There’s a myriad of Chinese New Year snacks that’s available in the market now. Back in those days, our grandparents used to have soft drinks only during the festive season. Here are a few Malaysian childhood snacks during the Chinese New Year.

1) White Rabbit Milk Candy

This is the childhood staple. The chewy and milky confectionery is just memorable and hard to be replaced with any other brands. Besides its milky taste, it has a unique edible wrapper wrapped around the candy. The rice wrappers doubled up as entertainment between cousins- to compete who can tear the longest strip of rice wrapper.

2) Chocolate coin

This is the case of nice to see, but not so nice to be eaten. It was made of low-quality chocolate that wouldn’t melt in your mouth but will leave a lingering taste of cheap chocolate butter. Yet, time and again cousins always enjoy unwrapping the golden-colored foil to see who can keep most of the shape and stripes of the coin. 

3) Sweet dates

This is the staple Chinese New Year that grandparents love to buy for the Chinese New Year. The candied red dates were considered as a healthy snack and quite popular among adults. Red dates are often eaten during the festive season as it’s pronunciation (枣 zǎo) sounds like "early" (早 zǎo), which signifies a good headstart.

4) Gummy candies

  
While younger generations have gummy candies in the shape of Coke Bottles or sour stripes, Generation X and Y have the basic gummy candies with only one flavor. These gummy candies often have a tangy taste, vary in shape and colors. It often appears alongside other goodies during the Chinese New Year.

5) Dahfa dried fish fillet

  
This is still a well-celebrated delicacy during Chinese New Year. It has a mild spiciness that makes it addictive. The recent trend is to tie it into a knot with dried seaweed and fry it. 

Old is gold. What are your favorite snacks?