Chinese New Year goodies and snacks 2024 price guide: Pineapple tarts, kueh lapis, love letters and more

Chinese New Year (CNY) is when we tell ourselves that it's ok to eat more and indulge because those extra calories from all the massive meals are totally worth it when you've got delicious food to eat.

And in the lead-up to the occasion, there are all the snacks and goodies as well, from sweet, pillowy pineapple tarts, buttery smooth kueh lapis, to crispy love letters, melt-in-your-mouth kueh bangkit and the hot favourite, tasty bak kwa (which deserves an entire article of its own).

While most Singaporeans naturally think of the golden morsels of Kele's pineapple tarts and Bengawan Solo's cakes and cookies, there are plenty of other bakeries that dish out the same delectables, and for a fraction of the cost.

We've done a roundup of some of the bakeries and shops in Singapore to get CNY goodies for 2024.

Pineapple tarts in Singapore prices 2024

Whether they come in golden balls baked to perfection with a sweet jammy core or a flat open-top flower shape, pineapple tarts are synonymous with Chinese New Year.

While it's a bit difficult to compare each shop's pineapple tarts as they come in different quantities and sizes, we've sorted them by price per bottle or box.

We've provided the prices for the most basic, traditional pineapple tarts.

Some shops like Pineapple Tarts Singapore offer a variety of flavours, shapes and sizes, including the open-faced ones, pineapple balls and pillows. Interesting flavours include mala, cheese, salted egg, and charcoal truffle.

Popular bakery La Levain in Jalan Besar has also released CNY goodies, although it's not quite clear how big their pineapple balls are with no weight or quantities stated.

Most of the shops take online orders except Le Cafe. They've stopped taking pre-orders online and their highly coveted pineapple tarts are available at their outlets, subject to availability.

So if you're particular about your tarts, you'll want to head down to the shops pronto.

If you're more budget-conscious, NTUC FairPrice has a range of pineapple tarts from $6.92 to $21 from brands such as Gin Thye and Glory, while Cold Storage's wares are available from $6.80 to $13.80.

Kueh lapis in Singapore prices 2024

Another traditional favourite, kueh lapis is the dense and rich layered cake that we love sinking our teeth into and savouring the moist treat that has its roots in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, these cakes can cost quite a lot but that's because of the labourious work of creating and putting together all those layers.

Most shops typically sell them in huge one kg slabs or smaller 500g versions. Here are some popular kueh lapis shops:

Prices and sizes vary greatly depending on the kueh lapis seller you buy from. They also increase slightly more depending on the flavours.

Most offer their original or signature kueh lapis prices as listed above, while other common flavours include chocolate, coffee, pandan or rainbow.

If you value authenticity and are particular about where your food comes from, there are some Indonesian bakeries that have the kueh lapis as their specialty such as Deli Indo, Layers Batam and Ollella.

Ollella, founded by two Indonesian sisters, has interesting flavours such as its signature spiced lapis and a new savoury version, the golden shrimp with salted egg yolk.

And surprise surprise, even the kueh lapis from Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel is cheaper than a few bakeries when on sale!

Other CNY goodies: Salted egg fish skin, prawn rolls, love letters, kueh bangkit & more

Of course, CNY would not be complete without all the other guilty, indulgent and tasty snacks from addictive salted egg fish skin, rich, buttery cookies, spicy crispy prawn rolls, and more.

While pineapple tarts and kueh lapis incur the highest cost, the good news is that other CNY snacks don't cost as much, unless you go for the ones sold by the "branded" bakeries.

We do a comparison between the "branded" snacks sellers and non-branded ones:

As you can see, some shops' price difference is quite huge, especially if you compare them with the goodies sold at NTUC FairPrice. We tried to compare as similar quantities as possible to get a more accurate sense of which is more worth it.

With that said, it all boils down to whether you want to support a local bakery you like, are particular about the type of CNY goodie you want, are giving the CNY goodies to relatives who might sneer if they see it's from NTUC, or just want to enjoy snacking at home in peace.

Happy feasting!

ALSO READ: Crunch time: Savour bold flavours with these unique Chinese New Year snacks

This article was first published in MoneySmart.