Crystal Dragon at City of Dreams Manila's menu
City of Dreams Manila ushers in the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 10 with an auspicious a la carte menu at Crystal Dragon, the integrated resort's award-winning restaurant known for its premium Cantonese and regional Chinese specialties.
Crystal Dragon’s crispy wasabi prawns with toasted sesame and slow roasted almond nuts.
Exclusively available until September 10, the menu consists of: Crispy Dried Scallop with Crab Meat and Snow Egg Yolk; Double-boiled Herbal Chicken Soup, Sea Cucumber, Black Garlic and Cordyceps Flower; Roasted Duck Meat with Grand Marnier Herb Reduction; Golden Crispy Crab Claw Coated with Potato Noodles; Crispy Wasabi Prawns with Toasted Sesame and Slow Roasted Almond Nuts.
As eating mooncakes, the symbol of the holiday signifying togetherness and harmony and is a not-to-be-missed tradition, Crystal Dragon offers the quintessential pastry as part of a dessert trio: Homemade Coconut Pandan Mooncake, Crispy Avocado Kataifi Roll with Fragrant Mango, and Pomelo with Sago Pearls for dessert.
The celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival usually falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, and as the second grandest holiday occasion in China and other parts of Asia following Chinese New Year, it is customary for families to gather and celebrate the festival over auspicious food including mooncake, duck, crab, and pomelo, among others.
For inquiries and reservations, call 8800-8080 or e-mail [email protected] For more information, visit www.cityofdreamsmanila.com.
Celebrating Mid-Autumn tastes at Solaire
Solaire's special mooncake sets are filled with richness and decadence — from the traditional baked variety, sweet snow skin kinds, and the light yet impactful Teochew pair.
Gaze at the moon's splendor this Mid-Autumn Festival while enjoying these delicacies. Available in 11 different flavors and 5 kinds, there's something for everyone in the family.
Traditional baked mooncake with red bean paste, double egg yolk and pumpkin seeds.
Each mooncake set comes in stylish and unique packaging – a box in vivid red embellished with images that narrate the much-celebrated folklore, and a sleek white mini-chiller that you can use after as a trove for your small precious items.
Traditional Baked Mooncakes exude a hint of grandness with 4 variations. Take your pick between a velvety red bean paste with pistachio nuts, or silken white lotus paste with almonds.
For richer mooncake bites, a choice of double egg yolks enveloped in red bean paste with pumpkin seeds and double egg yolks with white lotus paste and sunflower seeds complete this set.
For some whimsy and quirkiness, the Snow Skin Mooncakes are made into lollies for a more playful twist. The 5 artistically concocted flavors are a colorful collection in a white mini-fridge.
Unlike its traditional and snow skin counterpart, the Teochew-style mooncake showcases a crispy pastry- exterior. You can savor this mooncake with egg yolks wrapped in soft taro paste or fragrant ube paste.
To make the festivity more exciting, take home one of the limited release sets that's in collaboration with luxe whisky brand Dalmore. Only 80 sets of the Solaire x Dalmore King Alexander III will be available which includes a bottle of whisky plus 2 special Dalmore Mooncakes, while there are only 8 sets of the Solaire x Dalmore 25 Years available which also includes a bottle of this rare whisky and 2 special Dalmore Mooncakes.
Solaire's homemade mooncakes will be available for purchase until September 10 at Red Lantern, House of Zhou, Fresh, The Patisserie, and Food Court. For inquiries and dining reservations at Red Lantern, call 8888-8888, or email [email protected]
Make your own tasty mooncakes at home
Chinese communities around the world will celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 10 of this year. This joyous occasion is a time for people to reunite.
During the festival, mooncakes are shared among family members, and given to friends and relatives as an expression of love and best wishes. Usually consisting of a thin crust that houses a rich, thick filling, mooncake varieties have grown throughout the years.
Aside from more traditional offerings made with mung beans (munggo), lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and salted duck egg yolk, nowadays, mooncakes incorporate chocolate, coffee, tiramisu, ube, and even pandan.
While there may be an abundance of mooncakes for sale during the Mid-Autumn Festival, making your own to share with friends and loved ones adds an extra personal touch to your celebrations.
With the help of Philips Airfryers — for healthy food, with up to 90 percent less fat, that's crispy on the outside yet tender on the inside — try this mooncake recipe to make in the comfort of your own home kitchen.
25g purple potato powder for baking
240g peeled purple sweet potatoes
1. To make sweet potato filling, cook sweet potatoes and mash with fork. Add sugar, butter, and whipping cream. Divide into 20g pieces and roll into balls. Chill in refrigerator for later use.
2. To make dough, mix softened butter with sieved icing sugar. Stir in egg wash, whipping cream, and coconut milk. Add sifted cake flour and purple potato powder and knead mixture. Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for at least 1hr.
3. Divide pastry dough into 28g portions. Roll into small balls and flatten out with palms. Place a portion of sweet potato filling on a piece of flattened dough. Wrap dough around sweet potato ball. Seal dough and softly roll into balls.
4. Put balls into a lightly greased stamp mould. Press to release mooncake then cover with cling film and refrigerate for more than 1hr.
5. Pre-heat Airfryer at 200-degree Celsius for 10 mins. Spray water on mooncakes before placing them on the baking tray. Bake at 200-degree Celsius for 4 minutes then bake at 180-degree Celsius for 2 minutes.
6. Remove baking tray along with mooncakes. Brush on syrup and bake for 1min. Place mooncakes on a plate and serve.
This and more mooncake recipes can be found on the Philips NutriU App, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.