Chinese New Year
Auspicious offerings at City of Dreams
CITY of Dreams Manila marks the arrival of the Year of the Metal Ox with festive menus that symbolize good fortune at its signature restaurants — Crystal Dragon and Nobu Manila. Diners can indulge in a prosperous meal of fine Cantonese cuisine and regional Chinese specialties at Crystal Dragon from Feb. 4 to 26 to celebrate the Lunar New Year. To wish for a bountiful year, the restaurant sets up the ubiquitous Chinese New Year traditional table fare, the Yu Sheng. Crystal Dragon elevates the ritual with the Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng, a salad consisting of sliced abalone, julienned papaya, pomelo, carrots, radish, onion leeks, chopped peanuts and deep-fried flour crisps, drizzled with oil and sweet plum sauce, which is customarily tossed while saying wishes or “Lo Hei!” out loud to bring in good luck. Diners are encouraged to toss the salad enthusiastically, as it is believed that the height of the toss reflects the growth of one’s fortunes. Specialties to welcome the new year make up the special a la carte menu, which include: Double-boiled Black Chicken Soup; Steamed Prosperity Chicken with assorted Chinese herbs; Wok-fried Mud Crab in spicy chili bean sauce; and Braised Chilean Abalone among others. Crystal Dragon opens daily from noon to 11 p.m. Meanwhile, a Chinese New Year dinner fête is available at Nobu Manila throughout February. Special dishes include: Sea Bass Tempura. Nobu-style Pica Pica Platter, and Lapu-Lapu in a selection of Nobu-style sushi and sashimi canapés, among others. For a leisurely al fresco dining experience, guests can book their dinners at the restaurant’s open-air cabanas. Nobu Manila is open Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 5 to 10 p.m. and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. For inquiries and reservations, call 8800-8080 or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com or visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.
Tradition at The Empress Dining Palace
CELEBRATE the Lunar New Year with authentic Chinese dishes at The Empress Dining Palace, which honors Chinese New Year traditions. Guests wearing red on Feb. 11 and 12 with a complimentary Steamed cream custard bun with salted egg yolk uniquely designed like an ox. Guests celebrating the Lunar New Year at The Empress with a minimum spend of P8,000 on the same days will also receive a 20% discount voucher which can be redeemed on their next feast at the fine dining restaurant. This Chinese New Year treat is exclusive to dine-in and pick-up orders as well as through The Empress Express (delivery within BGC) only. The feast at the restaurant abounds with celebratory dishes like the Prosperity Toss Salad or Yu Sheng, a traditional Lunar New Year salad consisting of a myriad of flavors and texture from the salmon, cucumber, carrots, turnips, and sesame seeds it is made up of. The ritual has everyone gather around the table and toss the salad with their chopsticks while shouting “Lo Hei” for an abundance of fortune, prosperity, and a long life. Also taking the center stage are staples Treasure Pot or Poon Choi — a communal dish with prime ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, roast duck, pork knuckles, prawns, a variety of mushrooms and more — and the nian gao or tikoy glutinous cake. Welcome the Year of the Metal Ox with friends and family and experience authentic Chinese dining at The Empress Dining Palace, located at 7th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street, BGC, Taguig City. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last order is at 9:30 p.m). For more information, check out its official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/empressdiningpalace/ or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/empressdiningpalace/ or call 8292-0807 or 0915-543-1862.
Edsa Shangri-la welcomes an Ox-picious new year
EDSA Shangri-La, Manila ushers in the year of the Metal Ox with auspicious dining and a collection of delicacies. From 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., classic nian gao or tikoy are available at the Tikoy counter located at the Hotel Lobby until Feb. 11, and at Summer Palace until Feb. 26. Given as gifts or savored at home, these glutinous rice cakes are believed to bring prosperity for the year to come. The nian gao is available in various unique shapes and flavors: classic, radish, pumpkin, taro, and in fish shape with prices starting at P1,488+, and the gold bar shape which is priced at P688+. Guests may feast on authentic Cantonese specialties with Summer Palace’s Chinese New Year set menus, starting with the Wealth Set priced at P2,318++ per person, the Prosperity Set at P2,3888++ per person, and the Longevity Set at P6,088++ per person, which may be enjoyed in the restaurant or at your own home. The set menus are available from Chinese New Year eve until Feb. 26. A minimum of two persons is required to avail of this offer. Guests may also enjoy a selection of Chinese New Year dishes such as lucky salmon Yee Sang, fresh oyster omelet Teowchew-style, fried fresh scallops with salted egg, fried rice with assorted waxed meat, and taro and pan-fried Malai cake. To cap off the feast, diners get to pick an ang pao (red envelope) bearing vouchers of up to 50% savings on the food bill for the guest’s next dining experience at Summer Palace. For orders and inquiries, call 8633-8888 local 2728, or e-mail summer palace.esl@shangri-la.com.
Double happiness at Novotel
THIS February, double the celebration and double the happiness at Novotel Manila Araneta City with Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day special offers from Food Exchange Manila, The 6th Pool Bar and Lounge, and the hotel’s dining delivery service, Take Me Out by Novotel Manila. Food Exchange Manila offers a feast of all-time Chinese favorites like dim sum, roasted specialties, noodles, and desserts just to name a few. Pair these with aromatic Jasmine tea to cap the satisfying buffet. Welcome the lunar new year on Feb. 11 and 12 for P2,021 nett for two persons and pay only P1,288 nett for every additional person. The lunch buffet is open from noon to 2:30 p.m. while the dinner buffet can accommodate diners from 6 to 9 p.m. For Valentines, the Food Exchange Manila treats lovers to a romantic buffet, “Recipes from the Heart,” on Feb. 13 and 14. Go out on a lunch date from noon to 2:30 p.m. for P1,288 nett per person, or enjoy a dinner date for P2,021 nett for two persons and pay only P1,288 nett for every additional person. Meanwhile, the open-air 6th Pool Bar will have an all-you-can-drink moscato and sangria special offer on Feb. 10 to 14, from 5 to 11 p.m., for P799 nett per person. On Feb. 14, a special Valentine’s bar menu will be featured together with live entertainment. Those who prefer to celebrate at home can opt for the “Romantic Baskets” from Take Me Out by Novotel Manila on Feb. 14. One basket is a set meal for couples composed of focaccia, homemade herb butter and tomato compote, assorted cold cuts and salmon gravlax, prawn and chicken tandoor couscous, choice of entrée (250 grams of Wellington Australian beef, puff pastry, spinach, mushroom, mashed potatoes or 250 grams of roast salmon fillet, creamy custard sauce, roasted eggplant, miso), and a dessert sampler of chili chocolate brownie and passion fruit cheesecake in a jar. A bottle of red or white wine and a long-stemmed rose add a fanciful touch to a picnic date. Orders must be made in advance. Order cut-off is Feb. 13 at noon. For the Lunar New Year, one can opt for Novotel Manila’s Prosperity Box (P2,500) with assortment of glutinous rice cakes (nian gao), egg tarts, lo mai chi, ampaw crispies, mooncake, dice hopia, chili sauce and scallops XO sauce in a jar. All delicacies are wrapped in gift boxes, suitable for family, friends, and business partners. Orders must be made two days in advance. Dining at Food Exchange Manila and 6th Pool Bar is subject to IATF protocols and procedures as well as government rules and regulations. For inquiries and reservations, call landline number 8990-7999 or mobile number 0949-886-5591 or e-mail H7090-FB1@accor.com or visit https://bit.ly/NMACDoubleHappiness.
