Roasted Prime Beef is available as a festive takeaway.
EVERYTHING changes with time, even the way families celebrate Chinese New Year.
Traditional home-cooked meals are making way for hassle-free restaurant dining that offer convenience, variety and a touch of indulgence.
Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Hotel in George Town, Penang, caters to that trend with all-you-can-eat hotpot feasts and generous selections of cooked dishes, grilled items, and desserts.
Guests will be treated to Chinese New Year Steamboat and Barbecue Dinner on the eve, first and second days of the new lunar calendar.
Festive indulgences at E&O Hotel in George Town include (clockwise from above) hotpot meals, signature roasted duck and a feast of proteins at the charcoal grill. — Photos: KT GOH/The Star
All three sessions feature similar menus and will take place at Planters Lounge on Level 6 of the hotel’s Victory Annexe.
Assistant banquet chef Brien Ang said the occasion begins with the obligatory Prosperity Yee Sang for tossing.
The steamboat offers a choice of chicken or tom yam broth, into which diners can add all the meat, seafood and vegetables their hearts desire.
“We have assembled around 60 of the most popular ingredients, sparing guests the headache of shopping for and preparing such an extensive spread at home,” said Ang.
Chinese New Year is the season of abundance and the trays of sliced beef, lamb, duck and chicken certainly epitomise that spirit.
Those who buy into symbolism will gravitate to the heaps of tiger prawns, red snapper, salmon and seabass fillets – items traditionally associated with happiness and abundance.
The marine offerings continue with sea cucumber, clams, mussels, scallops, sea asparagus, cuttlefish, squid, mud crabs and crab claws.
This also allows families to assemble their own improvised poon choy, another symbol of abundance, prosperity and unity.
Completing the lineup is an array of greens, mushrooms, meat and fish balls, bean curd, eggs and noodles, and 15 condiments and dipping sauces.
Remember to leave room for main courses such as Lotus Fried Rice, Wok-fried Longevity Noodles and Wok-fried Vegetables with Garlic and Oyster Sauce.
The signature E&O Roasted Duck is a best-seller every year.
Ditto the minute steaks, chicken wings, tiger prawns, salmon fillets, chicken satay, sliced lamb, chicken bratwurst sausages, slipper lobsters and seabass fillets from the charcoal grill.
These come with their own condiments, from mint sauce to thyme jus and lemon butter, affording one endless combinations. One visit would not be enough.
Desserts like mango pudding, orange chiffon cake, matcha creme brulee, Shanghai pancake, peanut butter cake, Mandarin orange panna cotta, bubur cha cha, sago gula melaka and lychee kang ensure sweet endings.
The Chinese New Year Steamboat and Barbecue feast on the eve is priced at RM218nett per adult and RM118nett per senior citizen or child.
For the first and second days of Chinese New Year, the rate is RM208nett (adult) and RM108nett (senior citizen or child).
Those preferring broader international flavours can indulge in scrumptious buffets at the hotel’s Sarkies restaurant, located on the ground floor.
For the eve, there is a Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner at RM238nett (adult) and RM138nett (senior citizen or child).
On both the first and second days of Chinese New Year, there is lunch at RM188nett (adult) and RM108nett (senior citizen or child) and dinner at RM228nett and RM128nett respectively.
Lunch is served from 12.30pm to 3pm, while dinner is from 6.30pm to 10pm.
The hotel has Chinese New Year Goodies Takeaway for those intending to host at home or need festive gifts.
“Among the items is our signature E&O Roasted Duck, which has always been a bestseller,” Ang said of the succulent treat priced at RM168.
There is also Herbal Chicken (RM158), Roasted Lamb Leg (RM780) and Roasted Prime Beef (RM980) – the latter two serving eight to 10 persons.
Augment it with yee sang in three varieties – vegetarian (RM98), salmon sashimi (RM178) and sliced abalone (RM238) – biscuits (RM28 per tin) or mandarin orange macarons (RM88 per tin).
The real show-stoppers are the thematic 1kg cakes. There are Longan Flan Cake and Lychee Rose Cake (RM188 each), as well as Mandarin Orange Butter Cake (RM218).
These takeaways are available from Jan 16 to Feb 19, with three-day pre-order required.
Call 04-222 2000 for inquiries.
PLANTERS LOUNGE, 6th Floor, Victory Annexe, Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Farquhar Street, Penang. (Tel: 04-222 2151). Business hours: 7am to 11pm.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
