Celebrate Lunar New Year with bestselling ‘tikoy,’ auspicious dishes
Last year, just before the Lunar New Year, Brandon Ng, New World Makati Hotel’s Chinese executive chef, guided us as we did the prosperity toss at Jasmine, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant. “Yu sheng must be tossed for betterment, good health, fortune, riches,” he said, giving us instructions to pick up the ingredients of his beautiful Cantonese-style raw fish salad with our chopsticks and “toss high.”
This year, back at Jasmine, Ng mused, “Maybe we tossed it so high … because this year, we’ve been selling the highest number of tikoy. It’s amazing. The response has been overwhelming.”
The sweet rice cake, also known as nian gao, is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune that’s a Lunar New Year staple. Those looking to buy some to welcome the Year of the Wood Snake and wish their loved ones success in 2025 are spoilt for choice at New World, said Ng. “A new one is the Green Tea & Rose Prosperity Harmony Two-layered Nian Gao—because red and green are auspicious colors.”
There are also classic options like the Abundance Fortune Koi Fish and Fortune Prosperity Round Nian Gao. “They’re packaged in nice boxes,” said Ng, making them perfect for gifting. They also offer the Fortune Prosperity Nian Gao with wine—wine and tikoy, now that’s a combination we haven’t tried before.
Mousse cake
Ng said, “We also created something new this year, the Mandarin Orange Mousse Cake. It’s round, it features a snakeskin design, Mandarin orange, gold coins, and it symbolizes prosperity, fortune, good health, strength.”
You can purchase the cake on its own or in a package that includes wine and Chinese-themed cupcakes. They also have the Longevity Mandarin Orange Fruit Cake.
Ng created special set menus to celebrate the holiday which can be enjoyed by groups of 10—perfect for a gathering with your loved ones. “We thought of auspicious dishes to incorporate in our menus for Chinese New Year as we usher in the Year of the Snake. We incorporated traditional condiments like dried oysters. It’s called ho xi, which means good news. Black sea moss in Cantonese is fat choy, and fat choy means abundance. They’re well wishes.”
Dishes include Braised Abalone Mushrooms with Dried Oyster and Broccoli for wealth and family unity; Golden Pumpkin Seafood Broth, which symbolizes prosperity and nourishment; Fried Rice with Preserved Meat and Asparagus to signify abundance and harmony; and Warm Taro Cream with Glutinous Rice Balls, which represents reunion and sweet beginnings.
We loved the Red Auspicious Sweet Sour Prawns with Cantaloupe.
“The dishes are red, orange, colorful, bright … It’s festive season, we want to create that kind of atmosphere, that kind of mood. People can come to Jasmine to enjoy the food, enjoy the ambience, and have a good time with family and friends,” said Ng.
On Jan. 28 and Jan. 29, Jasmine offers a special all-you-can-eat dim sum menu—and this also comes with a main dish as an extra treat.
New World Makati Hotel also has room packages available for stays from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2 for those who want to turn their Lunar New Year celebration into a staycation. And when you do go to New World, you might want to stop by Yin & Yang Shop of Harmony (to make an appointment, call tel. 0917-5392679). There, you’ll meet Feng Shui expert Patrick Lim Fernandez.
Fernandez said, “What are some of the characteristics for the Year of the Wood Snake? One, a lot of our luck would be from working through others … How do we network? How do we bring people together and collaborate so that we can get to our end goals? The other one is being flexible and adaptable. The Snake is also one of the animals in Chinese mythology that has to do with long-term and deep thinking. Employ strategic thinking, not just a month from now, two months from now, a year, five years, 10 years from now, employ some of these energies that are there to help you with your personal life and also for your career or your business. And lastly, it’s patience. If you have patience, especially with all of these other forces, it will get you to where you need to go.”
New World Hotel Makati is at Esperanza Street corner Makati Avenue, Ayala Center, Makati City. Call tel. +632-88116888; visit bit.ly/NWMNL_CNY2025.
