Jasmine Restaurant in New World Makati Hotel adds 30 new dishes to its menu, which blends exotic and traditional Chinese food. Head Chef Brandon Ng said that they have integrated Sichuan cuisine into the menu. Sichuan dishes are marked by bold flavors, primarily consisting of garlic and chili pepper. “This menu incorporates some of the Sichuan [cuisine] incorporated into our old menu, which is more Cantonese traditional. So eventually, it’s more harmonized and balanced,” he said.

The highlight of the menu is its line of dim sum, which includes the following: scallops, prawn, and black caviar dumpling; crabmeat and spinach dumpling; and deep-fried bean curd roll. These dumplings have a cloud-like texture, making them incredibly soft on the palate.

Their appetizer includes poached chicken in ‘Sichuan’ chili vinaigrette, signature roasted duck, and crispy pork belly. Savory juices fill the pork belly without it being oily, making it perfect for a light starter. Of course, a Southeast Asian meal is not complete without rice. Jasmine offers golden salted egg yolk fried rice with chicken and XO sauce. Its umami kick complements the other additions to the menu, such as wok-fried marinated beef short ribs and deep-fried pomfret in Yu Xiang (garlic chili) sauce.

Greens balance the savory main course, made possible with wok-fried lotus roots. The dish is mixed with black fungus and assorted vegetables, which leaves a subtle flavor.

For dessert, Jasmine presents perfect harmony with creamy taro, glutinous rice dumplings with pandan, and coconut. They also offer chilled cream milk pudding, reminiscent of the Filipino dessert ginataang bilo-bilo. Lunch at Jasmine Restaurant costs Php 1,488 on weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 03:00 p.m. and Php 1,688 on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 03:30 p.m. Dinner is also available from Sundays to Thursdays only, from 06:00 p.m. to 09:30 p.m. Prices are nett.