Celebrate good fortune at Crystal Jade Dining In

MANILA, Philippines -As a treat for the coming Chinese New Year, Crystal Jade Dining In at Bonifacio High Street brings something special to its patrons.

Ongoing until Feb. 2, Crystal Jade will offer Good Fortune set menus that can serve up to 10 persons. The eight- to nine-course meals showcase restaurant favorites combined with new dishes especially made for the occasion.

Each dish in the set menus is a highlight. The starter Double Happiness Crispy Duck Sandwich with Shredded Duck Fruit Salad, for example, right away provides an explosion of flavors and textures. Diners will get to munch on salty, crisp duck skin and fried wonton wrapper, as well as chew on soft duck meat and sweet fruits.

Other delicacies included in this rare offering are the braised goose web with black mushroom, steamed sea bass with mushroom and cordycep flower, and sautéed cuttlefish and prawn with XO sauce. Diners who can’t get enough rice will delight in the fried assorted grain rice, which is a mixture of brown rice, vegetables, corn, and radish.

To settle down the stomach and taste buds after all that gormandizing is the glutinous rice dumpling in ginger soup. And to end the feast is the Flourishing Fortune, or the mango fish pudding. Just like its name, the fish-shaped mango pudding is said to bring yearly prosperity.

Also being offered for the Year of the Horse, and thereafter available as a regular item on the menu, is Crystal Jade’s Poon Choi or the Chinese Treasure Pot good for six to eight people, a staple in Cantonese cuisine. 

The story goes that somewhere between 960 and 1270 AD, Mongol troops invaded China, which had an emperor who was still in his youth. Having fled from the attack, the young ruler and his army found themselves in Guangdong and Hong Kong. To keep them nourished, locals gathered their best food to cook and, due to lack of containers, served all of it in washbasins.

What began as an accident has evolved into a tradition that speaks of communal living and pride. Friends and families dig into layer after layer of dishes served in a big clay pot bowl, signifying the sharing of good fortune, wealth, and togetherness. With an abundance of delicious food — abalone, sea cucumber, dried scallop, prawns, pork belly, radish, taro, roast duck, and many more — mixed together, the Treasure Pot, at the value price of P6,800, is guaranteed to satisfy the cravings of diners with its compelling aroma and unique blend of tastes. 

Since its launch in April 2013, the fine dining restaurant has attracted diners with discerning palates, craving for honest-to-goodness authentic Chinese food savored in an intimate and contemporary setting.

“Crystal Jade takes pride in promoting and preserving Chinese dining culture and its practices,” says Crystal Jade operations vice president in the Philippines Cherry Chu-Lo. “Through our menu and specialty dishes that are faithful to Cantonese traditions, we are offering a distinct Chinese dining experience.”

Five chefs who hail from China and trained in Singapore and Hong Kong ensure that every bite you take at Crystal Jade in Taguig is the same as the one you would take in Singapore, where the restaurant originated. These chefs will be preparing the most delectable and authentic Chinese dishes meant to be enjoyed by the whole family in celebration of Chinese New Year.

Other foreign chefs with the same dedication to the authenticity of the Chinese dining experience are at Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight, ground floor main entrance of VMall in San Juan, which offers both Shanghainese and Cantonese cuisines in a more casual setting. Enjoy many other authentic Chinese dishes here, including Crystal Jade’s signature Xiao Long Bao not only in the classic way, but also in various other flavors such as cheese, vegetable, spicy beef, shrimp, chicken, and on weekends, foie gras and black truffle.

“Chinese New Year is about family bonding, much like how Christmas is for Pinoys,” shares Crystal Jade brand and communications manager Kenneth Yu. “For the Chinese, dining together is an act of family love. A common image is that of a Chinese grandmother always making more than enough food for her family, because that’s her way of showing love.”

The same is true with Crystal Jade with its motto, “Prepared with love, served from our heart.” Crystal Jade promises to show its guests love through food — the way a grandmother loves her children and grandchildren.

Whether or not you believe in traditions and symbols of good fortune, dining in a Crystal Jade restaurant is an experience not to be missed. Here you can expect nothing but the finest ingredients, freshest and choicest cuts of meat, and the most creative food preparations you can find in the metro. Besides, you know you have struck great fortune when you are with your family sharing a hearty meal in a beautiful, peaceful place like Crystal Jade Dining In.

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Crystal Jade Dining In is at the upper ground level, Space 201, Bonifacio High Street Central, 7th Ave., corner 29th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, For information, call 808-5233 or 519-8191. For the Poon Choi Treasure Pot, call to order at least one day in advance.