Found myself googling how to reduce bloating from overeating on CNY day 1 but CNY happens only once a year right?

ST food writer’s Tan Hsueh Yun (@msposhnosh) mantra “I refuse to eat crap” became my goal and I am glad I got treated to 3 goodies out of her snack platter kudos to the goodwill of my closest friend who snagged Mdm Ling’s goodies before they went OOS.

As expected Mdm Ling’s coffee cookies are remarkable smooth and goes by the cliche yet effective “melt in your mouth” description. It truly earned its spot as one of the 2 sweets on @msposhnosh’s snack platter. The seaweed chicken floss love letters is also an interesting variant to my favourite CNY goodies which I restrained from ordering this year. None of my usual Home Favorite love letters didn’t felt as bad with these and other tins I found in the homes I visited 😬 Lastly I sure was lucky when my family got gifted a bottle of rasa sayang’s BBQ corn snack- warning these are highly addictive with an umami taste that leaves you reaching out for more.

Other gifted snack include lychee champagne cookies with a conspicuous taste of lychee through seasoned/preserved/ puréed lychee peels. Then the best cookie out of the lot was choc & spice cranberry cookies that were sturdy with a nice crunch and chew; I’d skip the choc chips ones.

The only goodies we ordered this year had to be Mirana’s pineapple tarts I’ve had since I knew what pineapple tarts meant. Unfortunately (or not) while Mirana’s tarts were still great, during one of my visitation I tasted Ding bakery’s pineapple tarts that will be what I’m ordering next year. The latter does real melt in your mouth kueh bangkits too.

Other worth mentioning cookies I tasted were Leong Seng HK Pasteries’ and Yamazaki Bakery’s almond cookies, the former made with almond slices while the latter using whole almond nuts with skin. I am not a almond cookie expert but these were enjoyable enough to have a second servings of. There was also Shangrila’s ingot pineapple tarts that are in a league of its own, at a mini cake like portion and I’m guessing price point.

Oh mint/ lemongrass/ ginger tea helps with the bloating by the way and a good long walk after the day of feasting. Google tips if you need it for the next CNY ✨