Where to go for New Year’s Eve dinner

SURELY it’s good luck to greet the New Year with a full stomach. We’ve got options around the city which will bust your bellies and belts in time for 2024.

CROWNE PLAZA

At the hotel’s 7 Corners buffet (we recommend the steak), there will be buffet dinners on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The Dec. 31 dinner is priced at P3,500 net and will be available from 6 to 10 p.m. The Jan. 1 dinner will be priced the same and will be available at the same schedule. For reservations, call 0916-631-7523 or e-mail fandb.reservations@ihg.com.

CONRAD MANILA

Conrad Manila’s buffet feasts at Brasserie on 3 will run until New Year’s Eve. In these last days of 2023, Brasserie on 3’s buffet offerings will cost P2,650 and P3,050 net for weekday lunch and dinner, while the Friday and Saturday dinner buffet will cost P3,450 net per person. The New Year’s Eve Lunch Buffet will be offered at P3,250 net per person. At the C Lounge, the hotel will have a New Year ’80s Countdown Party, with an entrance fee of P1,988++ per person, but a discounted price of P1,688++ for in-house and dining guests. The price is inclusive of sparkling wine or non-alcoholic beverages. For reservations, call 0917-650-3747 or 0917-650-3591.

CITY OF DREAMS MANILA

A countdown event and indulgent year-end menus beckon at City of Dreams for year-end festivities. At DreamPlay, DreamWorks movie characters from Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Puss in Boots, Madagascar, and Trolls are bringing the holiday cheer with an all-star parade at 5:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day at The Shops at the Boulevard. In the spirit of holiday gift-giving, guests checked in between Dec. 20 to Jan. 1 at Nüwa Manila, Nobu Hotel, and Hyatt Regency Manila will receive a bottle of wine. The holiday welcome amenity is available for bookings made via direct channels and on applicable Best Available rates, or Rack rates. Terms and conditions apply.

At CenterPlay, City of Dreams Manila revs up its entertainment scene as it throws a year-end countdown party with live music performances from 6 p.m. up to 2 a.m. from local artists Eye Candies, DJ Lena, and Part 3 band. Revelers can reserve a seat or a table starting at P2,500, inclusive of a glass of prosecco and plated holiday treats and P1,500 worth of food and drink from the regular menu. Prices vary depending on seat location, the number of persons, and consumables. Meanwhile, Crystal Dragon continues to offer its holiday menu. Available from lunch onwards until Jan. 1, the a la carte menu includes Braised Sea Treasure Broth with Alaskan King Crab, Fish Maw and Chinese Ham, Oven-baked Chicken filled with black truffle paste and foie gras; Wok-fried Prawns in homemade cheese sauce and crispy enoki mushrooms; Flaming Wagyu Beef — Sichuan Style with king oyster mushrooms; and Chilled Sweetened Honeydew with soymilk jelly, homemade vanilla ice cream and pearl sago.

At Nobu Manila, there’s a special seven-course dinner tasting menu offered only on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Available for P5600++ per person, it starts with an amuse-bouche compliments of the chef, followed by scallops with anchovy salsa and grilled vegetables, and Assorted Sushi and Inaniwa Noodle Soup with rolled beef and asparagus. Salmon Apple with ponzu, extra virgin olive oil, wasabi salsa, chives, and garlic chips follows this; then Ika (squid) Salad with spicy lemon dressing, kelp salad roll, vegetable salsa, asparagus and yamagobo (pickled burdock root); King Prawn with shitake butter and seasonal vegetables; and Wagyu Short Ribs Nabeyaki with sake, soy, and mirin reduction, udon noodles, bok choy, and tofu come after. A dessert of Passion Fruit Mousse with flourless peanut caramel and crunchy peanuts concludes the meal.

Diners looking for an indulgent brunch can opt for unlimited helpings of Nobu-style dishes at the restaurant’s New Year Sunday brunch on Dec. 31. A hybrid of a la carte and buffet, it highlights whole tuna, and chilled seafood such as oysters, blue crab, and slipper lobsters. Whole rib roast and wagyu brisket served with mushroom wasabi pepper sauce and creamy wasabi, and wagyu striploin au jus are the brunch’s pièce de resistance along with Nobu signature sashimi. Special ala carte choices, a ramen bar, a kushiyaki station, salads, and a wide array of desserts complete the new year’s brunch spread, at P4,388 net per person.

City of Dreams Manila’s modern Filipino restaurant Haliya welcomes the year with its Bagong Taon a la carte menu available on Dec. 31 from lunch onwards and for dinner on Jan. 1. This menu includes Bringhe de Bola with prawns, capsicum, tomato chutney and cheese sauce and Chicken and Tomato Consommé with 62-degree egg, charred onion oil, cherry tomato, bread and bone marrow butter, red chili finger, and micro greens. Beef Callos with chorizo, beef tripe adobo, Brussels sprouts, green olives, chickpeas, shallot confit, green peas, and potato truffle is a hefty entry. For dessert, the restaurant offers its innovative take on Filipino desserts with its version of Pastillas de Taro Parfait, with taro pastillas, ube and kesong puti pinwheel, cathedral window balls, crispy champorado and muscovado crumble.

For inquiries and reservations, call 8800-8080 or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com. For more information, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.