8 Tastiest Rice Dumplings for Dumpling Festival aka Dragon Boat Festival 2024

Here’s where to order celebratory bak chang/ba zhang and traditional rice dumplings in Singapore for the Dumpling Festival aka Dragon Boat Festival 2024. Don’t miss the rice dumpling promotions with early bird savings!

Looking for rice dumplings in Singapore to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival 2024 (also called Dumpling Festival 2024)? The traditional Chinese food for the Dragon Boat Festival is bak chang/bak zhang or zongzi — pyramid-shaped glutinous sticky rice dumplings with different fillings of pork, water chestnuts, mushrooms and other fillings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. Nyonya dumplings are stuffed with braised pork, five-spice powder and candied winter melon, while the rice dumpling ‘Kee zhang‘ has no filling and is eaten as a sweet, dipped gula melaka (palm sugar). Here’s where to find the tastiest rice dumplings to celebrate the Dumpling Festival in Singapore!

Scroll on for where to find rice dumplings to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival 2024!

Read more: Guide to Best Dim Sum in Singapore

When is Rice Dumpling Festival 2024?

The Chinese Dumpling Festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar which is Monday 10 June 2024.

Dragon Boat Festival History

The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet and minister during the Zhou Dynasty Warring States period who was banished and accused of treason. He later drowned himself in the river when the Chu capital was captured by Qin. Legend has it that he couldn’t be saved by locals who tried to race out in boats to reach him in time. Fishermen beat their oars against the water to stop the man-eating fish in the river from devouring Qu Yuan’s body. Some say they threw cooked rice wrapped in leaves into the water, hoping that the fish would eat them instead. This legend has resulted in the celebratory Dragon Boat Festival with dragon boat races and the eating of rice dumplings wrapped in reed leaves.

How to cook Rice Dumplings

Rice dumplings are best eaten when they are steamed, but may also be eaten as sold from your favourite rice dumpling spot. If the rice dumplings are not eaten on the day of purchase, they should be placed in the refrigerator where they can be usually kept for up to four days. When you’re ready to tuck in, reheat the rice dumplings by steaming for 15 minutes or boiling for 12 minutes.

Best Bak Chang/Rice Dumplings for Dumpling Festival 2024

So now that you know a little about the Dragon Boat Festival history, let’s check out some of the rice dumplings and gifting options in Singapore to celebrate this festival.

1. Hai Tien Lo: Hand-crafted rice dumplings

Pan Pacific Singapore’s award-winning Cantonese restaurant Hai Tien Lo celebrates the traditional Dragon Boat Festival with an ensemble
of meticulously crafted rice dumplings. Enjoy the time-honoured tradition of unwrapping the rice dumpling’s bamboo and lotus leaves to reveal the hidden treasures inside! Hai Tien Lo’s Supreme Rice Dumpling ($45 serves four to six persons) is great to share at family gatherings and makes the perfect gift. These rice dumplings are generously filled with pork belly, roasted duck, whole dried scallops, chestnut, green beans, lotus seed, premium glutinous rice and the luxurious addition of whole abalone. Other flavours include the Pan Pacific Black Pepper Foie Gras Sausages Rice Dumpling ($22) and the Black Glutinous (Pulut Hitam) Nyonya Rice Dumpling. Or plump for Hai Tien Lo’s Rice Dumpling bundles ranging from $110 to $150 for a great variety of rice dumpling flavours.

Rice dumplings for Dumpling Festival 2024: Hai Tien Lo’s rice dumplings will be available for purchase from now until 10 June 2024. Delivery or self-collection will be available at Pacific Emporium (Deli Counter), located at Level 1 of Pan Pacific Singapore, from 10 May to 10 June 2024, 10am to 8pm. To order, call 6826 8240 or email [email protected].

Hai Tien Lo, Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Blvd, Singapore 039595

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2. Rice dumplings at 藝 yì by Jereme Leung

You can rely on 藝 yì by Jereme Leung at Raffles Hotel Singapore for exceptionally handcrafted sweet and savoury rice dumplings, in honour of the annual Dragon Boat Festival celebrations. MasterChef Jereme Leung uses traditional and unique ingredients to make their rice dumpling stand out. Newly crafted rice dumplings include the Yunnan Rose Petal Kee Chang with Raffles Signature Kaya Jam, a unique rendition of Kee Chang at $28+ for 5 pieces, including a jar of Raffles Signature Kaya Jam. There’s also the new Bak Kut Teh & Salted Egg Yolk Rice Dumpling and drum roll for the Traditional Eight Treasure 10-Head Abalone Rice Dumpling ($49+). This is a rice dumpling for celebrations with an array of eight premium ingredients: 10-head abalone, Sakura Ebi shrimp, salted egg yolk, chestnut, roasted duck, five spiced pork belly, premium dried scallops and Jinhua ham, epitomizing the spirit of good fortune, remembrance, and unity of the Dragon Boat Festival celebrations.

Enjoy a 20% early bird discount for online purchases between 10 – 31 May 2024 with selected bank partners.

Rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival 2024: The rice dumplings will be available for self-collection from 27 May to 10 June 2024 at 藝yì by Jereme Leung and for delivery from 10 May to 10 June 2024.

