Unity and togetherness. Prosperity. Healing.

In the Chinese culture, these are not abstractions or ideal states. These are, in fact, ingredients of dishes one must eat to bring on these desired states.

Such dishes can be had during the Mid-Autumn Festival at Crystal Dragon at City of Dreams Manila.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese with moon-gazing parties where mooncakes are sliced and apportioned among family members.

In the Philippines, these sweet and dense cakes filled with white lotus or red bean paste and salted eggs are also handed out to friends and business associates for prosperity and unity.

At Crystal Dragon, there is a special menu available until Sept. 15, the actual date of this year’s festival.

The dishes and the ingredients that went into them were chosen for their auspiciousness.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Harvest Moon festival, the dishes are eaten in the hopes of a plentiful harvest.

Over lunch the other week, we sampled Wok-fried Lobster Tails, and Braised Sea Cucumber and Baby Abalone with Bean Curd.

The different elements in the dishes each had a special meaning.

For instance, lobster is considered the “dragon of the sea” and symbolizes unity, while the sea cucumber when sliced looks like a Chinese money pot (abundance). It is also known as the “ginseng of the sea” because of its healing and therapeutic properties.

Sauteed sea grouper symbolizes prosperity and Stewed Chicken with Chinese wine sauce is eaten to foster prosperity and togetherness.

The meal was capped with the hotel’s Snow Skin Mooncake where instead of the traditional crumbly crust, it is covered with a smooth and cool edible sheath.

The Chinese outlet at Crown Towers also offers traditional mooncake from Macau with a white lotus paste and double egg yolk filling. Four pieces in a specially made box are priced at P2,980++.

Call Crystal Dragon at 8008080; e-mail [email protected].