Those of you who enjoy standing in line, bad news: Lim Chee Guan is banning queues to buy its bak kwa this Chinese New Year 2021 as it is moving its pre-orders online.

Customers will get their stash of barbecued pork slices delivered to them between Jan. 20 and Feb. 9, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic that has reduced human interaction and mass gatherings.

The chain's outlets will also not be serving walk-in customers during this period, Lim Chee Guan announced in an update on its website.

A statement to the media said that the "safety of all our customers and staff" amid Covid-19 was of the "highest importance", and that all deliveries would be contactless.

The first day of Chinese New Year in 2021 is Friday, Feb. 12, and Lim Chee Guan will be delivering the online orders from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9.

Delivery fees

Delivery is free for orders above 15kg.

For orders below 8kg, it will cost S$15.

For orders between 8kg and 15kg, it will cost S$8.

An additional charge of S$10 may be imposed for orders to Sentosa.

To place an order, customers must create an account, and each account can only be used to order a maximum of 20kg worth of products.

Online orders started on Jan. 6, customers face issues with website

Lim Chee Guan announced that it would start taking online orders from Jan. 6, at 10:30am, according to a comment from Lim Chee Guan's official Instagram account on its latest post.

Within minutes, Lim Chee Guan posted on Facebook to say that it was experiencing overwhelming online traffic.

At around 11:02am, a further update cited "technical difficulties" and asked customers to look out for more details on Lim Chee Guan's Facebook page and website.

"We apologise for any inconvenienced caused," the update read.

Meanwhile, customers highlighted issues they were facing with the website in the comments on the post, with some unable to check out, while others had difficulty navigating the site.

Chinese New Year in 2021

This year's holiday season is set to look quite different from previous years', with the annual Chinatown bazaar called off due to concerns over crowd control.

Also, with Singapore currently in Phase 3, houses will have to limit their visitors and receive a maximum of eight at any one time.