Chinese New Year Celebration at Choi Garden Jinjiang Inn Hotel

Had a first hand experience of celebrating Chinese New Year  at JinJiang Inn Hotel along  Pasay Road Makati per the invitation of  Hotel 101 Group which handles this chain of boutique hotels quite famous in China. Hotel 101 belongs under the Double Dragon group which also includes Jollibee, City Malls, Oishi, Liwayway,  to name a few JinJiang Inn Hotel caters mostly to business groups but is not averse  to having family clientele as well. Its proximity to Glorietta , Landmark and Greenbelt  makes it an ideal choice for Chinese tourists and local visitors too. Its 59 rooms are almost always fully booked because of its competitive pricing despite its perfect location.

Pic courtesy of Jinjiang’s  website

 Rooms are larger than usual at  26 sq meter  for its Business Room A category and only costs P3,420 per night  to a high of P6,900 + for their biggest room per their online website.

pic courtesy of  Jinjiang’s website

pic courtesy of JinJiang’s website

Choi Garden ,  the  in -house restaurant inside the hotel  which handles the buffet breakfast for guests, also took care of preparing the Chinese New Year Prosperity lunch  as follows :

 ASSORTED DIMSUM

Some siomais are better than others and Choi Garden’s definitely tops my list when it comes to the most freshly made and succulent pork siomais Ive tasted ever. 

Pity I was not able to taste the other variants.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP

It hits the spot almost like comfort food. I would love a gallon of this when Im feeling poorly just like chicken soup mom used to make.  It is so comforting

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

This looked so festive. That red-yellowish-orange sauce was somehow  apropos for the occassion.

It was just your regular sweet and sour pork though

FISH FILLET WITH GOLDEN MUSHROOM

Loved the tender fish fillet  The mushroom provided the texture to offset the

delicate fish fillet. The flavors were subtle as well.

RICHMAN FRIED RICE

I am so happy that it appears to be a Chinese tradition to serve the rice either

at the end of the meal or in this case in the middle of the meal. Otherwise, I would

not have the will power to resist that delicious mound of rice.

BEEF BROCCOLI

Why do Chinese Chefs cook their green vegetables so perfectly ? Those broccoli

 are so green it almost looked raw. I was so mesmerized by how the florets looked

so fresh, I totally forgot about the beef and stuffed my face  

with all  those yummy and crunchy greens.

CHILI GARLIC SUAHE I

I loved the chili garlic but would have preferred  fresh suahe. The shrimps

were simply overwhelmed by those crunchy batter

HONGKONG STYLE FRIED CHICKEN

Easily my most favorite dish among the 8 course menu. The skin was crunchy like lechon while 

the meat inside stayed moist and succulent.  So simple yet so delectable, I can eat this all day huhuhu

 ALMOND LYCHEE

Your usual almond lychee.

 GLUTINOUS RICE OR TIKOY

 This was a different take on the usual fried-with-egg method I know. 

This time Choi Garden steamed the tikoy. I must say I like this better.

More than the health implication, I just loved the texture that resulted

from the steaming method. I loved how sticky it was and the flavor more concentrated.

It was overall an enjoyable day spent celebrating  Chinese New Year and discovering a new boutique hotel that is very well appointed, conveniently located and  easy on the pocket. Choi Garden was a revelation too. Their New Year Prosperous Menu was surprisingly reasonably-priced at P8000 per table of 10. Service was alert and cheerful. Ambiance was  simple and traditional. Ill be sure to check their other branches in the metro like the one in Greenhills Jinjiang Inn  Hotel is located at the Makati Central Business District along Arnaiz Avenue Pasay Road Extension San Lorenzo Makati City . Choi Garden is at  the ground floor of Jinjiang Inn. Call 02 5768557 for reservation.

with Mr. Brian Ong of Jinjiang Inn Hotel, @littlefoodieph and @ilovetoeatph