MANILA -- Canton Road at the Shangri-La at the Fort celebrates the Chinese New Year with a luxurious spread, including the traditional prosperity toss, as well as classes on the art of dim sum by executive Chinese chef Wang Wei Qing.

Start the year of the boar right with a bowl of Pun Choi, a multi-layered artwork of shrimp, flower mushrooms, chicken, roasted duck, sea moss fish balls, dry oysters, abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, and lettuce and broccoli in oysters sauce.

Saucy and rich, it doesn’t get more luxurious than this big bowl feast of treasures, which eating signifies cooperation as a way to attract luck for the coming year.

Yee Sang is another beautiful tradition for Chinese New Year, with Canton Road’s Yee Sang using Norwegian salmon in the traditional “prosperity toss,” where the salad ingredients are tossed high for luck and happiness.

Completing the trio of lucky dishes is Canton Road’s suckling pig.

The roasted pig, stuffed with glutinous rice, has always been an awe-inspiring sight in any Chinese New Year table, as it represents completeness and prosperity for the coming year.

These three dishes can be found in Canton Road’s set menus for a table of 10, with private dining rooms available. The Happiness menu is priced at P29,888 nett, the Abundance Menu for P32,888 nett, and the Wealth Menu for P38,888 nett.

The art of dim sum making

Considered one of the lucky food stuffs to eat during Chinese New Year, dim sum is a must to welcome the year.

As a special treat, chef Wang will share his culinary secrets and techniques in a series of 2-hour dim sum making classes at Canton Road.

In the class, participants will paint colors on a fish-shaped coconut rice cake, learn how to create pork and cabbage dumplings, and shape and decorate their own pig-shaped lotus paste bun.

At the end of the session, a dim sum feast awaits to be enjoyed by the class at one of the restaurant’s private dining rooms, featuring dimsum treats like crystal skin shrimp dumpling, steamed xiao mai with crab roe, crispy spring roll with taro, a delectable baked pumpkin with black truffle, among others.

Classes will be held on February 7, 9, 14, and 16, and will run from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, priced at P2,988 nett for adults, and P1,888 for kids (below 18 years old).