Kung Hei Fat Choi! Ring in Chinese New Year 2015: The Year of The Sheep with these festive activities around the metro that will entertain, educate, and delight your appetite for Chinese culture.
1. Book a Binondo Walking Tour (and eat your way around Chinatown!)
Where else should you be on Chinese New Year but in Chinatown, the center of all festivities? Just like last year, Old Manila Walks will host the BIG Binondo Food WOK: Special Chinese New Year Edition (P1,650/head, inclusive of tour and tasting menu). The schedule that is currently available (others are fully booked) is Wednesday, February 18 (9:00-12:30pm) The regular Chinatown talking tour, BIG Binondo Food WOK! Nibbling Our Way Through Chinatown (P1,200/head inclusive of tasting menu) is happeningon Thursday, February 19 (8:30am-12:30nn) and Saturday, February 21 (1:00-4:00pm). Big Binondo Wok is four hundred years of history and up to four hours of decadence; reserve your slots now viaSchedule via fun@oldmanilawalks.com or +63918-962-64-52.
Those schedules not working out for you? Then Book Your Own Tour! February 20 (Friday) and February 22 (Sunday) are free for you to schedule with Old Manila Walks a tour, so you can explore at your own leisurely pace. Morning walking tours can start at 8 or 9am while afternoon tours can start at 1 or 2pm. Schedule via fun@oldmanilawalks.com or +63918-962-64-52.
2. Visit Lucky Chinatown Mall for cultural experiences and celebrity performances.
Lucky Chinatown has partnered with the City of Manila to welcome the Year of the Sheep for a slew of activities this week. From Feb. 16 – 22, feast at the Chinese Food Fair located at La Chambre Street. Bring home treats from the Binondo Midnight Sale happening at Lucky Chinatown and other Binondo establishments from Feb. 18 – 21.
The Official Chinese New Year Countdown of the City of Manila will happen at Lucky Chinatown on Feb. 18 at 1pm with an opening ceremony that includes the traditional Dotting of the Dragon’s Eye and cultural performances from Chinese schools. It is followed by celebrity performances beginning 7pm at the evening program, and at 11pm, a Lion Dance, an amazing acrobatic exhibition and forecasts for the Year of the Sheep from Feng Shui Master. The Countdown will end with a Grand Fireworks Display and the Ritual Lighting of the First Incense. More festivities await on Chinese New Year Day and the following days!
3. DIY in Chinatown and explore Binondo on your own using ClickTheCity App's Travel section
Keep the ClickTheCity App handy during this week if you want to explore Chinatown on your own. Access the app's Travel Section (lower right button) in the main page, and tap on Attractions > Metro Manila > Binondo. Scroll through and take your pick to have a bite of Binondo: a brief history history, points of interest, lists of food & drink available per street, and tips on getting there and getting around.
4. Experience Chinese culture through cinema at the 9th Spring Film Festival.
Now on its 9th year, the Spring Film Festval aims to promote Chinese language and culture. Six award-winning films (with subtitles) will be featured at the Shangri-La Plaza from February 13 to 22, 2015. Another highlight of the festival is a painting exhibit from February 12 to 20, and a cultural workshop on February 19, 2015, 2:00 to 5:00PM. Admission is free. [Click here to view screening schedules]
5. Brush up on Chinese art in a painting workshop.
"Shui Mo" (water and ink) is a freestyle technique created using a brush dipped in ink and water and onto rice paper. Work on your painting skills with traditional Chinese brush painting, one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world that showcases the harmony between man and nature. Instructor Arsenia Lim has been teaching Chinese painting full-time since the mid-1960s, and has been conducting her Shui Mo painting classes at Yuchengco Museum since 2006. The next workshops happen on February 21 and 28, at the RCBC Plaza. For workshop details, please call Elma Abrina Programs Officer at (63 2) 889-1234 or email: abrina_programs@yuchengcomuseum.org
6. Embark on a Char Siu Bao crawl.
If the still-trending Japanese dish in Manila is ramen, the hot Chinese delicacy to chew on right now is char siu bao. Ever since a popular Michelin-starred dim sum place set foot into our local food scene, the spotlight has been on the baked char siu bao or cha siew bao, better known as pork buns. Here's our list of 7 places in Manila where you can get your baked pork bun fix, and which of them offer take-out.
7. Hotel-hop to welcome the Year of the Wood Sheep with a festive spread of food specials.
At Makati Shangri-La, Manila, enjoy a festive firecrackers display at the lobby driveway and a traditional lion and dragon dance around the hotel on Chinese New Year’s Eve, February 18 at 11 p.m. and Chinese New Year’s Day on February 19 at 12:30 p.m. Tikoy is available for purchase at Makati Shangri-La’s tikoy booth at the hotel lobby until February 22, and Yee Sang (or Yu Sheng in Mandarin), a raw fish salad for success and prosperity, can be ordered at Shang Palace until February 22. At Shang Palace, choose among four nine-course dinner menus good for a table of 10 persons available until February 22 for lunch and dinner.
Sofitel Manila's special Dragon and Lion dance performance happens on the 18th and 19th of February. For an especially auspicious feast, a Shēngxiào Zodiac menu prepared by Executive Sous Chef Mok Chee Wah for Chinese New Year from 17th to 22nd of February from 6:30 – 10:30pm. Chef Mok has specially prepared a dish that highlights each quality of the Chinese zodiac sign and all with auspicious ingredients. And for the trademark Sofitel buffet experience, Spiral will have Chinese New Year Lunch on February 18th, 20th and 21st, Chinese New Year Brunch on February 19th and 22nd, and Chinese New Year Dinner on February 19th.
At Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, visit their authentic Cantonese restaurant, Lung Hin, for its auspicious offerings. Choose among three different Chinese New Year set menus they are preparing for the special occassion, and bring home Festive Chinese Rice Cakes (tikoy) available in three different rice puddings, wrapped in a silk box.
Marriott Hotel Manila ushers in the year of the wooden ram with gifts of good fortune–they are offering gift hampers filled with Chinese treats such as X.O Sauce, gold coins and Dilyan Green tea; Double prosperity fish nian gao (tikoy); even giving away special ampao or red envelopes when you dine at Cru Steakhouse and Marriott Cafe.
Should you find yourself in Makati, head to The Peninsula Manila for the lucky Dragon Dance at The Lobby on February 19, 2015 at 11:00 am, and feast on a sumptuous Chinese-themed feast of “lucky” dishes prepared by Escolta's talented chefs.
City of Dreams Manila welcomes the Year of the Wood Sheep with sensational courses from its premium Cantonese restaurant Crystal Dragon, complemented with an array of live performances, a traditional lion dance, and a God of Fortune in anticipation of a prosperous 2015.
