May 11th, 2012 — Appetizer, Buffet, Cravings, Cuisine, Filipino, Fine Dining, Hotels, Malate, Manila, New Brews, Restaurants, Where To Eat
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.
February 28th, 2011 — Casual, Cravings, Cuisine, Filipino, Italian, New Brews, Restaurants, Tagaytay, Where To Eat
I recently came from a weekend trip at the Nurture Spa in Tagaytay and I would simply like to share the unique dishes I had over my weekend stay.
Nurture Spa Menu
Upon arriving at the place in the morning, we had ‘Suman with Mangga‘ (Sticky Rice with Mango) with a small cup of hot ‘tsokolate‘ (chocolate) on the side. It was a filling morning snack to begin with.
For lunch, it was an option between “Chicken Kare-Kare” and “Ossobuco” (beef).
I chose the chicken kare-kare for it’s uniqueness. We often, if not always, had pork or beef kare-kare.
An ossobuco is an Italian recipe of braised veal shanks usually with broth and vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, celery and onions.
Chicken Kare-Kare
Pinoy Beef Steak
The chicken kare-kare was a good one.
It provided a refreshing alternative to the usual pork and beef preparations. It still goes perfectly with ‘bagoong‘ (shrimp paste).
Dinner was a simple beef steak pinoy-style. They got the Filipino taste just right but the tenderness of the beef could have been better.
The next day’s breakfast was also the typical Filipino breakfast of tocino, egg, tomato slices, and of course – rice.
Ossobuco
Garden Salad
And before we left Nurture Spa Village, lunch was a crispy serving of Lechon Kawali. It had noticeably less fat and is really crispy. I wanted to have another serving but resisted to do so.
My general experience with Nurture Spa’s menu was really good. I just observed that the amount of servings were just right for a….woman (no pun intended). I mean, as a guy, I think can order two servings of each everytime. 🙂
July 30th, 2010 — Appetizer, Bar/Grills, Beverage, Casual, Cravings, Dessert, New Brews, Pasay, Restaurants, SM Mall of Asia, Where To Eat
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.
July 26th, 2010 — Affairs, Appetizer, Bar/Grills, Beverage, Casual, Cravings, Food Foto Fiesta, Greenhills, Restaurants, Where To Eat
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.
February 4th, 2010 — Appetizer, Beverage, Casual, Coffee Shops, Cravings, Dessert, Makati, Ortigas, places, Restaurants, Sweet Shops, Where To Eat
As promised, we’re bringing back Food Foto Fiesta.
I had a recent surprising discovery of a Filipino restaurant called Serye. It’s related to the classic Aristocrat restaurant that anyone above 20, and residing in the Philippines, would be familiar with.
Actually, Serye have been around for sometime but is currently re-branding from Serye Restaurant and Cafe, to Serye Cafe Filipino; but that story deserves a separate article altogether. Stay tuned for that in the coming weeks.
For now, feast on the 10 photos I recently took from their Eastwood Libis branch.
Gambas
Pork Spareribs
Kesong Puti Puttanesca
Pork Binagoongan
Arroz Ala Cubana Pandesal
Tuna Sisig
Kesong Puti Salad
Dinuguan and Puto
Boneless Crispy Pata
* Food photos taken at Serye Cafe Filipino Eastwood Libis Branch.