Christmas may have only just passed, and the 2017 is just approaching, but already we are getting ready for the arrival of Chinese New Year in just under a month. The Year of the Rooster arrives on January 28, where banquet-style feasts are served to unite families and friends, which will naturally include festive puddings, from savoury to sweet. Since it is never too early to get a head start on choosing your New Year pudding, here are a few early bird picks for you.

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Tin Lung Heen

Excelling in producing exclusive puddings over the years, Paul Lau, executive chef of Tin Lung Heen of Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is pushing the envelope with a special pudding design this year, where coconut birds’ nest meets red dates. Chef Lau’s new premium red dates and birds nest coconut pudding draws on the inspiration of Chinese calligraphy, where the red date pudding takes the shape of the word ‘Dragon’ spread across a white canvas made from coconut birds’ nest pudding. The new signature pudding is available as a special package with vintage pu-erh tea, and the restaurant’s signature X.O. sauce. The package is priced at HK$ 788 per set, and available for ordering from now until January 27. Pudding packages are ready for pickup at the restaurant from January 16 to 27. 

Tin Lung Heen; 102/F Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, West Kowloon, Hong Kong; +852 2263-2270

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Spring Moon 

Spring Moon’s exclusive Chinese New Year puddings are made the traditional way, featuring classic flavours that are made well and will never go out of style. Guests can indulge in Spring Moon’s signature four varieties of puddings; namely savoury taro, turnip, and sweet water chestnut as well as traditional coconut milk-rich New Year pudding. The four varieties of puddings are priced at HK$288 per piece. Ordering runs from December 28 to January 27. Guests ordering 20 puddings or more can enjoy a 10% discount, whereas those ordering 50 or more puddings can enjoy a 20% discount.

Spring Moon, 1/F The Peninsula Hong Kong, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong; +852 2696 6760

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Hoi King Heen

Last year, chef Fai-Hung Leung of InterContinental Grand Stanford’s Hoi King Heen launched a special Chinese New Year hawthorn pudding (link to video article). This year, the executive chef of the esteemed restaurant is launching a new creation: the jujube pudding. Celebrated for its chewy texture and rounding sweetness, jujubes from Zhejiang province are adapted into chef Leung’s recipe for this year’s new creation. The new sweet pudding is available for ordering, together with the duo-tone sweet potato and sugar cane pudding, taro pudding and turnip pudding, available for ordering from now until January 27, 2017. Puddings are priced at HK$248 apiece and are ready to be redeemed from January 13 to 27, 2017.

Hoi King Heen, Basement, InterContinental Grand Stanford, 70 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong; +852 2731 2883

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Ming Court

Ming Court is celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rooster with three new delectable puddings. The abalone, conpoy, air-dried preserved meats and turnip pudding is the only savoury addition this year, but the celebrated Cantonese restaurant is presenting two new sweet pudding varieties: Tian Shan red date with brown sugar and coconut pudding and Rose petal, dark brown sugar, wolfberry and water chestnut pudding. The date pudding incorporates Tian Shan dates, which are celebrated for their nutritional benefits. The rose petal, wolfberry and water chestnut pudding replaces cane sugar with dark brown sugar, adding notes of caramel, while wolfberries and water chestnuts add texture and rose petals imbue a floral aroma to the puddings. Three varieties of Chinese New Year puddings are priced from HK$238 to HK$288 apiece, and are available for ordering from now until January 15. Guests ordering 30 boxes or more can enjoy a 25% discount on or before December 31, 2016, and 20% discount from January 1 to 15, 2016 

Ming Court, 6/F The Cordis, 555 Shanghai Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong; +852 3552-3028

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The Royal Garden 

For the first time since the launch of its Chinese New Year puddings, The Royal Garden is unveiling its own brand of deluxe turnip pudding, hand-crafted by chef Wai-Shing Ho, executive chef of The Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant. The exclusive pudding is made with Japanese daikon radish, each cut into 1-cm long batons, folded into a thick rice flour batter mixed with Japanese conpoy and dried shiitake mushrooms as well as dried Chinese sausages, before being steamed until set. The festive pudding is best cut thick and pan-fried until golden on both sides. The new deluxe turnip pudding from The Royal Garden is available for ordering and priced at HK$368 apiece. From now until January 9, guests ordering the deluxe turnip pudding can enjoy a 10% discount. 

Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant, Basement, The Royal Garden, 69 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong; +852 2724 2666

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Little Bao

Back for its second year in the limelight is Little Bao's standout beetroot turnip cake, which boasts no additives or preservatives and steals the show with its vibrant magenta hue. The main ingredients are beetroot, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, dried shiitake, rice flour, cornstarch, yuzu peel and dashi for a pan-Asian twist, much like the other dishes on Little Bao’s menu. The packaging has been created in collaboration with local artists Arme Chan and Entendre Studios, ensuring that any recipient of this turnip cake will feel like they truly have a one-of-a-kind pudding.

The beetroot turnip cake is available for pre-orders now, and is priced at HK$178 per piece. There are only 100 cakes being made, and guests can purchase a maximum of five pieces each. Pick-up will be available between January 15 and 27 between 3:00pm and 10:00pm at Little Bao, or delivery will be an extra HK$100 for Hong Kong addresses and HK$200 for Kowloon addresses. 

Little Bao, 66 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2194 0202

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