Horsing around at Tower Club

A sumptuous lunch party with media friends marked our official welcome of the Chinese New Year. The important occasion called for just one venue – the Taipan restaurant of the Tower Club, a by-invitation-only business and social club located at the 33rd floor of the Philamlife Tower in Makati.

Our hosts, CCA Philippines president Arthur M. Lopez and Tower Club membership director Cyndy Tan-Jarabata, seasoned our Yee Sang with cinnamon, pepper, oil and sweet n’ sour sauce.

The Chinese community celebrates the Yee Sang Festival among families, friends or business associates. So I kicked off the Year of the Horse with my media friends at the Tower Club, sharing my interests and New Year hopes with them. Philippine STAR publisher Max Soliven and his ivory-skinned daughter Sara with husband John de Guzman made one of their rare appearances.

It is tradition to take yee sang as the first dish during the family reunion on the eve of Chinese New Year. In our case, the unforgettable yee sang was followed by equally delectable dishes, all part of the Taipan’s New Year menu. To cap off the courses, we had the traditional tikoy, only with a stronger rice flavor, and hopia enveloped in pretty, colorful petals. Amid the happy banter, of course, we couldn’t stop from feasting on the superb fare set before us.

The Tower Club’s executive chef Michael Finch arranged the excellent selection together with chef Cheong Kwan Leong, whose specialty is Cantonese cuisine. Chef Finch, an Australian, is armed with 14 years of culinary experience; six of those years were spent in the best hotels in Europe. Chef Leong, on the other hand, has distinguished himself as Chinese executive chef in Asian luxury hotels.

Truly a unique and most enjoyable treat!