Corniche @ Diamond Hotel

As I was heading to Diamond Hotel last night, I got a message on my mobile phone saying “mequeni, mangan na tamu manyaman!” which when translated means “welcome, let’s eat flavorful dishes!” It was the teasing SMS from a friend who invited me to a special dinner buffet inspired from Kapampangan cuisine with Chef Sau Del Rosario. It was an intimate gathering for Diamond Hotel Philippines’ Filipino Food Festival featuring ‘Culinaria Capampangan‘ at Corniche Cafe.

Chef Sau Del Rosario

Hailing from the “Culinary Capital of the Philippines“, Chef Sau of Villa Cafe brings to Diamond Hotel the genuine flavors of Pampanga at the buffet from May 10 to 19, 2012. As featured chef, he creatively infused local dishes from Pampanga in the Corniche lunch and dinner buffet.

Main Dishes

Some of the dishes include Aligue Fried Rice, Lamb Shanks, Pinakbet with Shrimp & Crispy Pata, Fresh Lumpia Ubod, Steamed Lapu-Lapu, Adobo-Quesong Puti & Salted Egg Pizza, and Ceviche with Pomelo, among others.

(L-R; T-B) Aligue Fried Rice, Fresh Lumpiang Ubod; Steamed Lapu-Lapu; Adobo,Quesong Puti & Salted Egg Pizza

Camaru Spring Roll

Recommendations

Of particular interest to me were the Camaru Spring Rolls, Crispy Pata Kare-Kare, Young Lechon with ‘Bringhe‘ and Pork Sisig Foie Gras with Organic Egg.

Camaru is actually a cricket delicacy in Pampanga but had a twist this time where it was put inside a spring roll with some vegetables; perhaps to  mitigate the thought of eating insects for the uninitiated. 🙂

The Crispy Pata Kare-Kare was already a visual feast by itself; and the taste did not disappoint (TOP PHOTO).

Pork Sisig with Foie Gras

As if having a young crispy lechon was not awesome enough, they made it more interesting with ‘Bringhe‘  or the rich Capampangan paella. To describe it as moist curry rice is an understatement. (no photo)

With all that said,  I think the highlight of the night is the Pork Sisig Foie Gras with Organic Egg. You don’t come across authentic pork sisig quite often outside of Pampanga, and adding foie gras just placed an exclamation point to the dish.

Don’t miss this one when you visit the Culinaria Capampangan feast. It somehow constitutes 50% of your Capampangan culinarya experience. 🙂

Other almost similarly good dishes include Bistik with Shitali Confits, Ox Tongue Cream of Mushroom & Corn, Fried Catfish Fillet with Buru Fermented Rice and Vegetables, and Chicken Galantina Roulade.

Bistik with Shitali Confits

Pinakbet with Shrimp & Crispy Pata

Ceviche with Pomelo

Chicken Galantina Roulade

Fried Catfish Fillet with Buru Fermented Rice and Vegetables

Ox Tongue Cream of Mushroom & Corn

Dessert

Culinaria Capampangan Desserts

It doesn’t end there. Dinner buffets are not complete without desserts and since this should be Pampanga-inspired, we also have our line up of Kapampangan desserts in the form of Ube Halaya, Brazo De Maiz, and Tibok Tibok (which is from Fresh Cows MIlk) to name a few. Check them out at Taste of Manila blog.

Guests availing of the buffet also get a chance to win roundtrip airline tickets for two to Bohol with accommodations. The Culinaria Capampangan food festival is in partnership with Philippine Airlines, Crossover 105.1 and Avis Rent-A-Car.

Visit Corniche at Diamond Hotel and get a taste of Capampangan cuisine for Php 1,600 nett per person. (Php 1,888 nett with unlimited tropical juices). For reservations check the contact info below.

• Diamond Hotel Philippines
  Roxas Boulevard corner Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila
  Tel no: (632) 528-3000 local 1121
  Email: bizcenter@diamondhotel.com
  Website: www.diamondhotel.com
  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/diamondhotelphilippines
  Twitter: http://twitter.com/DiamondHotelPh

Culinaria Capampangan @ Diamond Hotel's Corniche

If you are not the traveling kind of person, this is your chance to have a taste of the culinary capital of the Philippines that is Pampanga. Please do not miss this opportunity and catch Diamond Hotel Philippines‘ Culinaria Capampangan at Corniche Cafe.

Max’s Restaurant invited NomNom Club for their Blogger’s Night a few days ago. Max’s introduced their new Crispy Pata Feast Meal.

What is it?

The Max’s Crispy Pata Feast is a a complete meal suitable for a group or family of four. The set consists of a serving of Max’s large-sized Crispy Pata, a serving of Sinigang na Tiyan ng Bangus, 4 servings of Rice, 4 softdrinks, and 4 Buko Pandan single-serve cups. All for P865.

Max's Crispy Pata Feast Meal

NomNom Says

Crispy Pata Bone

Just a few months after their previous promo of “Chicken All You Can P165,” here’s the next one.

Although our table group hoped that the crispy pata meat was more fork-tender, we were able to finish it up nonetheless. 🙂

Undeniably, crispy pata would always be a hit in any Filipino dining table. It was amusing as well that the served crispy pata indeed looked similar to the one in their promotional photos. 🙂

Tiyan ng Bangus

The sauce mix of Max’s was also good and very Filipino with all the common spices. It was also crunchy-crispy, standing true to it’s name.

Ironically, we enjoyed the Sinigang na Tiyan ng Bangus more.

The four chunks of Tiyan ng Bangus meat was immersed in a mildly sour sinigang soup and vegetables.

It was our champion of the night.

