It's that time of the year again. No, it is not the Christmas holidays, but it is as meaningful to some people we know. It's the Chinese New Year! And even though the Philippines is not made up mostly of Chinese people, it is home to quite a lot of them. Hence, it is not a surprise that most parts of the country is up and about in celebrating the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar. In fact, it was declared as a special non-working holiday.
Since it falls on a Monday this year, everyone is looking forward to a long weekend ahead. With that, the questions start barging in. Where to go? What to do?
Because celebrations naturally come with food, it helps to know where is the best place to eat in Cebu during the Chinese New Year. Here are some of the choices available for Cebuanos who are Chinese by blood, by heart or by any other organ applicable.
1. Chinese Restaurants - The large selection of Chinese restaurants in Cebu is definitely going to leave the regular guy dumbfounded. There is Harbour City (Ayala Center and SM City Cebu) and its sisters Ding Qua Qua (JY Square Mall, Lahug) and Dimsum Break (BTC, Mango Avenue to name a few), all three being under the Harbour City Dimsum House Co. This group is 100% Cebuano. Although I cannot be sure if they are already available in other parts of the country, I think Dimsum Break has not entered the portals of the National Capital Region since my relatives who live there make it a point to dine at Dimsum Break whenever they are in town because they do not have it there.
Another option is Tsim Sha Tsui Dimsum Tea Bar (pronounced as Jim Sa Joy) in The Terraces, Ayala Center. This restaurant, which is named after an actual area in Hongkong, offers a very relaxing ambience and really good food. They even have a dimsum eat-all-you-can bar for those who are in for unlimited Chinese goodness. Nothing seems better than celebrating with unlimited chow!
Other Chinese restaurants in the city include Familia Xiamen Cuisine (One Mango) and Golden City Dimsum Restaurant (The Walk, IT Park, Lahug). Chowking, on the other hand, offers a fast answer to the Chinese-food-craving tummy. Its branches are in SM City Cebu, Ayala Center Cebu, Mango Avenue, Fuente Osmeña and E-Mall to name a few.
2. Home-cooked Meals - For someone like me who is blessed with a Mother who loves everything Chinese, this is probably the best option. For one, there is no one in the entire universe who can cook better than one's own mom. Since she is a Chinese by heart (having spent years working for a Chinese employer when she was still single), she knows almost all Chinese dishes there is. She is also very fond of tikoy, nian gao in Chinese, which is made of glutious rice flour. It can be steamed or fried. It is a traditional Chinese New Year food believed to be the perfect offering to the Kitchen God who reports any misbehaviors to the Jade Emperor.
In addition to the food, one can opt to visit the Taoist Temple, avail of the various promos from hotels and resorts or check out the Rainforest Park (Mabolo), St. James Amusement Park (North Reclamation Area) and similar places for the kids and kids-at-heart to have some R&R.
With all these within an arm's length, the long weekend ahead is definitely far from being a bore. Happy Chinese New Year to all! Kung Hei Fat Choi Today And Forevermore!
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