Not eager to brave the weather and fight the crowds? Stay home and enjoy a cozy Yuletide celebration with friends and family. Our food writers tell you where to go for the best goodies.
Beijing
Gobble gobble on the go
In Beijing, there is the whimsically named take-away special from The Fairmont. This year, the hotel is taking a fresh approach to Christmas to help those wishing to dine at home without any of the added stress. The Cut will be preparing delicious turkeys with all the trimmings for an innovative promotion to enjoy at home. Turkey packages start from 1,688 yuan ($280) and include a whole roasted bird of about 6 to 7 kilograms, stuffing, glazed root vegetables and sauces. Additional sides, starters and desserts can be chosen a la carte for a surcharge. Orders will be taken up to Dec 26.
Fairmont Beijing. 010-8511-7777.
Four Seasons festive hampers
For those who prefer to whip up their own gourmet creations, hampers from Four Seasons Beijing will help the process along. Packed with holiday delights, the hampers include fine pasta from Mio, Lorenzo No 5 olive oil, a bottle of XO sauce, Or Noir chocolates, macaroons, gingerbread and cookies, Mio's Cantucci di Prato almond biscotti and an Iberico ham Christmas pudding with a bottle of Italian Gaja Ca'Marcanda Promis red wine. You can also choose from other options that include more goodies, such as a ceramic bottle of gourmet Chinese vinegar, Kaluga Queen caviar, Staud jam and a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV Champagne. Prices range from 1,888 yuan ($310) to 2,888 yuan.
Four Seasons Beijing. 010-5695-8888.
Putting on the Ritz
If you are out to impress, bring home the Ritz-Carlton Beijing catering team. They are all ready to help you put up a most impressive year-end party with personalized service. Prices start at about 388 yuan ($64) per person with a minimum order of 30, but you will be getting served at your own home by the chef and his impeccably couture serving team. Add on 30 yuan for free flows of beer and another 80 yuan for free flows of wine. The canapes are as classy as ever.
The Ritz-Carlton Beijing. 010-5908-8973.
Shanghai
Sweet treats from Westin
The cake shop in Daily Treats, at the Westin Bund Center Shanghai, is offering a bumper selection of goodies, and they are not only sweet treats of the likes of gingerbread snowman or the Christmas truffle cake. Guests can put together hampers that include honey-glazed ham or roasted lamb leg, or a bottle of bubbly. There is a long list of Christmas goodies, all available from the deli. Orders need to be sent in at least three days in advance. Ready-to-go hampers are priced from 888 yuan ($150).
Westin Bund Center. 021-6103-5048.
Freshmeat for the festive season
As the first hotel in Shanghai to have its own butchery, Kerry Hotel Pudong has a well-established reputation for offering quality meat and seafood to take home. For this special season, The Block presents fire-roasted turkey, packaged with honey-roasted sweet baby potatoes, and more. Turkey a la carte is available from 880 yuan ($146) and a Turkey Hamper is available from 1,180 yuan up to Dec 26. A three-day advance reservation is required so your food comes freshly prepared.
KerryHotel Pudong. 021-6168-8884.
Mandarin Oriental's sweet debut
For its very first Christmas and New Year, the newly opened Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai is presenting an array of gourmet celebrations. The Mandarin Cake Shop has filled its hampers with freshly baked cookies, take-away turkeys and fine wines, priced from 1,588 yuan ($265) for 10 items to 3,888 yuan for 20 items. An a la carte selection is also available at the one-stop cake shop.
Shanghai Mandarin Oriental. 021-2082-9988.
Indulging with the Peninsula
Hampers prepared by the Peninsula Shanghai are not about sweet treats or savory turkeys, but a whole "indulgent Peninsula experience" to enjoy at home. The Peninsula Indulgence hamper includes the Peninsula blend tea, coffee beans, homemade fruitcakes and chocolate-covered caramelized almonds, while the Peninsula Extravagance version features the addition of Joselito Premium Ham and wines.
The Peninsula Shanghai. 021-2327-2888.
Hyatt's festive cheer
Festivities at the Hyatt on the Bund are sweet, scrumptious and value-for-money. Offerings from its beautifully packed-to-the-brim hampers include handmade chocolate, macaroons and marshmallows. Dessert hampers are priced from 188 yuan ($30) with a top-of-the-line version at 688 yuan. All of them not only indulge the sweet tooth but also are visual feasts for the jolly occasion.
Hyatt on the Bund. 021-6393-1234 Ext 398.
Hong Kong
Main St Deli at the Langham
The Deli at The Langham offers two options: a traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings, or something from the turkey-to-go menu. The festive ready-cooked bird can be carefully packed and delivered straight to your door. To enjoy the feast at home, the turkey-to-go menu has two tantalizing combinations, priced at HK$1,688 ($218) to feed six to 10 people, or HK$2,388 for 16 to 20 guests. Forty-eight hours advance booking is required.
Main St Deli at The Langham. 852-2132-7898.
Conrad offers stollen and butterballs
At Conrad Hong Kong, the hotel kitchen is cooking up flavorful and moist roasted turkey for dinner and baking traditional German Christmas stollen, available from the Cake Shop. The Butterball turkeys come with giblet gravy and delicious traditional Christmas stuffing. For those who prefer beef to turkey, the Conrad is also offering roasted New Zealand beef tenderloin with black-pepper sauce. Side dishes such as sauteed Brussels sprouts, braised red cabbage, and mashed potatoes are also available. Extravagant Christmas hampers ranging from HK$1,288 ($166) to HK$2,888 are available, as well as hotel gift certificates in various denominations to make your celebrations even merrier.
ConradHong Kong. 852-2521-3838 Ext 5777.
Going to the Deli at Oliver's
At Oliver's, the choices seem endless. Holiday hampers range from a modest HK$680 ($87) for the Cheese Lover's Hamper to the lavish HK$12,880 for The Gourmet Christmas Feast Hamper, which has more than 30 items and is presented in two Christmas boxes. You'll find Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne, bottles of red and white wine, as well as a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label, and Dow's 10-Year-Old Tawny Port. There is an extensive selection of sweet treats, including gingerbread, luxury chocolates, mince pies, Christmas pudding, as well as a Nescafe Dulce Gusto Genio Titanium coffee machine and assorted coffee capsules. Oliver's also provides cooked food items, including roasts, side dishes and appetizers.
Oliver's Deli in Hong Kong. 852-2810-7710.
Compiled by Pauline D. Loh, Ye Jun, Feng Minghui, Xu Junqian and Donna Mah. Contact the writers at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.
