
* This article was brought to you in partnership with How’s Catering.
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How's Catering
8A Admiralty Street, FoodXchange @ Admiralty, #03-20/21/22 , Singapore 757437
How's Catering
8A Admiralty Street, FoodXchange @ Admiralty, #03-20/21/22 , Singapore 757437
