MANILA -- Xin Tian Di, the Chinese restaurant of the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, welcomes the Year of the Pig with the addition of new items to its menu.

The new entrées are available as ala carte items or as part of the Chinese New Year sets for parties of 4 to 6 people. Each Chinese New Year menu set comes with a gift box of Nian Gao beautifully molded and painted as a pair of Chinese koi.

The tossing of the Prosperity Salad is fun and messy way to start of the meal. Here, diners are given larger than usual chopsticks to fling ingredients as high as possible over the table as they shout “Lo Hei.” Each and every ingredient has a significance to increasing prosperity for the coming chinese new year.

The Great Glory Yu Sheng is a different sort of Chinese starter platter. Aside from the usual cold cuts, and jellyfish, this has a Japanese addition with salmon sushi and California rolls.

The Eight Treasure Fish Maw and Shredded Sea Abalone Soup is almost gelatin-thick, its richness nicely complemented by the chewy fish maw.

Take a piece of breaded US scallops with just a hint of wasabi dressing with some of the garlic broccoli to temper the heat. Serving them inside a nest of fried egg noodles is an Instagrammable visual touch.

The Codfish Fillet on tofu is light and delicate. Topped with a dab of black bean sauce, there’s a bit of saltiness added without overpowering the fish.

The star of the a la carte offerings was the Xin Tian Di’s roasted duck. These are made with ducks imported from Beijing with nice layer of fat that’s oozing with flavor. Add some plum sauce if you want some fruity sweetness.

End the meal with a cup of Taro Pearl in Coconut Cream or with some pan-fried sweet tikoy for dessert.

The special Chinese New Year sets are available until February 10, while the Chinese New Year entrees are available until February 15.