• The Legacy House celebrates Dragon Boat Festival with traditional glutinous rice dumplings for gifting

    The Legacy House celebrates the centuries-old Dragon Boat Festival (Tuen Ng Festival) with the launch of traditional rice dumplings crafted by Chinese Executive Chef Li Chi-Wai. Known today as zongzi, the unique pyramid-shaped dumplings play a symbolic role during the annual boat-racing festival due to legends tied to this delicious traditional delicacy, which Chef Li honours through his painstaking preparation process.

    Prepared fresh daily, the special Dragon Boat Festival sweet and savoury glutinous rice dumplings are available for purchase between 1st May – 11th June, 2021 at The Legacy House restaurant and Rosewood Hong Kong’s online shop. Each gift set contains two dumplings, which is priced at HKD558 and 3 days’ advance order (cut off at 7p.m.) is required.

    The first step of the meticulous dumpling-making process is to soak and soften the glutinous rice in alkaline water. For the Steamed Sweet Dumpling with Chestnut, the rice is stuffed with whole chestnut and lotus seed. The second variety, the savoury Steamed Rice Dumpling with Abalone, Pork & Mushroom, is filled with the auspicious “eight treasures” ingredients including six-headed South African abalone, pork belly, chestnut,  lotus seed, conpoy, chanterelle, porcini, and shiitake, which have been seasoned with Shao Hsing Hua Diao wine, soy sauce, sugar and five-spice.  Both dumplings are then wrapped with dried bamboo leaves to form the traditional pyramid shape and then slow-boiled for seven hours.

    According to rice dumpling legend, during the time of China’s first feudal dynasties, a Chinese poet and minister by the name of Qu Yuan became a national hero by fighting against the powerful state. Qu Yuan waded out into the Mi Lo River in protest of the corruption that surrounded him, and when the villagers heard what he had done, they took to boats and attempted to save him by throwing rice dumplings into the river to ward off flesh-eating fish and evil spirits. The search for Qu Yuan’s body became the dragon boat races we know today.