One More “Year of the Wood Sheep” Banquet

CEBU, Philippines – The last stop in this Year of the Wood Sheep banquets was the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort & Spa. The resort’s celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year was a stickler to tradition.  The Hoi Gong ceremony or dotting of the eye of the Chinese lion, to awaken the lion’s spirit, was followed by the fireworks and the beating of the drums – all those loud noise to drive out all malefactors from the spirit world.

In China, the rush to go home to celebrate the Spring Festival with the family is called the Chunyun. It is reported that in 2014 there were 3.62 billion passengers on trips by train, bus, boat or plane related to this occasion. It is a joyful time for most people, except for single children above matrimonial age (female, before 30 and males, 32), with anxious parents even arranging a date for their kids, in their desire to see their grandchildren before they reach old age.

The one-child policy is still enforced in China, and every addition to the family is really a big thing. An interesting solution that the Chinese have devised to deal with the problem is the rental of fake boyfriend or girlfriend at 100 yuan or $16 a day... so business-minded, these Chinese!

The ender of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Cebu was the banquet for the press at the Tea of Spring of Shangri-la’s Mactan. The restaurant followed the etiquette in menu preparation; serving dishes with names, ingredients or appearance signifying – or are homonyms in Chinese of – power, success, abundance and wealth. Lunch began with the Yee Shang Tossing Ceremony where the ingredients were mixed and guests participated in tossing these as high as possible supposedly to reap greater financial benefits.

Two appetizers were served, Radish Cake and Pan-Fried Bean Curd Roll, followed by the Tea of Spring Eight Treasures Soup.

Dishes made with soybean remind me of a trip to Jiangsu and Shandong, China (1,400 kilometres from Shanghai). We stayed in a hotel patronized by locals. I was so excited about breakfast only to find one huge pot filled with steaming “lugaw” (congee) – but with 50 side-dishes! About 25 dishes were made from bean curd: fresh, dried, pressed or smoked; the rest I could not identify and I honestly thought I was familiar with Chinese cuisine.

There are 33 political units in China (provinces, special administrative regions, autonomous regions and municipalities) producing 10,000 dishes. It seems you need a lifetime, excuse me, to taste all these foods.

The Cantonese Crispy Roasted Chicken was served at Shang’s Chinese New year banquet, followed by the Steamed Scallops with Mixed Vegetables and the Szechuan Kung Pao Prawns with Peanuts. Chillies and Sichuan peppercorn are added to the latter dish to create spiciness with a tingly numbness.

Steamed Lapu-Lapu with Light Soy Sauce came next; fish was served because the Chinese word for fish has the same sound as for “extra” or “surplus.” When served on the table, tradition dictates that the fish should point towards the guest of honor or the more senior guest dining, as a gesture of respect. Moreover, the diners should not eat all of the fish, meaning there should be some leftovers of it.

The last dish was the Braised Bean Curd with Mushroom in Oyster Sauce before the dessert, Homemade Mochi and Chilled Sweet Soup, was served. It was an interesting occasion.

My sincere thanks to all the hotels and restaurants that have invited me to their Chinese New Year celebrations.