Celebrate Chinese New Year at Tea of Spring

SHANGRI-LA'S Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu welcomes the Year of the Water Snake with a Yee Sang promotion and Chinese New Year set menu at Tea of Spring.

Yee Sang is a salad mixed with shredded vegetables and an assortment of condiments. It is served at the beginning of the meal and is meant to bring good luck for the year.

Specific ingredients symbolize specific wishes. These include raw fish for abundance and excess; pomelo or lime for luck; pepper for attracting money and valuables; oil for encouraging money to flow from all directions; carrots for blessings; shredded green radish for eternal youth and white radish for promotion and prosperity; peanuts for a household filled with gold and silver; sesame seeds for a flourishing business; and deep-fried flour crisps for a floor full of gold.

Diners then toss the ingredients into the air, while saying various wishes out loud. It is believed that the higher the toss, the more fortunate the diner will be.

At Tea of Spring, Chef Bun Boon Hoe creates new twists on the traditional Yee Sang with variations such as Abalone Yee Sang, Apple vegetarian Yee Sang and Jelly Fish Yee Sang
Chef Bun Boon Hoe also offers an auspicious set menu.

Start off with Tea of Spring Pear and Salmon Yee Sang, followed by specialties such as mixed seafood in dumpling with pumpkin puree, crispy aromatic duck served with sour plum sauce, and sautéed fresh prawns with fried garlic and shallots, Bi Feng Tang style.

Cap the meal with signature favorite homemade mochi and chilled mango puree with pomelo and sago.

The Yee Sang promotion and Chinese New Year set menu is available for lunch and dinner daily at Tea of Spring from Feb. 4 to 15, 2013.

For inquiries and reservations, please contact Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu e-mail fbreservations.mac@shangri-la.com.