In the Chinese lunar calendar, 2016 is the year of the Red Fire Monkey and will be celebrated the world over this coming February 8th. Crowne Plaza’s Xian Tian Di restaurant prepared a special menu for dining guests for the upcoming celebration and we were invited to try them out!
Leading the foray is Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria’s new Executive Chinese Chef Peter Yeung, a Hong Kong national that has been perfecting his craft for the past 20 years! With passion for cooking and advocating healthy dishes prepared with less salt, sugar and fat, but still full of flavor.
To welcome the Red Fire Monkey, a regular menu wouldn’t do, so a special lunch celebration was prepared for the media and the guests. Starting off with fresh Jiaozi (poached dumplings, PHP200) to represent the act of making wishes, an expression of praying for good luck, and a symbol of wealth and glory! This coming 2016, we could all use a little bit more wealth and glory I’d say.
The fun part is that you’ll get to make your own dumplings that will be dipped in delicious Ginger Chinese Vinegar.
Not part of the menu, Chef Peter cheerfully served the guest with tender, juicy and mouth-watering Peking Duck. Shamelessly, I did eat a lot of this while taking the photos of the celebration. Somebody had to.
Yu Sheng (Prosperity Salad, PHP 788) is one of my favorite activities during this kind of celebration and this is also the third time I covered it for When In Manila! The tossing action is called lo hei which means “rise” and yu “fish sheng “raw”, which can be interpreted as “tossing up good fortune and abundance of wealth and life”. Not only it is lots of fun, but it’s tasty, as well.
The lovely ladies of Xian Tian Di that will make your dining experience much memorable.
Sheng Yi Xing Long. The lobster and crab roe with bamboo fungus soup (PHP450) symbolizes a prosperous business. Not only is this soup served with a generous amount of lobster tail, but it tastes very fresh and delicious, as well.
Bu Bu Gao Sheng. Wok fried diced beef tenderloin with dragon fruit and macadamia nuts in kongpao sauce (PHP 680). This dish symbolizes prosperity.
Nian Nian Yau Yu. Steamed traditional style silver cod fish with organic brown rice (PHP 1200), a dish that symbolizes abundance. Probably my favorite dish of the day. Not only was the cod moist and tender, the stuffed bean curd with organic brown rice was also cooked perfectly and could be eaten as a dish on its own.
To cap everything off, Tian Tian Mi Mi was served. Not only was the poached tangyuan (glutinous rice dumplings, PHP 120) with sweet dried pink fresh rose bud and wild honey tea served as the dessert, it also symbolizes blessedness and cheerfulness. Nobody was more cheerful that day than Chef Peter, by the way.
The day ended with pleasantries and photo-ops with the crew and Chef Peter. The fabulous meal will be served from February 1-10 and there would be a traditional Lion and Dragon dance on February 8th to usher in good fortune this coming Year of the Red Fire Monkey. I’m pretty sure dinners would love to be entertained and served excellent food this coming Chinese New Year and Crowne Plaza’s Xian Tian Di is more than up to that task.
Want to know more about Crowne Plaza? Head on to: Crowne Plaza Manila: Our Home Suite Home In Ortigas
Xian Tian Di
4th Floor Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Ortigas Avenue corner Asian Development Bank Avenue, Quezon City
https://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotels/us/en/quezon-city/mnlcp/hoteldetail