Jereme Leung  #03-02, Raffles Arcade, 328 North Bridge Rd Singapore 188719

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3. Joo Chiat Kim Choo’s traditional rice dumplings

This Dragon Boat Festival, step inside Joo Chiat Kim Choo’s flagship store on Circuit Road and be greeted by trinkets and curios of nostalgia for a blast to the past. The store revamp includes access to fun old-school card games like Snap, Donkey, Old Maid, Happy Family and more, offered alongside gachapon and arcade machines. Joo Chiat Kim Choo is known for its traditional Chinese rice dumplings, such as the Teochew Rice Dumpling, Hokkien Rice Dumpling, Cantonese Bean Rice Dumpling and Hakka Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables Rice Dumpling. Other Joo Chiat Kim Choo signatures include the Nyonya Rice Dumpling, Pulut Hitam Nyonya Dumpling and Classic Kee Zhang. Joo Chiat Kim Choo offers rice dumpling bundles and we love that you can buy these morsels of delight all year round, not just during Dumpling Festival!

Rice dumplings for Dumpling Festival 2024: Joo Chiat Kim Choo rice dumplings are available all year round. Order online.

Joo Chiat Kim Choo 1 Enterprise Road, Singapore 629813, www.joochiatkimchoo.com.sg

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4. Thye Moh Chan’s time-honoured Teochew bak chang

Rice dumplings here are expertly hand-wrapped with quality bamboo leaves and slow-cooked for over two and a half hours to ensure a plump and moist parcel with hidden delights. Tuck into Thy Moh Chan’s Teochew Double Delight Bak Chang and the Teochew Salted Egg Bak Chang, alongside exclusive rice dumplings like a flavourful Teochew Vegetarian Chang, an irresistible Fried Teochew Double Delight Bak Chang exclusively at Toast Box, and BreadTalk’s subtly-sweet Sun Cake. Individual packs or rice dumpling bundle sets are also available, presented in a complimentary limited-edition bag – perfect for gifting.

Rice dumplings for Dumpling Festival 2024: Thye Moh Chan’s Teochew Bak Chang are available at selected BreadTalk, Toast Box and Thye Moh Chan stores and online via Grabfood, Foodpanda and Deliveroo from 1 April to 10 June 2024.

Thy Moh Chan, available at various stores in Singapore, www.thyemohchan.com

5. Man Fu Yuan’s handcrafted rice dumplings

Celebrate the traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival with a choice of seven artisanal rice dumplings from Man Fu Yuan at InterContinental Singapore. This award-winning Cantonese restaurant has two new rice dumpling flavours, along with three rice dumpling gift bundle sets. Look out for the Nonya Rice Dumpling with Plant-Based Meat, Sweetened Winter Melon, and Mushroom ($23.90nett); the Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Red Bean, Honey Date and Red Date ($20.90nett), and the Duo Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Japanese Sweet Potato and Black Sesame which offers a refreshing change from the usual savoury rice dumplings. 

Use promo code RD15 to enjoy a 15% early-bird discount until 28 April 2024. Card members of UOB, Citibank, and Maybank enjoy an exclusive 20% savings.

Rice dumplings for Dumpling Festival 2024: available until 10 June 2024 via intercontinentalshoppe.sg, takeaway and delivery from 13 May to 10 June 2024.

Man Fu Yuan, InterContinental Singapore, 80 Middle Rd, Singapore 188966

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6. Eastern Rice Dumpling: Dragon Boat Festival 2024

The recipe for rice dumplings from Eastern Rice Dumpling has been passed down three generations for the last 40 years. Eastern Rice Dumpling is one of the more affordable rice dumpling spots in Singapore (prices are cheaper the earlier you buy and then increase towards Dumpling Festival). Their popular rice dumplings include Nyonya Dumpling ($4.20) and the Hokkien Rice Dumpling ($4.20) made from fried glutinous rice and a filling of chestnut, mushroom and pork marinated with five spices.

Rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival 2024: available all year round. You can order online here.

Eastern Rice Dumpling | Dong Yuan Bak Chang, online orders www.easternricedumpling.com

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7. Xin Cuisine’s rice dumplings/bak zhang for Dragon Boat Festival

Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant has a signature rice bak chang creation with Five-spiced Braised Pork Belly Meat, Salted Egg Yolk, Mushroom and Shrimp. There’s also Xin’s Signature Home-made Traditional Rice Dumpling and the Kee Chang Red Lotus Seed Paste Dumpling served with Osmanthus Sauce ($15.80), as well as an Assorted Rice Dumpling Bundle set ($26). Handcrafted in-house by Xin Cuisine’s Dim Sum Chef, these rice dumplings make a fab gift for Dragon Boat Festival 2024.

Early Bird Discount: 20% off rice dumplings until 30 April 2024 (applied on order)

Rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival 2024: Collection Delivery available from 8 May – 9 June 2024, Wednesdays to Sundays. (Orders must be made 3 days in advance) All bak chang are available for order online.

Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant, Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, 317 Outram Rd, Singapore

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8. Bak chang/Hokkien rice dumplings at Hoo Kee Bak Chang

Hoo Kee Bak Chang 和记肉粽 (Michelin Bib Gourmand bak chang) is a family business that has been selling Hokkien style rice dumplings or bak chang for over 60 years throughout the year and not just during Dragon Boast Festival. Bak chang flavours range from the original flavour of roasted pork with chestnuts (from $4.30), as well as bak chang with salted duck egg yolk ($5.30) and the deluxe bak chang of pork ($6.30), roasted chestnuts, salted egg yolk, and shiitake mushrooms.

Rice dumplings for Dumpling Festival 2024: all year-round from $4.30

Hoo Kee Bak Chang 和记肉粽, www.hookeebakchang.sg/shop