As the Year of the Water Rabbit, which stands for prosperity, peace, and fertility, begins, Manila, the City of Dreams, welcomes it. For the lunar new year, diners at Crystal Dragon, Red Ginger, and TungLok Signatures may anticipate auspicious specialties.
Crystal Dragon’s Chinese New Year Festive Menu
From January 16 to 29, the award-winning Cantonese restaurant Crystal Dragon highlights its festive lunar new year menu available for lunch and dinner. For the traditional dinner table yu sheng (or yee sang) toss ritual, the salad is offered with a twist: Prosperity Roasted Duck in lieu of herring or salmon, with jellyfish, crispy vegetables, and plum dressing. Good for a group of five persons per serving (P1,600++), the ritual augurs good fortune for the group, as they stand and toss the ingredients high up with chopsticks while reciting auspicious phrases to bless all present with well-wishes.The roasted duck symbolizes wealth, abundance, and fertility; the flour crisps, prosperity, while the plum dressing denotes sweetness and harmonious family relationship.
For more abundance, Crystal Dragon offers Steamed Duo Flavor Live Grouper with signature tofu and Roasted Crispy Spring Chicken with supreme soy sauce. For luck and togetherness, the Crispy Taro and New Year Cake Pillow is not to be missed.
Other auspicious Crystal Dragon specialties to welcome the new year are: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall; Braised Sea Cucumber and Pork Trotter with black moss and brown sauce; Wok-tossed Creamy Prawns with fragrant shredded coconut; and Wok-fried Fragrant Glutinous Rice with Guangdong cured pork.
TungLok Signatures’ Yu Sheng
Singapore’s famous TungLok Signatures also highlights the quintessential Chinese New Year staple fare. The yu sheng salad, which was popularized in Singapore, and known as lo hei in Cantonese, signifies blessings and fortune. Tung Lok’s salad is prepared with salmon, a medley of fresh vegetables, fruits, and other ingredients, each representing a wish during the toss while huat ah! or lo hei! is being recited. It is believed that the higher the toss, the greater will be one’s fortune. For direct reservations, call +63 917 7024024.
TungLok Signatures’ Prosperity Yu Sheng Salad (P2,888) is available from January 16 to 24 and can be shared by a group of six to eight.
Red Ginger’s Festive Lunar Menu
The season’s flavors can likewise be savored at Red Ginger from January 17 to February 5, which offers five auspicious dishes symbolizing fortune, longevity, prosperity, happiness, and harmony. The ala carte dishes are: Fortune Lao Sheng, a chicken salad with plum dressing; Longevity Noodles consisting of egg noodles with crispy pork belly, and quail eggs; braised Prosperity Pork Knuckle with king mushrooms; Happiness Prawn and Squid, a medley stir-fried in curry XO sauce; and for dessert, Harmony Coconut, a mix of coconut jelly and ice cream.
For inquiries and reservations in Crystal Dragon and Red Ginger, call 8800-8080 or e-mail guestservices@cod-manila.com. For more information, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com. Explore more of City of Dreams Manila’s promotional offers, rewards, or instantly check Melco Club points with the new Melco Club App, available for free download on iOS and Android.
