Chinese New Year is coming. You see big restaurants promoting their 10-course feasts and think, “Aiyo, my kitchen so small, staff also only two, how to fight?” But what if you could still attract the festive crowd—with a smart, simple, and highly profitable menu that’s easy to prepare and quick to serve?
Whether you’re running a small café or a warung stall, the secret IS NOT a bigger menu—it’s a smarter one. The goal: high-margin, easy-prep dishes that deliver festive excitement without overworking your kitchen.
Before diving into the menus, let’s cover three simple rules that make the difference between chaos and profit during the festive rush.
Your profits are made before the crowd comes in. Prepare sauces, marinades, and garnishes in big batches early in the day. This cuts down cooking time and stress when orders start flying in.
Pro Tip: Many chefs recommend using ready-to-mix seasoning bases—like AJI-NO-MOTO® PLUS or AJI-MIX™—to lock in consistent flavour while keeping prep time short.
Go for low-cost, high-volume bases like rice or noodles. Then, elevate them with small but premium touches—prawns, mushrooms, or festive spices. The key is making customers feel it’s special without blowing your food cost.
Design dishes that can be cooked and plated from the same wok or pan. This not only speeds up service but also reduces washing and manpower—crucial for small kitchens.
Here are three proven menu sets that balance speed, flavour, and profitability—perfect for festive crowds and lean teams.
The Menu:
Why It Works:
This set is your speed champion. Using the Prosperous Golden Seafood Fried Rice recipe gives you a ready, tested flavour profile that looks premium and sells well. Everything still preps ahead and assembles fast—great for short service times.
Pro Tip: To guarantee consistent fried-rice flavour even during rush, follow the Prosperous Golden Seafood Fried Rice method and use a standardised seasoning. A SERI-AJI® Fried Rice Seasoning keeps the garlic-onion profile steady and removes guesswork.
The Menu:
Why It Works:
This dish looks and feels festive but is surprisingly easy to prepare. The black-pepper yee mee cooks fast, holds heat well for takeaway, and delivers that satisfying, hearty mouthfeel diners want during festive season.
Pro Tip: Build your sauce on a strong base using AJI-NO-MOTO® PLUS or AJI-MIX™. It gives the rich, full-bodied taste of slow-simmered broth—minus the hours of labour.
The Menu:
Main: A platter of 3 high-margin fried items—Korean Fried Chicken Wings, Korean Honey Fried Chicken and Deep-Fried Chicken Gyoza.
Why It Works:
A fried platter is one of the easiest ways to win CNY diners—snackable, shareable, and guaranteed to move fast during peak hours. This trio are all proven favourites from the Ajinomoto Food Biz Partner recipe library (Recipe Biz), making them reliable, high-margin additions to any festive menu.
Pro Tip:
For consistent golden crisp and flavour, use SERI-AJI® Tepung Goreng (Spicy) or the appropriate SERI-AJI® Seasoned Flour variant. It ensures the coating stays crunchy and the chicken juicy every time—no agak-agak needed.
See? You don’t need a massive kitchen or a team of 10 chefs to cash in on the festive season. Focus on smart batch-prep, high-margin menus, and consistent taste that keeps customers coming back.
While you handle the festive crowd, let Ajinomoto products handle the consistency. Explore our range of professional seasoning solutions—from AJI-NO-MOTO® PLUS or AJI-MIX™—and make your CNY 2026 your most profitable one yet.
Ajinomoto Food Biz Partner
