Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery in Chinatown continues to up the ante on traditional pastries this Chinese New Year. For the Feb. 3 holiday, the bakery is offering gau with perhaps an extra stroke or two of luck.

Their rice cake treat, typically topped with sesame seeds and a plum, instead bears Chinese characters of longevity, health and prosperity, all typical good wishes of Chinese New Year.

In addition, the bakery is adding a couple of new fried pastries to their lineup: "laughing mouth" and half-moon flaky treats.

Bite-size laughing mouth pastry, a sweet dough covered in sesame seeds, is cut halfway through so it splits while cooked and looks like a laughing open mouth. It’s a traditional Chinese treat symbolizing — what else? — happiness and good luck.

Crunchy half-moon dumplings are filled with a variety of ingredients, including pork, sesame seed, peanut and coconut. The bakery offers a steamed version as well.

"We brought in two experienced Hong Kong bakers this year who are teaching us," says bakery owner Wesley Fang. The bakers were students of his father, a master baker. "Next year we’ll bake these on our own."

In addition, the bakery has an extra 10 or so workers to help supply the holiday demand, which includes the usual jin dui, joong and moon cakes as well as candied coconut, ginger, lotus seed and chestnut.

The bakery, at 1027 Maunakea St., has holiday hours of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Feb. 15. Call 531-6688.