SHENZHEN Marriott Hotel Nanshan has recently launched a series of spring dishes themed “a bite of spring” at its Chinese restaurant, Man Ho. The menu showcases the creative combination of fresh vegetables and quality meats in a variety of cooking styles. To get new inspiration for cooking spring dishes, Man Ho’s executive chef Wayne Wang frequented the vegetable market to select seasonal ingredients. He tried new cooking and food-pairing methods while observing the “Mind Menu” concept of Marriott. The new menu includes 11 creative dishes, which feature exquisite and poetic plate-settings. The appetizer, low-cooked Australian scallop with Chinese toon sprouts, makes use of a low-temperature gastronomic technique and is presented in the shape of a green “hill.” The freshwater culter fish is steamed in three flavors — shallots, green peppercorns and toon paste — for guests to choose from; the emerald-green auxiliary ingredients seem to cover the fish with a veil. The sautéed Dalian abalone with Chinese chives is sliced abalone with spring leek, which is stir-fried to bring out the salty flavor of the ingredients and the rich fusion of flavors. The main dish, braised fragrant rice with Chinese toon sprouts and black truffle sauce, is fragrant and reveals a turquoise island in a sea of color. Other recommended dishes include chilled spring bamboo shoots with kale shoots, chilled golden century eggs with chili pepper, double-boiled fish maw soup with chuanbei and loquat, and sweetened young coconut soup with glutinous rice dumplings. The spring dishes menu is available at Man Ho until April 30 for both lunch and dinner.(Tang Li) | 