The dinner itself was a special affair, with Chef Vicky Cheng of Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred VEA Restaurant at the helm. HSBC flew the upstart chef just for one night to treat the guests to a memorable experience.

Chef Vicky’s delectable creation included a dish comprising of yellow fin tuna, sea urchin, espalette and cucumber. This was followed by squid with smoked cauliflower puree, beluga caviar and alugbati. Main courses included river prawns with pink pomelo, thai chillis and calamansi; and, Wagyu beef short rib complemented with Adlai hash brown, black truffle in xo sauce. The gastronomical experience perfectly culminated with a salted duck egg-milk jam-jujube and quinoa creation.

At the end of the night, the chef came up to the stage for a quick message and to autograph the guests’ menus.

* The New Year brings a slew of exciting things for clients of HSBC: From lounge access in more than 850 lounges in the world, free WIFI access and discounts at ariports, free travel insurance and a rewards programme which can accumulate miles for as low as P25 pesos per mile enjoyed with an HSBC Premier Mastercard; to investment product options which carry the best corporate names in ASEAN, among others.