Xîn Nián Kuài Lè

Happy New Year! Yesterday, January 23, 2012 was the 1st day of the Chinese lunar calendar and for the Han people (Chinese) and 55 other minority groups, this is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays which can last for a week. Korea, Mongolia and Vietnam also follow this custom, including countries with substantial numbers of ethnic Chinese like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

While we adhere to the Gregorian calendar based on the earth’s orbit around the sun (lunar calendar, the moon’s orbit around the earth), it is enriching to sample the culture of two worlds. It is the most auspicious time of the year to have a family reunion, eat good food, drink good wine and wish that all the members of the family will have the best of health, wealth and happiness. But first, you have to go home and in China, it is called the Chun Yun  or the world’s largest annual human migration with 3.2 billion booked rides on planes, trains, boat and bus (www.chinapost.com) this year.

Prelude to these Spring Festival celebrations, your favourite food columnist accepted an invitation from Kaye Luym and Cybill Gayatin for a Thanksgiving dinner in Choi City Seafood Restaurant (South Arcade, Banilad Town Centre, Banilad, Cebu City, phone 239 0999) as Choi City’s Directors, Frank Lao, Jay Tan, Sharon Go Ong and Norman Cordon acknowledged guests for making this establishment as “the best Cantonese restaurant in Cebu”.

Cocktails at 6:00PM with appetizers like Seafood Roll Jellyfish with White Chicken, Shredded Potato, Chili, Mini Spareribs, Fried Pumpkin and Siomai (Pork and Shrimp). Indeed, very substantially was the opening remarks of this celebration, but an eight-course dinner would follow, so very light refreshments lang.

Any good restaurant starts with its kitchen and Choi City has a formidable team of Cantonese chefs headed by Executive Chef Siu Bing Keung, Sous chef He Jiu Jie, Dimsum Chef Zhang Jun Rong and Roasting Chef Li Shao Hui. Total restaurant experience for these gentlemen, excuse me, could easily total 100 years!

The menu for the dinner was a mix of classic specialties and new offerings of this restaurant and this was shown in the first dish, the Roast Layered Pork with Sushi Eel. Soup was Double-boiled Chicken with Shark’s Fin and the Soup Stock was served separate to ensure that the soup is served piping hot.

The next three dishes came quickly: Australian Abalone with Sea Cucumber, Cold Prawn Salad and my favourite dish for the dinner, Pan-fried Taiwan Pechay. Actually the name is a misnomer since it is actually “tender squid cake with chopped Taiwan pechay pan-fried to perfection”.

This was followed by the Two-way Lapu-Lapu served with Deep-fried Crunchy Bone, Crabs in Coconut Sauce, XO Fried Rice and two desserts, the Egg Yolk Pao and the Mango Pomelo Sago with Ice Cream. The first way: the Lapu-Lapu fillet was sautéed with fresh vegetables; and the second way: the “bones are deep fried for that extra crunch”. I have had problems with eating fish before, and was very lucky because I eat my food very slow. In one buffet dinner, a huge wonderful fish was prepared by an Italian Chef and I sliced a portion of the stomach with its delicious thick layer of fat. While chewing, I encountered something unusual and I took it out and it was a fish hook. Since then, more care in fishy encounters and definitely no fish bones, crunchy or not!