The thing about living in Malaysia is we’re a melting pot of cultures, living among people from various races. Perhaps it’s not too farfetched to say that we often bond together over food too! Makes perfect sense since most of the time we can seat at the same table, enjoying each other’s food, regardless of the occasion.

So today, we’re going to talk about the top 10 traditional Chinese New Year snacks, you guessed it, we often eat during Raya too!

Having this list would make it a lot easier for us to prepare gifts for our family and friends who are celebrating Raya and/or Chinese New Year. Oh, and we’re including recipe links too in case any of you would be keen to make some for your family and friends.

Kuih Bangkit 薯粉饼

These traditional coconut cream cookies are so light, airy and fragrant! We love how the cookie effortlessly melts in the mouth. We enjoyed it as a kid and we’re still loving it. Did we mention it’s gluten-free?

Recipe: Extra crumbly KUIH BANGKIT

Kuih Ros, Kuih Rose, Kuih Loyang, Kuih Kembang Goyang, Rosettes Cookies, Honeycomb Cookies, Beehive Cookies 蜂窝饼

This thin, crispy fried pastry used to be one of our favourite snacks. We don’t have it as often now since it’s not easy to find good ones. Or maybe it’s because we haven’t bought it in a long time? Yeah, we can be a bit fussy when it comes to good food.

Recipe: HOW TO MAKE THIN AND CRISPY HONEYCOMB COOKIES (KUIH LOYANG, ROSETTE COOKIES)

Popia Udang, Popia Udang Kering, Popia Mini Udang, Mini Spicy Shrimp Rolls 虾米卷

Krup krap, krup krap! Believe us, these super crunchy snacks are to die for! Like seriously! These snacks are so addictive that you can finish the entire packet in one seating! There’s no sharing when it comes to popia udang. It’s every man for himself!

Recipe: Mini Spicy Prawn Rolls

Kuih Bahulu 蛋花糕

This traditional fluffy cake is a classic favourite, at least in our household. We often have it with black coffee and it’s not limited to festive occasions only. There’s just something about pairing this sweet cake with a cup of bitter coffee. You can get kuih bahulu in all sorts of shapes and flavours, though our favourite is still the traditional kuih bahulu cermai.

Recipe: Kuih Bahulu

Tart Nenas, Pineapple Tarts 凤梨挞

There’s actually quite a wide range of pineapple tarts available in the market. These tarts come in all sorts of shapes – from rolled ones to flower shaped ones. Some are buttery and crumbly, while some are super delicate and would just melt in your mouth. Whichever type you choose, having a jar of this at home is a surefire way to lift up the atmosphere.

Recipe: Nyonya Pineapple Tarts

Kuih Koya, Putu Kacang Hijau, Mung Bean Cookies 绿豆糕, 绿豆饼

Shaped by wooden molds, these delicate cookies are traditionally sun dried or baked at low temperatures. To be honest, we weren’t a fan of these when we were kids. Perhaps age has caught up with us as now we have developed a liking towards it.

Recipe: Mung Bean Cookies or Kuih Koya aka Putu Kacang (绿豆糕/绿豆饼)

Kek Lapis, Layer Cake 千层蛋糕

In our family, we are very much into lapis legit and kek lapis Betawi. But throughout Malaysia, we think just about everyone would know the famous kek lapis Sarawak. How do we eat it? Layer by layer. There’s that indescribable satisfying feeling to be able to peel off the layers and savour it a piece at a time.

Recipe: Kek Lapis Sarawak (Sarawak Layer Cake)

Rempeyek, Peyek 花生脆饼

A deep-fried savoury crispy snack that we used to make and keep in big metal tins. Nowadays, we just buy these. We love the ones that have lots of nuts, spices and anchovies on it. A perfect snack for any time of the day, we usually have rempeyek while watching TV. It’s like our version of the popcorn.

Recipe: Rempeyek Kacang Tanah Asli Yang Rangup, Berempah Dan Paling Sedap Dengan Resepi Sukatan Cawan

Kuih Siput 螺旋饼

We don’t think there’s an English name for this. In fact, a direct translation of it would probably be ‘snail biscuit’. Sounds gross, eh? Don’t let the name fool you though. This is one of those snacks that you need to have on your table. Crunchy, with a tint of spiciness, you’d be popping these in your mouth faster than you can say its’ name.

Recipe: Resepi Kuih Siput Rangup

Biskut Suji, Sugee Cookies 苏吉饼

Should we mention that this is another cookie that we absolutely love? It is! There’s a slight crunch when you bite into sugee cookies. As soon as you get past the crunchy experience, you’d get hit by a sudden burst of intense crumbly goodness swirling in your mouth. Delicious!

Recipe: Sugee Cookies – Makes Melt-in-Your-Mouth Magic!

No time to make any of these snacks? The good news is most of these can be bought easily at most supermarkets, bakeries, and even online marketplaces! A quick Google search should lead you to them.