GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Crystal Dragon is City of Dreams’ best-kept secret
Mention City of Dreams (CoD) Manila and words like casino, gaming, and high-rollers instantly come to mind. Even though the integrated hotel-resort boasts eight (three premium and five casual) food establishments, dining comes second to gambling and entertainment activities.
In fact, the only restaurant there most people might be aware of is Nobu Manila, named after famous chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa and known for its Japanese-South American fusion cooking.
But it turns out that there are two more signature restaurants inside CoD’s 6.2-hectare complex: The Tasting Room and Crystal Dragon, both residing inside Crown Tower. The Tasting Room specializes in using seasonal ingredients from around the world, creating unique tasting menus based on these ingredients, and cooking and presenting made dishes into works of edible art.
Crystal Dragon, meanwhile, is for gaming and non-gaming patrons who prefer to experience the best Cantonese and regional Chinese cuisines. In line with the coming of Chinese New Year (CNY) on February 8, Crystal Dragon executive chef Bong Jun Choi and chef de cuisine Chan Choo Kean has prepared two set menus, the CNY Elegant Menu and the CNY Treasures Menu, available during lunch or dinner during the whole month of February.
“Messy” starter
Both the Elegant and Treasures menus start with Prosperity Salmon Fish Yu Shang and Fruit Salad. Made up of shredded fruits and vegetables, raw salmon, plum sauce, olive oil, peanuts, and wanton crisps, the Fish Yu Shang was assembled table side. Mixing and tossing the salad is left to the diners; with the one who manages to toss the salad the highest believed to receive the most prosperity or luck for the coming year.
Our Lazy Susan table looked like a battlefield after a food fight, with vegetable pieces tossed on the table and wanton crisps flying in front of our plates. Taste-wise, the Yu Shang (literally “raw fish”), has a good balance of flavor; the plum sauce gives the dish a sweet profile while the addition of peanuts and wanton crisps gives it a nice crunch and texture. The salmon, already dressed in calamansi juice, melts in your mouth and doesn’t taste fishy at all.
What the next course lacked in symbolism and meaning, more than made up in terms taste and flavor. The Double boiled Baby Abalone with Chicken and Cordycep Flower in Ginseng Soup has a clear, consume-like broth with a thin piece of abalone and nice chunks of Chinese mushroom and chicken. Hearty without the heaviness of cream-based soups, this is the Chinese chicken soup for the soul.
A trio of mains
Crystal Dragon chose the lighter approach when it came to the main courses; ditching red meat in favor of chicken and seafood. Steamed Cod with Baby Cabbage in Supreme Soy was the first to be served but I instantly wondered why a whole cod fish was not served on our table.
Though fish signifies abundance and good fortune, traditional Chinese parties and banquets usually serve the fish whole and even follow the “rule” of not turning the fish over when one side is already finished. Even though strips of ginger were placed on top of the cod fillet, the dish itself tasted a little funny and a bit fishy to me. The addition of a slice or two of mushroom, for earthiness and umami, would improve and elevate this course further.
The Roasted Fragrant Chicken coated with Sesame Seeds was easily my favorite dish. Whether eating white (breast) or dark (legs) parts, the chicken meat was soft and moist, perfectly complimented by the crispy and savory sesame seed-coated skin. One could easily have mistaken the roasted chicken as a fried one; the sesame-crusted roasted chicken though is a healthier and more savory version of the fried variety that we all know.
Stir-Fried Prawns with Butter, Curry Leaf and Crispy Egg Threads completed the trio of lunch mains. The dish symbolizes happiness and good fortune and makes use of salted egg as a coating to the fried prawns; while the curry leaves gives a bit of heat and kick to each bite. The sweet and soft taste of the prawns goes well with the crunchy base. The only thing missing, as we were slowly finishing the chicken and prawn, was a bowl of hot steaming rice.
Making sure guests go home with full stomachs
Staying true to the Chinese belief of serving rice, or rice-based dish last (to make sure that guests are completely full), Wok Fried Glutinous Rice with Wild Rice and BBQ Pork Meat was served right after the stir fried prawns. With ingredients consisting of rice, meat, vegetables, peanuts, and egg, the fried rice is actually already a meal in itself; too bad it was served on a plate and not in a bowl, making eating the rice hard.
Two desserts, both more on the savory side than sweet, completed our eight-course lunch, the Nian Gao (tikoy) Platter, and the Sweetened Red Bean Puree with Coconut Ice Cream. The tikoy, symbolizing prosperity, was done three-ways in the platter: covered in crushed peanuts and served in a small bamboo steamer, paired with mango and fried with tempura batter, and lastly, sandwich between sweet potato and taro before being fried.
The platter is proof that tikoy and its use is not limited to the usual egg-covered and lumpia-wrapped methods that we usually do in our home kitchens. The different methods as well as the pairing of Nian Gao with different ingredients not only gives this glutinous rice-based cake nice textures and unique tastes but also gave me whole new level of respect and appreciation for the humble tikoy.
Already feeling like a stuffed fish, I took a few scoops of the red bean puree from the bowl and had a surprising and slightly weird feeling inside my mouth. Aside from not being sweet, the puree did not have a texture nor dominant flavor at all; a complete opposite of the very interesting experience from the tikoy/Nian Gao platter.
Fish for prosperity and good fortune, noodles for long life, and rice for unity; whether you celebrate Chinese New Year humbly at home or dine at Crystal Dragon, one of the best Chinese restaurants in Metro Manila (Philippine Tatler’s Top 20 Best Restaurants of 2016), the most important thing to is to enjoy the day together with loved ones, family, and friends.
Wishing everyone a prosperous, healthy, and happy Year of the Red Fire Monkey. Kung Hei Fat Choi! — BM, GMA News
Crystal Dragon (Upper Floor of Crown Towers, Tower 1, City of Dreams Manila) is open from 12 noon to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. For a minimum of four, the CNY Elegant Menu is priced at P3,690++/pax, while the CNY Treasures Menu, for a minimum of six to 10 persons, is available for P5,690++/pax.
