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‘Â 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.
Located in one of the newest foodie circles of Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, I anticipated with excitement a good Japanese dinner that night. It is my first time in Jozu Kin having opened only early September 2009.
Jozu Kin, Burgis Circle in Fort Bonifacio
With a tagline “The Japanese Gold,” i was surprised that most of the prices were actually manageable given the upscale atmosphere of the restaurant. The ‘gold‘ is actually the literal translation of ‘Kin‘; and ‘Jozu‘ means ‘skillful‘ (not ‘Japanese‘, boink!).
Mari Moriawase
Their menu offers a wide range of variety from sushi to sashimi, and maki to teppan-grilled dishes.
Accompanied by 5 other friends, let’s now take a closer look at the food.
For the first order, we had Maki Moriawase for appetizer. It was a maki sampler platter of California Maki, Tempura Crunchy, Dynamite Roll, Philadelphia Roll, and Futo Maki (P357).
Maguro Togarashi
For the main dishes, we had spicy tuna with onions & wasabi mayo – Maguro Togarashi. At P125, the serving is good for two. It was not too spicy either.
Kuro Kusho Pasta
It was also an uncommon sight to see western-style pasta in a Japanese menu; well at least for me. We had Kurokusho Pasta with freshly crushed black pepper, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and black tobiko.
Upscale Entrees
Tartufo Hotate
Matsusaka Gyu
For the upscale-priced ones, 4 entrees caught my attention namely Tartufo Hotate, Matsusaka Gyu, and two Foie gras variants: Pan Seared Foie gras and Tenderloin Foie gras.
Tartufo Hotate are scallops, pan seared, with asparagus shitake mushroom and truffled brown butter.
Matsusaka Gyu is matsusaka beef seared on teppan. Matsusaka beef are among the highest-grade beef in the food industry. The price will send one of your eyeballs bulging in a while. 🙂
Another first for me is the foie gras. Foie gras is basically fattened duck or goose liver . Tenderloin Foiegras is tenderloin beef and foiegras seared on teppan.
Pan Seared Foie Gras
The serving of Pan Seared Foie Gras looked conservatively sophisticated with a mango slice on top followed by the foie gras on rice and mango puree and finally glazed with honey. It was just a handful, but the experience is quite unique and unforgettable.
Tenderloin Foie Gras
Only one phrase can describe it: “melt in your mouth goodness.” Some of you may know the meticulous process of producing a foie gras, which explains the price.
Ushi Ebi Sunburst
The last four mentioned entrees are priced at P590, P1850, P700, and P700, respectively. Yes, Matsusaka Gyu did not send my taste buds to the heavens, but the price did. 🙂
And to end this Jozu Kin experience is the best among them all – the main photo of this article: Ushi Ebi Sunburst.
It’s a mix of giant marinated and grilled prawns with lettuce, fresh strawberry, grape, apples, orange and blue berry in balsamic vinaigrette.
Although I believe my description was exact having mentioned strawberry, grape, and blue berry in singular forms, the grilled prawns was outstanding in size and taste, and not in singular form.
Jozu Kin's Ushi Ebi Sunburst
We wish to thank Chef Jayme Natividad who was gracious enough to introduce and explain some of the dishes to us.
More photos, Click Here.
Give Jozu Kin a visit at Unit ES-2 Forbes Town Center, Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. You may reach them at 403-1875.