An auspicious meal to usher in the Year of the Horse
“Before we toss, we make a wish,” said Eng Yew Khor, Conrad Manila executive Chinese chef.
We were at China Blue by Jereme Leung, recently recognized as a Michelin-selected restaurant, and the chef had just finished preparing yee sang—or a prosperity tossed salad—for us, explaining the symbolism of the different ingredients as he went along. "We have different fruits: pomelo, pineapple—in Chinese, pineapple is a symbol of luck. We also have jellyfish, dragon fruit, honey melon and honey dew. We also have carrots and radish. You can see the different colors. Different colors mean different things—red is a symbol of happiness, yellow is prosperity, green is health."
He added peanuts and sesame, then crackers. “The crackers are a symbol of celebration.”
The chef opened two ang pow envelopes and sprinkled the contents of each over the salad—white pepper powder and five-spice powder. “Five spice is fragrant like perfume, so everyone will like you.”
He added onion oil, too, so everything in the new year will be smooth. “No problem, no issues.”
Next was lemon juice “for everything to be refreshed,” said the chef.
Topping the salad was salmon, a symbol of abundance and prosperity. But there were two things that made this yee sang extra special. “We also have lobster and deep-fried crab claws.”
And instead of the traditional plum sauce, this time, chef Eng Yew used passionfruit dressing. “It's refreshing, it's fragrant. Like the plum sauce, it’s sweet, it’s sticky, it means sweetness, happiness and staying together.”
Tossing the ‘Yee Sang’
Our chopsticks in hand, we got ready to toss. “You say ‘lo hei’—it means everything is going up. Say ‘Kung Hei Fat Choy’ and wish for everybody to be healthy, strong and successful,” the chef said.
We tossed the yee sang as high as we could, repeating our wishes for good health, wealth, good fortune. When we were done, the table was covered with the colorful yee sang. Chef Eng Yew started scooping it up into small plates. Oh yes, yee sang isn’t just for tossing—it’s meant to be enjoyed, and it is absolutely delicious. And China Blue’s Prosperity Yee Sang is made even more delicious by the bites of crispy lobster and golden crab claw rolled in almond flakes. It’s quite possibly the best yee sang I’ve ever had.
It was just the beginning of a beautiful meal—a preview of Flavors & Fortune, China Blue’s Lunar New Year offerings which feature special set menus by celebrity chef Jereme Leung and Eng Yew Khor. Available until March 3, they’re a great way to usher in the Year of Horse with your loved ones. There’s a Prosperity Set (P49,888 nett for 10 people) and an Abundance Set (P69,888 nett for 10 people) and we got to try dishes from both.
The soup, which gave us a dose of collagen, was a mix of fish lip, seafood and mushrooms. I love that it was served in a candle-heated bowl so it stayed hot as we enjoyed it.
Roasted duck
Next came the roasted duck drenched in a mandarin orange sauce—definitely one of our favorites. “We used fresh orange juice to make the dressing,” chef Eng Yew told The Philippine STAR. “Orange is also a symbol of the Chinese New Year celebration, it’s a symbol of good luck.” The skin was crisp, the meat juicy, and the sauce both sweet and tangy.
The wok-fried king prawns with butter and black pepper gravy sauce followed. We gawked at the size of the king prawns, which chef Eng Yew proudly shared were sourced from a local market. “I really appreciate the local market for the seafood. It's quite perfect for Chinese cuisine, especially the king prawn,” he said.
The prawns were plump and tasty, and the sauce was so good we didn’t want to waste a bit of it.
The steamed live sea garoupa with fragrant bell pepper and pickled olive sauce also delighted.
“The fish is also a symbol of everything being smooth, of getting more and more and never going empty.”
The beautifully plated baked US beef short ribs with honey vinegar sauce were tender and flavorful. “I pan-fried it with the sauce,” said the chef. “The beef is a symbol of strength, of being hardworking and healthy.”
Next came the braised 10-head abalone, sea cucumber and dry oyster money bags in crab roe sauce. The money bags are a visual symbol of prosperity for the coming year, but that’s not all. “Oysters in Chinese mean good market or good business.”
Rice rounded out the meal—a salted fish fried rice with honey barbecue pork and liver sausage. "Rice means gathering, sticking together, being complete."
Dessert
Like the dishes that had come before it, dessert was delicious and rife with meaning. "It's inspired by mandarin oranges. In Chinatown, in Ongpin, they're everywhere now," said chef Eng Yew.
First is a layered dessert—chilled mandarin orange jelly with panna cotta, honey pearls and citrus sorbet. "We used the juice of the mandarin to make the jelly and for the sorbet, we used citron. There's a crunch that's also made with orange."
Served with it is the cutest mandarin orange served on a little bed of coconut sugar. The orange is made with deep-fried glutinous dough. Bite into it and you’ll find nian gao—or tikoy—inside. It’s a sweet medley of textures—crunchy, chewy—and a lovely way to end a great meal.
China Blue by Jereme Leung also has Lunar New Year offerings that you can bring home or give to loved ones as gifts. The Prosperity Yee Sang is available for P3,588++ until Feb. 17. The Treasures of Abundance Nian Gao collection (a box that includes a big Chinese white almond nian gao in the shape of a fish, Chinese traditional brown coconut sugar nian gao in the shape of three small fish, plus three mango nian gao in the shape of ingots) is available for P2,588 also until Feb. 17.
Bru Coffee Bar, located at Conrad Manila's ground floor, also offers Lunar New Year-inspired confections until Feb. 17.
On Feb. 17, a lion dance presentation and eye-dotting ceremony will take place at the hotel’s porte cochere at 10:55am.
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China Blue by Jereme Leung is at Seaside Boulevard corner Coral Way Mall of Asia Complex Pasay City. For inquiries and reservations, contact +6328833-9999 or email ConradManila@ConradHotels.com.
