NEW WORLD HOTEL KICKS OFF LUNAR NEW YEAR
As the Wood Dragon ascends in 2024, New World Makati Hotel invited guests to celebrate Chinese New Year with auspicious menus at their popular Chinese restaurant Jasmine. There was also a feng shui forecast for the year by geomancer Patrick Lim Fernandez of Yin and Yang Shop of Harmony.
Jasmine’s offers come with two crafted set menus designed to usher in a prosperous Lunar New Year. Each menu is available for a minimum of four persons and includes a box of nian gao or what we Filipinos call tikoy to symbolize rising prosperity.
The Prosperity Yu Sheng salad, which is mixed and tossed during Chinese New Year to symbolize elevation (of wealth and fortune), is an optional addition to Jasmine’s two set menus. A lead time of at least 48 hours is required to order the dish.
Set Menu 1 has Braised Abalone Mushroom in Crabmeat Broth, Wok-fried Prawns in Black Pepper Sauce, Steamed Fish Fillet in Superior Sauce, Braised Chinese Black Mushrooms, Sea Moss & Kailan, Steamed Rice with Preserved Sausage in Lotus Leaf, with auspicious desserts: Hot Cream Red Bean Soup and Lotus Seeds and Glutinous Rice Dumplings with Milk Chocolate.
Set Menu 2 has Braised Assorted Seafood in Fish Maw Broth, Pan-fried Tiger Prawns in Spicy Bean Sauce, Steamed Live Garoupa in Superior Soy Sauce, Braised Dried Oyster with Sea Moss in Premium Oyster Sauce, Misua in Fujian Style, Double-Boiled White Fungus with Lotus Seeds and Steamed Piggy Buns with Milky Egg Cream.
Jasmine’s new executive Chinese chef Brandon Ng has an MBA degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management and joined New World Makati Hotel in January 2024. He has 28 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has worked with luxury, five-star hotel properties, including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Hong Kong, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts, Pullman – Accor Hotels, The Star Casino, Westin Stamford & Le Meridien - Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
He says, “To usher in the Year of the Wood Dragon, we’ve thoughtfully crafted two distinctive set menus, each infused with ingredients carrying unique, auspicious meanings. Our set menu includes prawns, which typically signify your hope for a year filled with happiness, while a whole fish on the table symbolizes abundance and the completion of projects. Abalone represents good fortune, while dried oysters, pronounced ‘ho si’ in Cantonese, is a homonym for good deeds or events, and add a touch of luck to your Chinese New Year spread.”
Guests can also enjoy classic favorites and new treats in Jasmine’s special All You Can Eat Dim Sum menu for Chinese New Year. They can indulge in classics like har gao, shrimp bamboo shoot dumpling, xiao long bao, or pork and crabmeat dumplings while savoring limited-time items such as the beef and mango net spring roll, fried bean curd with lobster, and steamed grouper fillet with bean curd.
Geomancer Lim Fernandez shared his forecast for the year of the Yang Wood Dragon, giving special instructions for each zodiac animal. He also shared that the Yang Wood Dragon year is “a good year to showcase your talents and strengths, embracing benevolence and generosity. Yang wood signifies growth, offering opportunities for personal, professional, and societal development. “For 2024, the color of regal green is considered lucky, while the wood industry, knowledge sector, environmentalism, legal, and accounting professions are expected to thrive. A trend of independence, building reputation, and looking inward emerges. Female empowerment is on the rise with a surge of yin energy. Conflicts may persist, but water elements offer hope for resolutions.
“In the Philippines, economic stability is predicted, and it’s a favorable time for investments. He adds that in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, observe a few of the practices generally believed to bring luck and prosperity for the year ahead, including getting a haircut, wearing new clothes, using bright colors, and incorporating symbolic items like overflowing grains, round fruits and red envelopes. Avoid sweeping your floors during the New Year, as this may signify an intention to sweep your luck away.”
New World Hotel’s nian gao is a delectable symbol of good fortune prepared with premium ingredients. Choose from the classic Round Nian Gao (P1,188 net), the auspicious Koi Nian Gao (P1,188 net), both presented in elegant gift boxes, or the Round Nian Gao in an octagonal hard box (P1,588 net) and Koi Nian Gao in a square hard box (P1,588 net).
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For their Lunar New Year offers, check out https://bit.ly/NWMNL_CNY2024 or their social media accounts on Facebook or Instagram.
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