Mandarin oranges, peanut candy, and glutinous rice cakes historically have hogged the snack platters of Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. The Peninsula Manila offers something different—limited-edition line of Lunar Chinese New Year edible fine chocolate trees.
The landmark hotel which has been known for lavish hampers, teas, cakes, and chocolates has rolled out a limited-edition line of edible chocolate trees to welcome the Year of the Ox. They are available at The Peninsula Boutique until February 15.
Senior sous chef Annalyn Solano and her team have created two edible Chinese New Year-theme trees—a Mandarin Orange Tree and a Golden Fortune Money Tree using Auro Single Origin Chocolate. Painstakingly molded and finished by hand, even the “soil,” trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit of the Mandarin Orange Tree and the goldfish-embossed gold coins of the Golden Fortune Money Tree are made of chocolate.

Chocolate trees for Chinese New Year
The pronunciation of orange sounds like the Chinese word for “wealth,” so the Chinese have traditionally associated the gift of oranges with abundance, happiness and prosperity.
The bright orange color symbolizes gold—an auspicious symbol of good luck and wealth. The goldfish is believed to bring prosperity amid adversity.
The mandarin orange fruits are filled with an intense mandarin-flavored ganache while the gold-dusted coins embossed with lucky goldfish are made of dark chocolate.

The entire trees are edible, made by hand.
The Peninsula Manila Chinese Lunar New Year Mandarin Orange Tree and Golden Fortune Money Tree are available at The Peninsula Boutique for P3,888.
With every purchase of either the Mandarin Orange Tree and Lucky Money Tree, patrons will get eight red lai see envelopes, which are customarily stuffed with money and given children and the elders. The number eight is believed to be an auspicious number because in Mandarin it sounds like the word for “creating riches.” Also the figure “8” is known as the symbol of infinity. Putting these two together produces the symbolic meaning of “endlessly creating riches.”

2021 Chinese New Year Pralines