PUBLISHED ONJanuary 14, 2025 9:07 AMByCandice CaiWith cost of living a top concern among many Singaporeans and amid fierce competition among restaurants during this festive season, some zi char outlets here appear to be doing all they can to draw customers this Chinese New Year (CNY).
Besides holding early-bird promotions, some are giving away abalones and offering lobsters in their menu, reported Shin Min Daily News on Monday (Jan 13).
And with just two weeks to go before CNY, the competition is heating up.
While restaurants interviewed by the Chinese evening daily reported no significant change in the number of bookings as compared to last year, Goodyear Seafood Village, located in Tampines, shared that they've seen a 30 per cent drop in the number of bookings.
"We've also noticed a trend where fewer customers are ordering the CNY set menu and instead prefer to order items a la carte. We believe it's due to cost considerations," owner Geraldine Peh told Shin Min.
She added: "Even as the cost of ingredients has increased, I don't dare to increase prices for fear of losing customers."
In order to attract customers to make advanced bookings for their reunion dinners, the eatery offered an $18 discount for those who reserved their tables in December. Those who placed orders for the $888 set menu would also receive a free can of abalone. "We've also introduced new items such as adding lobster into the cold platter (dish) to attract customers," Geraldine shared.
Seafood and zi char eatery Diamond Kitchen, which has two outlets in Marine Parade Road and Science Park Drive, held a recently concluded early-bird promotion which saw them giving away up to 1kg of bak kwa for each set menu ordered.
Owner Josh Chou told AsiaOne that while the promotion was popular, the restaurant did not do any aggressive marketing as their CNY set menus "have always been known to be very well priced".
Josh noted that some diners have already started their celebrations early, with families seen gathering for reunion dinners as early as last weekend.
He added that it's common for patrons to do so in order to avoid the crowds, with the weekend before CNY eve particularly "hot days for reservations".
Another zi char operator interviewed by Shin Min shared the observation that some customers are turning to having two reunion meals on CNY eve, revealing a change in habits.
The owner of Chuan Kee Seafood, Lin Jinxiang (transliteration), told Shin Min: "Some families will choose to have lunch with the man's side of the family before having dinner with the wife's relatives," said Lin, adding that women these days don't usually follow the tradition of returning to their parents' homes only on the second day of the new year.
And instead of having two seatings for dinner — a common practice among restaurants on special occasions — Chuan Kee, located in a coffee shop at Lower Delta Road, will be open for reservations from 12pm to 6pm to cater to the demand. They will also be offering only set menus on CNY eve.
Jinxiang added that those who make a reservation from noon till 3pm will get a 10 per cent discount. He stated that the response has been "not bad", with 80 bookings made so far.
For Jeff Tan, owner of new zi char stall Wei Yi Kitchen, housed in a coffee shop at Compassvale Link in Sengkang, this CNY will be the eatery's first since opening in September 2024.
While he doesn't have any data from previous years to compare against, he shared that the response this year is "better than our forecast", with 80 per cent of tables booked.
The stall will also be holding three dining sessions on CNY eve at 12pm, 5pm and 8pm. All customers who order a CNY set menu, ranging from $308 to $768, will also stand a chance to win one of three lucky draw prizes, including an Apple iPad.
"We felt this will build excitement and hopefully build rapport and engagement with our customers," said Jeff, especially since the stall has been operating for just four months.
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candicecai@asiaone.com
