Year of the Snake Welcomed at The Pacific Restaurant

January 15, 2013; Victoria, B.C. – To usher in the Year of the Snake, The Pacific Restaurant at the Hotel Grand Pacific is excited to offer a celebratory Chinese New Year menu. A delicious three-course menu, full of lucky symbolism will be available during dinner service from Thursday, February 7 through to Sunday, February 10, in addition to the restaurant’s regular menu. A traditional lion dance will also take place in the restaurant at 7pm on the Friday night, February 8.

Chinese New Year will occur on February 10 this year, and according to the Chinese zodiac, the Snake is characterised by traits such as intelligence, gracefulness and materialism. Items selected for a Chinese New Year menu are not just required to be tasty and beautiful, but also need to be considered auspicious in order to invite good fortune, good health and abundance for the upcoming year. The Hotel Grand Pacific’s Executive Chef, Rick Choy, has created a menu that pays homage to the elaborate banquets held in traditional Chinese restaurants with a three-course lunar feast to be enjoyed in the quietly elegant surroundings of the Pacific Restaurant.

The meal begins with a chicken consommé with goji berry and snow ear fungus, symbolic of longevity. This is followed by a choice of roasted duck leg served with kumquat chutney (duck is very traditional, and represents fertility, while kumquats symbolize gold and good fortune), or sous-vide steelhead and scallops with noodles-a symbol of long life. Dessert is a mango grapefruit tapioca pudding served with a Chinese sesame seed doughnut. Sweets are meant to “sweeten” the New Year and represent safety and good fortune, while seeds symbolise fertility, and round shapes signify family reunion. Full menu details are available online here.

To finish, each guest will receive two Chinese walnut cookies. Chinese culture considers pairs lucky, and these cookies are a popular treat, something that Chef Choy likes to bake for Chinese New Year as walnuts symbolize happiness of the entire family. The cookies, packaged in pairs, will also available for sale at the hotel’s Courtyard Café during the month of February.

The Pacific’s Chinese New Year menu is offered for $38.88 per person. Tea pairings, created by Silk Road’s tea master, Daniela Cubelic, provide a traditional accompaniment to the menu for an additional $8.88. For those looking for a more contemporary option, sommelier-selected wine pairings for each course are available for $28.88 per person.

Reservations are recommended for the Chinese New Year menu, and can be made via the hotel’s website at www.hotelgrandpacific.com/dining/the-pacific, or by phone at 250-380-4458. The Pacific Restaurant is open seven days a week from 6:30 am to 10 pm, with The Pacific Lounge open from 11 am – 12 am daily. The Pacific Restaurant is located in the Hotel Grand Pacific on Victoria’s Inner Harbour at 463 Belleville Street.

www.hotelgrandpacific.com