After some thought, I would have to say seafood—and lots of it! And, dessert! Some chicken, perhaps. But no pork for me now; I’m on a diet! So I thought that I would look up a feast fit for royalty somewhere.

Since the Chinese New Year of the Dog is coming, I decided to try Chinese food. Great idea! The Chinese are known for their elaborate feasts and good food. I tried Emperor Court at the New World Renaissance Hotel. They are indeed ready for the New Year! They have three different kinds of group meals ("panto" in Chinese): Long Life Dragon at Php1,188++; Fortune Five at Php1,388; and Golden Coin at Php1,888. They will have a Chinese New Year celebration and Lion Dance on the Chinese New Year’s Eve on January 29.

I had to try the best of the three offerings. For starters, the Deep-fried Crab Claw Stuffed with Shrimp Mousse was served. It was a crab claw filled with a shrimp mixture and deep-fried with breadcrumbs. I would have preferred a lighter batter, though, to taste the crab better. The XO Sauce (popular Chinese mystery sauce made of dried shrimp, dried scallops, garlic, chili, and other spices) added spark to the dish. It was good enough for a main dish on a regular day for me.

Now, I had more of an appetite to go on with the soup: Braised Shark’s Fin with Shredded Chicken in Thick Soup (Fortune Five Set Meal). It was an excellent interplay of shark and chicken. The chicken strips were perfect size for a soup dish, while the shark’s fin shreds could be seen with the naked eye, and the thick soup combined both to create a sensation. Add a dash of black vinegar and you’re on your way to good life.

By this time, I had to meet the chef! Chef Jackie Fong does not compromise the quality of his food, ever. He says no to buffets and dimsum carts; he believes that a high-end Chinese restaurant doesn’t have to have those kinds of fast food hallmarks. It might have seemed like a drastic change at first, but it pushed the class of the restaurant notches higher.

It might be difficult to dine in a Chinese restaurant with soft, mellow music and hushed conversations because the walls are used to rowdy talk and relaxed manners. I had to prepare myself for the highlighted dish of the night, one fit for an emperor—or an empress, for that matter: Braised Sliced Abalone with Broccoli (Golden Coin Shelter Set Meal). Cooked for four days, if dried, abalones are primitive mollusks that can be bought fresh, canned, or dried. They’re quite pricey too. The taste is reminiscent of the richness of liver and the texture and feel of gizzards. The braised broccoli was a perfect match for the abalone. The sauce was extra rich and thick to cover the braised properties of the main ingredient.

The Steamed Star Garoupa with Soya Sauce came at just the right time. The soy sauce eliminated the rich taste of the sauce of the abalone dish. Since the fish was already deboned, it was a joy to eat. The fish was fresh and the herbs sprinkled on top combined to give the dish its character.

I fell in love about five years ago with Deep-Fried Pigeon; I even learned how to prepare and cook it myself. But my preparation was simple compared to this one. Mine was lightly marinated in soy sauce and spices, while Emperor’s Court’s version was marinated in a special sauce with herbs and spices. Their sauce was thick and had sugar in it. Nonetheless, their version was as crispy as mine, thus I wondered how they achieved this with a thick sauce marinade. Hmmm…I could taste anise, five spice, or maybe fennel. I used my hands in a fine dining restaurant just to strip all the meat from the bones! It was good combined with the Seafood Rice Wrapped with Lotus Leaves. The rice smelled and tasted good inside the leaves. It was difficult to eat the bottom part, though, especially since I was using my hands to eat the pigeon.

I soon noticed that I had finished one whole rice bowl! Oh no! How was I supposed to eat dessert? My plan was to have my favorite Radish Cake, but I was sidetracked by the Chinese New Year Pudding, a tikoy-like slice that was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. It was good! I quickly downed a cup of tea to digest all that I had eaten quickly. The Mango Pudding almost didn’t make it to my tummy—there was so little space left—but I managed a few quick bites because it was soooo good.

I quickly made a mental note to tell friends and family that a great Chinese restaurant was hiding behind the Greenbelt façade. It is a great alternative to the crowded and dirty Chinese restaurants elsewhere. The service was fast and efficient, the waiters were courteous, and the ambience was Kung Hei Fat Choi-ish.