How’s Catering: Gather this Chinese New Year for an opulent banquet with palace-themed iHeat mini buffets

The festive hues of red and gold come alive once again to usher in the Year of the Snake. This Chinese New Year 2025, award-winning How’s Catering extends an invitation to you and your family to feast in a majestic dining experience worthy of royalty.

Calling it the ‘Palace Feast Of Prosperity‘, each Palace (宫廷)-themed menu offers an opulent and sumptuous meal with a contemporary edge. It’s meticulously crafted with only the finest ingredients to make you feel as though you’re attending a majestic banquet.

Pick what works best for you from an array of 4 mini buffet sets, each perfect for a group of 10.

Besides the Majestic Delight iHEAT (S$298+), Royal Repast iHEAT (S$398+), and  Palatial Indulgence iHEAT (S$498+), there’s also the Regal Harvest iHEAT (S$338+) for vegetarians and the health-conscious, utilising plant-based products that’s great for health and sustainability.

Before you start worrying about serving cold, lacklustre dishes to your guests, rest assured that How’s Catering’s 5-step self-heating technology has got your back! Begin by pouring liquid from the water pack completely onto the heating tray before placing the heating agent. Then, simply place the food container on top and cover the lid tightly.

Wait for just 15 minutes, and ta-da— warm food! You can even leave it on for 25 to 30 minutes to get hotter food.

What I tried at How’s Catering

After wrecking my brains on the best fit for my party of 10, I finally settled on the Palatial Indulgence iHEAT. This wonderful 9-course set has everything— proteins, dessert, and even the quintessential yusheng.

After we assembled the smoked salmon pieces, added the toppings and slathered the sauce over, it was time to toss.

Now, before you start panicking and grabbing your phone to Google the appropriate auspicious sayings for each element, How’s catering has already provided the phrases on the box’s lining— how thoughtful!

With our appetites fired up, it was time to focus our attention on the main affair. We began with the Braised Irish Duck with Sea Cucumber & Chinese Flower Mushroom.

As soon as I lifted a piece of duck, the licorice-like aroma of star anise perfumed the air. Its subtle spicy flavour also infused the meat, which was seasoned perfectly. I enjoyed sinking my teeth into the juicy, earthy mushrooms and the smooth sea cucumber— such ideal companions!

We then moved on to the Sichuan Mala Baby Lobster. The mini crustaceans were tossed in robust spices, garnished with coriander, garlic cloves, onions, peanuts and dried chilli.

I didn’t bother with cutlery and got down and dirty with my hands instead. With a simple tug, the shell came apart easily to reveal the luscious flesh. The meat was fresh and naturally sweet. I enjoyed licking my fingers clean to enjoy the spicy, robust notes along with the crunchy peanuts and citrusy coriander.

The Oven-Baked Free Range Kampung Chicken with Angelica Root came wrapped up with parchment paper to lock in all of its natural juices and flavour.

After I drizzled the gravy over the bird, I carved it lightly with my knife and fork. The meat of the kampung chicken was firmer and had lesser fats compared to the usual chicken. It also had a gentle infusion of woody-herbaceousness that would appeal to all ages, even kids.

The Wawa Cabbage in Chicken Collagen Broth with 10-Head Abalone and Dried Scallop featured pieces of cabbage with carrot slices, wolfberries, snow peas, fa cai, shreds of dried scallop, and lots of abalone.

I was pleasantly surprised at how soft the abalone was. The bits of dried scallop took it up a notch with its light, umami notes.

The clusters of wawa cabbage were slightly crunchy and juicy, soaking up the smooth chicken broth which was rich and satisfying.

You’ll be given a choice between the Golden Egg Floss Fried Rice with Chicken Ham and Wok-Fried Hong Kong Noodle with Smoked Duck. The latter was my favourite with pieces of smoked duck, mushrooms, egg, carrots and cabbage. The smokiness of the meat had infused every strand of noodle— amazingly yummy!

You can also have a blast playing dessert chef by mixing and matching the Aiyu Yuzu Grass Jelly Dessert, creating your very own unique masterpiece.

Start by selecting your desired base of Grass Jelly or Aiyu Jelly. Alternatively, you can follow in my footsteps and add both (come on, live a little!). To complement it, there’s a whole array of toppings for you to pick from: taro balls, red bean, lychee pops, peach gum, peanuts and longan.

For the finishing touch, smear on the luscious milk to your heart’s content. The result? A bowl full of interesting textures, with just the right level of sweetness and smoothness.

If you’re seeking other dishes to take your CNY feast up a notch, you must add the Golden Kampung Chicken with Baby Abalone & Mushroom (S$58).

This auspicious speciality features an entire kampung chicken bathed in a golden, decadent collagen broth made from slow-braised chickens, together with smooth pumpkin. The meat is tender and pillowy, complemented by mini abalones, flower mushrooms, crab meat, chestnuts and red dates.

You can also explore How’s Catering’s myriad of Chinese New Year à la carte options available like the Seafood Treasure Pot with Golden Pumpkin Broth and Crab Meat Lump (S$128+), perfect for those who love seafood.

With every Chinese New Year buffet order, you also stand to receive an exquisite How’s Catering mandarin orange bag and their limited edition ang bao (while stocks last).

To find out more, click here.

Final thoughts

For a luxurious Chinese New Year feast that will be the talk of the town among your family and relatives, count on How’s Catering, a name that never disappoints. If you’re organising a grand gathering, How’s Catering also has larger buffet options, starting from just S$28.80 per pax.

So hurry, click here to discover their impressive menus, and get ahead on the preparations for the upcoming CNY celebrations!

Expected damage: S$32 – S$52 per pax

* This article is brought to you in partnership with How’s Catering.

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