Sinigang na Tiyan ng Bangus

It was capped by four servings of solo Buko Pandan served by waiter Kim. Buko Pandan is one of my favorite so I asked for the cup of Buko Pandan they didn’t touch from the other table (sayang naman, di ba?). 🙂

4 Servings of Buko Pandan Solo

Max's New Delivery Uniform and Bike

Max’s also presented the new uniform set for delivery including the new bike design incorporating the electric and luminescent labels for Max’s delivery.

Savings

If you compute all the items individually off the menu, your total bill would have been P1206; which means savings of P341 if you’ll be having the Crispy Pata Feast meal instead.

Max’s Crispy Pata Feast is currently available (since January 20) until February 20, 2011 in all Philippine Max’s Restaurant branches nationwide for dine-in or take out.

If one is coming from Quezon City, the San Miguel By The Bay area across SM Mall of Asia can indeed be considered a far “Ibayo” (the next town). But it can be a worthwhile visit for Filipino cuisine lovers.

Ibayo Barrio Fiesta

Barrio Fiesta has been an iconic restaurant here in the Philippines representing good old classic Filipino dishes well-loved and tested through time.

And with the onset of the owners’ third generation family members in the person of Tristan and Tyrone Ongpauco, they have decided to give it a new twist. From the Filipino home-inspired rattan tables and chairs, Ibayo gave it a touch of modernity with new interiors while retaining the Filipino touch.

From a full-pledged restaurant into a bistro, you could now find bar chow, beer, and cocktails (such as the Ibayo Sunset) in the menu, obviously catering to the younger crowd. The Ibayo branch in San Miguel By The Bay also serves alfresco.

Ibayo Firesticks

I tried it about a week ago with some friends. We had the ever-staple Crispy Pata (deep fried pork knuckles), White Adobo (Adobong Puti), Lechon Kawali, Mama Chit’s Special, Ibayo Firesticks, and  Pinaputok na Pla-pla wrapped in foil.

But before all that, we had the Ibayo Firesticks (or should I say “they” because I never got to try one). My comrades are very fast on the plate. 🙂 These firesticks are jalapeños & cheese rolled up as a spicy appetizer

Ibayo Crispy Pata - P425 Regular P525 Large

White Adobo / Adobong "Puti" - P190

Pinaputok na Pla-Pla - P265 per 500grams

The twist to White Adobo is the combination of chicken and pork marinated in vinegar but without the soy sauce (hence ‘white’) while Mama Chit’s Special (P695) is a mini fiesta of sorts served in a bilao. There’s shrimp, calamares, lumpia, chicken, bangus, and others – all fried. It serves 4-5 persons.

Barrio Fiesta Rice, Kare-Kare, and Buko Fresh Fruit Shake

But what I loved about dinner that night is the Barrio Fiesta Rice, a native Paella style rice. The paella rice was flavorful on its own, surrounded by tahong (mussels) and topped with shrimp and crab.

Barrio Fiesta Rice - P250

Another winner that night was their Kare-Kare, tender oxtail and tripe stewed in peanut sauce. Heat is maintained with a small fire at the pot’s bottom. Kare-kare would be one of the few dishes we can expect to be consistent through all of Barrio Fiesta branches and Ibayo as the peanut sauce they use all come from one source.

Kare-Kare - P220 Regular P350 Family

Buko Fruit Shake FTW! - P105

I can’t rave more about the Buko Fruit Shake I had. If there’s a drink you should not miss in Ibayo, it’s this one. It’s not overly sweet, but it’s creamy. The shaved-ice’s texture and consistency was also perfect It’s so good it could pass for a sherbet.

Turon Ala Mode / Majablanco - P75 / P65

We also had Turon Ala Mode and Maja Blanca for dessert. I’m not sure why it’s “majablanco” in their menu. Maybe it’s an alternative term. I’m just used with ‘maja blanca‘ since I was a child. 🙂

Ibayo by Barrio Fiesta

Dining @ Ibayo

That’s my Ibayo by Barrio Fiesta experience. Try them out at Building G, Unit 7-8 in San Miguel by the Bay, SM Bay City (bayside behind MOA). Don’t forget the Barrio Fiesta Rice, Kare-Kare and Fresh Buko Fruit Shake!  They are open 3pm-12mn on weekdays and 3pm-2am on weekends. Call 0917-5376062 or 0906-5002782 for reservations.

There’s a lot of good things I can say about my recent dining experience in Barrio Fiesta Greenhills.

Too much goodness that a food blog post should do it justice. And while I craft that food article, let me first share my food photo set of the dishes we had with a group of blogger friends in Barrio Fiesta Greenhills branch.

It’s a Food Foto Fiesta in Barrio Fiesta!

Sago’t Gulaman and Fresh Buko Juice

Sago't Gulaman (Tapioca & Jelly Sweet Drink) and Fresh Buko Juice

Kuhol Na Gata

Kuhol Na Gata

Kare-Kare

Kare-Kare

Sinalab (Inihaw)

Sinilab

Kilawin

Kilawin

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse (mussels, clams, shrimp & crab soup)

Sizzling Gambas

Sizzling Gambas

Sinigang Bangus Belly

Sinigang Bangus Belly

Bicol Express

Bicol Express

Pinakbet

Pinakbet

Adobong Kangkong

Adobong Kangkong

Hipon Sa Aligue

Hipon sa Aligue

Steak Tanigue

Steak Tanigue

Chicharon Bulaklak

Chicharon Bulaklak

So where’s the Crispy Pata? Abangan! (soon!)

Hungry? 🙂 Visit the neewly renovated Barrio Fiesta Greenhills situated at Rochester St. corner Florida St. at the back of Play and Display in Manadaluyong EDSA. You may call the Barrio Fiesta EDSA Greenhills branch at 7267836 or email fiestainternationalcatering@yahoo.com.