WITH TWO set menus for the Lunar New Year (which falls on Feb. 17), Conrad Manila’s China Blue by Jereme Leung might double your luck: and if you can afford it, you must already be lucky to begin with, because one menu costs P49,888 (the Prosperity Set), and the other costs P69,888 (the Abundance Set) both for a group of 10 diners.
During a tasting on Feb. 4, their executive Chinese chef, Khor Eng Yew, emphasized the lucky ingredients they are using for the set menus: there’s sea moss for wealth, prawns for happiness, a money bag stuffed with mushrooms and dried oysters for the same reason, beef for strength, and fish for a smooth transition.
The meal started with a Yee Sang set (P3,588++, which one can order separately), a lucky salad with salmon, meant to be tossed high with chopsticks until you make a mess (the higher the toss, the higher the levels of luck).
For our tasting, they combined elements from both menus, the better for us to taste more. Our soup, taken from the Prosperity set, was a Braised Dry Scallop Fish Lip and Seafood with Assorted Mushroom and Sea Moss Soup. It smelled pungent, a little bit bitter and faintly medicinal, but that’s how we like it. From the same menu came a Barbecue Roasted Duck with Mandarin Orange Sauce. Absolutely delectable, with a smoky taste on its skin, the rather succulent duck (lucky us — the seniors at our table avoided it for its glistening fat, so we had more helpings) was given some spark with the orange sauce.
Other main courses included a Wok-fried King Prawn with Butter Black Pepper Gravy Sauce (a very strong flavor), Steamed Live Sea Garoupa with Bell Pepper and Pickled Olive Sauce (from the Abundance set; light and delicate, in contrast to the prawn before), a comforting and fragrant Baked US Beef Short Rib in a Honey and Sweet Vinegar Sauce, and the money bags. These were little dumplings in bean curd skin with dried oysters and mushrooms, which burst and flowed forth in the mouth after a bite.
The dessert, symbolizing togetherness, was a chilled Mandarin Orange Jelly and Honey Pearl with Citrus Sorbet and a Coconut Brown Sugar Nian Gao, stuffed in a faux Mandarin orange.
“For me, important (to be) happy,” Mr. Yew said about the lucky nature of his dishes.
NEW YEAR, NEW SITESConrad Manila’s new general manager, Rupert Hallam (he started last September) told BusinessWorld about plans to build another events space in the hotel, located below its helipad. As part of his term as general manager, he says he plans to improve their spa and wellness offerings, and possibly open a new restaurant.
As for the events space, it will offer 360-degree views of the bay and the city. “It’s going to be very different because it’s going to be specifically targeted at the social side of the business,” he said, citing weddings, engagements, and other celebrations. The new events space will be named after Admiral George Dewey (the former namesake of the stretch of road now named Roxas Boulevard).
“You come to a hotel, and you’ve got a ballroom. It’s four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. It’s a box, to put it bluntly,” he said. “But this one is something completely different,” with glass walls, an outdoor space, and a garden.
The Lunar New Year menus are available at China Blue from Feb. 11 to March 3. — Joseph L. Garcia