Ahhh… Christmas is finally here! This has to be one of my favourite festive seasons of the year even though I hardly attend any major christmas parties or events or worse still, to even celebrate this occasion. Still, it feels really heartwarming to see gingerbread man, Santa Claus and Reindeer coming to life again. I guess, my most memorable white christmas was spent in Paris and Vienna where I could really sense that Chrismassy feel from every corners of the street. The smell of cinnamon, chocolate and christmas cookies filled the air…
Before the clock strikes 12am on Christmas Day, I was thankful to have this great opportunity to try out Marina Mandarin’s Christmas Dinner during the WanBao/Omy Gourmet food trail held over the weekend. Needless to say, both Kevin Soh ( another blogger who was on the same food trail as me) and I felt pretty full after tasting the Chinese New Year dishes at Tien court, on the very same day itself.
Over the years, I’ve an acquired taste for spices such as cinnamon, coumarin and ginger. When I saw this gingerbread man, I could resist myself from unwrapping it and stuffing this cutie into my mouth. I must learn how to bake a gingerbread man someday.
Christmas Dinner Menu
Appetizer
Winter Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Soup
Pumpkin Soup with Pine Nut
Main Course
Honey-Glazed Gammon Ham
Baked Salmon Wellington in Brioche
Surprise Dish
Turkey with Chinese Herbs
Desserts
Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce
Coffee or Tea
Winter Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Seasonal salads are prepared with fresh produce and greens which blooms in that particular time of the year. Some of the cold-weather produce includes cranberries,cabbage,fennel and broccoli. This dish does have a refreshing taste with its variety of greens used. The cranberries used in this salad does give a warm christmas feel.
A garden of salad
Dried cranberries
I’m a bread-and-butter kind of person. I love how they serve the two different varieties of bread – wholemeal and plain.
Pumpkin soup served with pine nuts.
You could also taste the melted butter which floats gently on top. It has a light sweet pumpkin taste to it.
Honey-Glazed Gammon Ham
Baked Salmon Wellington in Brioche
A Christmas dinner isn’t complete without gammon ( widely known as Christmas Ham) or turkey. Gammon is a type of ham that is cured or smoked like bacon. The apple sauce goes pretty well with the honey-glazed gammon. As for the baked salmon, this is quite pleasing to my palette as I really like the way it was paired with Brioche, a enriched French pastry that is rich in eggs and butter. If only,if only… there’s a glass of red wine or rosé to go with the smoked salmon.
At first thought, I thought Wellington ( in New Zealand) was where the Salmon is caught. But I was wrong. Salmon wellington actually refers to the preparation of salmon where it is wrapped with a layer of pastry.
Turkey cooked with Chinese herbs
Surprise, surprise. Life is full of pleasant surprises. The chef revealed that this is one of their special Asian-western fusion dishes which combines turkey with chinese herbs. It was definitely a surprise because the turkey suddenly tasted very much like duck meat.
Christmas pudding with Brandy Sauce served with Christmas Berries
The christmas pudding is traditionally known as plum pudding which is usually served with brandy. I am not really a fan of puddings as it is too sweet for my tastebuds to handle. In case, you’re just wondering, the golden mushroom is actually made up of white chocolate!
After the whole christmas meal, do serve some coffee or tea to your guests as you exchange gifts and well-wishes!
Merry Christmas!
May all your wishes come true.
Mandarin Orchard, Singapore
Imperial Ballroom
