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| Dumpling Festival |
And retailers have reported strong sales this year even though the delicacy is costlier.
To stay ahead of the competition, dumpling makers are coming up with more unique flavours - though abalone and scallop may be luxurious fillings - where exotic is the new trend.
One such case is the nyonya dumpling - made up of mushroom, dried shrimp, rock sugar and minced meat seasoned with Malay spices, wrapped using the traditional Chinese method with pandan leaves to add a special flavor.
The theme was inspired by the success of the popular Singapore television drama "The Little Nyonya" in China.
A Singaporean restaurant in Shanghai said it's confident of selling at least 1000 of such nyonya dumplings this season.
Albert Loh, general manager of My Dining Place, said: "I think a lot of Singaporean companies like to purchase from us. They give nyonya style Singaporean dumplings to their clients to help portray that gifting dumplings is part of a Singaporean culture."
As the Dragon Boat Festival fell on a Monday, the long weekend meant more visiting between friends and relatives which will boost sales of dumplings as gifts.
At an international coffee chain, intricate gift-packs make up the bulk of rice dumpling sales.
Demand is hot but these dumplings are not - they are meant to be consumed cold.
Flavours include green tea with red bean, mango, coffee and mocha.
The company specially invented this product for the Chinese market.
Compared to last year, they said sales have increased by 40 per cent.
Zheng Lei, marketing food manager of President Starbucks Coffee Shanghai said: "Our customers are mostly white collars between 20 to 35 years old. They are more fashionable and adventurous. They have the purchasing power and find it easy to accept new things."
