HAKKASAN CELEBRATES CHINESE NEW YEAR

Hakkasan was crowing in victory as they wowed guests with their decadent Chinese New Year signature menu.

My romantic relationship with my husband has been on the snooze button ever since we had a baby. Although, we’ve enjoyed cozy nights at home, there’s really nothing exciting about binge watching Netflix in our pajamas and sharing a tub of ice cream. We finally managed to get a solid evening routine at home now that Naomi is sleeping well, so we felt it was time to focus our attention back on our love life and go on a date night.

Without question, we returned to our favorite restaurant Hakkasan for our first date night since Naomi was born. We were in luck as the restaurant was celebrating Chinese New Year with a signature menu featuring traditional Chinese holiday food such as mandarin oranges and noodles, which symbolizes year-round luck and longevity.

We were greeted by one of the staff who asked how our little girl was (it’s either the Hakkasan team are great in remembering guests or we made a disastrous impact the last time we were there for brunch with Naomi). Soon after, a special Waltzing Collines cocktail was served to our table featuring Peruvian pisco and sake mixed with fresh mandarin oranges. The cocktail was decorated with a beautiful golden rooster money clip inspired by the ‘waltz’ that the rooster performs whilst trying to attract a female. Flirty cocktail I should say!

We began our meal with a colorful “Fortune Tale” salad featuring roasted chicken, jellyfish, mooli and vegetables that we had to toss as high as we could to bring prosperity and fortune. A platter of our favorite dim sum followed it. Both were a hit and we were feeling gastronomically lucky already.

Mains were brought in and were brimming with mouthwatering dishes including a simple yet delightful steam dover sole with pumpkin in fish sauce, braised Chinese vegetables in a bean curd parchment, wok-fry tiger prawns with lemongrass and chili, and a suspicious looking braised abalone with fat choy and dried oyster. I polished off the tiger prawns, Anthony the dover sole. The abalone however was too daring even for Hakkasan. It’s an acquired taste, one that I do not wish to be acquainted with in the near future.

Our dinner came to a grand finale when they brought in a stunning dessert master piece called the Golden Feather. The egg shell was made out of caramelized white chocolate that you have to crack and out came oozing ginger panacotta. Not only was the dessert spectacular, it also symbolized that my inner fire rooster is ready to crow this year.

Hakkasan consistently delivers a fantastic Chinese meal and their special Chinese New Year menu is one that should not be missed. Running from 13^th February, the menu is priced at QR 448 per person and is good for parties for two or more.

Gong Xi Fa Chai!