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Deepavali (October / November)

Called the Festival of Lights and celebrated by Hindus worldwide. It marks the triump of good over evil, and is celebrated druing the new moon of the seventh month of the Hindu calendar.

Rows of oil lamps are lit to welcome the goddess Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, and a range of symbolic foods is served.

Murukku is a festive tidbit eaten during Deepavali, its name has many meanings, honey, beauty, fragrance, divine music, eternal youth, hence its presence during this joyous season. One of many South Indian snack,s murukku comes in sweet and savory versions.

Mid Autumn Festival (September)

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eight month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, is celebrated with family gatherings, prayers, and a lantern parade by children. Offerings of moon cakes, fried chicken, roasted pork, pomelos, watermelons seeds and Chinese tea are made to deities and ancestors, while prayers are offered with joss-sticks, red candles are lit and joss paper burnt.

One of the legends behind the eating of moon cakes is about Chang Er, a beautiful woman who transformed into a fairy and floated to the moon after taking an immortality pill. The grief-stricken prayers of he Husband, Hou Yi, a heroic archer touched the hearts of the heavenly gods who allowed the couple to reunite on Mid-Autumn Night. The Chinese thus eat moon cakes in memory of the lovers.

Today it is still believed that if you look hard enough at the moon on Mid-Autumn, you'll be able to see Chang Er and the rabbit which is keeping her company.

Another legend has its roots in 14th century China's Yuan dynasty. The people then were living under the tyrannical rule of a Mongolian ruler who, in order to safeguard his empire, had forbidden the people to possess any tools, including kitchen knives.

A Chinese leader, Zhu Yuan Zhang, wanted to bring the people together to overthrow the tyrant's rule. He had to find a way of putting out the word without arousing the Mongolian's suspicion; a comrade came up with the idea of stuffing paper messages saying "Strike on Mid-Autumn Night" into freshly made round cakes, which were then distributed as gifts to the people.

On Mid-Autumn Night, where the moon is at its brightest, the people united as a rebel army and overthrew the oppressors to establish the Ming Dynasty. (AD 1368 - 1644) To commemorate the successful rebellion, the Chinese began the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn.

Moon cakes are sweet, round cakes traditionally filled with lotus seed paste, or fatty meat, nuts and melon seeds. These days - you can even find moon cakes with eccentric fillings, such as durian, cherry, chocolate, bird's nest and green tea.

Dragon Boat Festival (June)

Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It marks the death of a Chinese patriot scholar named Qu Yuan who drowne in a river in 296 BC. Fisherman threw rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river so that the fish would eat the rice instead of Qu Yuan's body. Today, bak chang (dumplings stuffed with meat, chestnuts and mushrooms) among other dishes, are eaten in his memory during the month leading up the festival.

Lunar New Year (January / February)

This marks the coming of spring. In the old days in China, this was the only time that the farmers take a break from working their land. Today the festival represents more of a spiritual renewal than a physical one, with the celebration representing new beginnings, new opportunities and the reaffirmation of family ties. Lunar New Year is traditionally celebrated over a 15-day period. There are many food that is symbolic of this festival

• Bak Kwa

Preserved sweet meat is a tradition that harks back to China, before the invention of refrigerators. The meat is trimmed of fat, sliced and marinated before spread on rattan trays and baked in an oven. Removed and cut to size, it is then ready for storage.

The secret to a successful bak kwa lies in the marinade, and the recipes are closely guarded across Asia. A favorite and traditional Lunar New Year offering for visitors and gift for business associates, it is so popular that it is available throughout the year.

• Yu Sheng

Yu sheng began in China as plain raw fish with a few types of vegetables. In the 1950s, four Singaporean chefs added more types of colorful vegetables to make it look more appealing. It was then popularized as a "rising abundance" dish and a "must have"  during the Lunar New Year.

A unique part of Lunar New Year celebrations in Singapore is yu sheng, a salad of paper-thin ra wfish, finely shredded fresh vegetables, candied melon and citrus, red and white pickled ginger, pomelo flesh, sesame seeds, lime leaf, crispy crackers and peanuts dressed with plum sauce, oil and spices.

This salad is traditionally eaten on the seventh day of the new year, (though people now eat it throughout the 15 day) and diners toss the salad together with their chopsticks, shouting "lo hei" (toss up) and making wishes for abundance and prosperity before eating it.