Shangri-La’s PAGKAING PINOY

The Third Filipino Food Festival was held last June 8 to 21 at Tides Restaurant, Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa and three female chefs, Glenda Barretto, Myrna Segismundo and Jill Sandique created a formidable team to highlight some of the finest Filipino dishes from the northern section of the country.

Glenda Barretto is the favorite caterer of Philippine presidents (all the immediate past and present presidents!), Philippine Embassy receptions abroad and the 2007 dinner for the ASEAN held at the Cebu International Convention Center. The latter two functions were made possible because she has mastered the art of “bringing Filipino fine cuisine into the frozen food industry.”

Myrna Segismundo collects awards from Chefs on Parade competitions like some people collect DVDs of classical movies. And if you do not see her culinary skills on TV, it is maybe because you do not view the Lifestyle Channel. 

Jill Sandique, meanwhile, is the ultimate pastry chef with a conviction to showcase the best of Philippine culinary arts. She has caused native desserts to invade the realm of five-star hotels.

I joined a select group of media personalities last June 11 to celebrate this food festival and some of the dishes featured in the celebration are shown here. I would have liked to show all the dishes served but if rice is expensive, mahal pud ang newsprint!

There were several salads on display during the dinner like the Ensaladang Puso ng Saging and the Ensalada Filipina but what caught my attention was the Pako Salad (Fiddlehead fern fronds salad). It comes from the frond or leaves of the fern, which is common in rural areas with a lot of forest cover. In Cebu, where most trees were transformed into galleons during the Spanish time, rarely do you see this salad served. Glenda Barretto, however, told me that this fern was supplied by an avid Cebuano(a) horticulturist.

Not all ferns, excuse me, are created equal! Many contain toxins like an enzyme called thiaminase which destroys Vitamin B1 (thiamine) and end result would be beriberi. One of the rich sources of B1 is rice bran (tahup sa humay) and this was discovered right here in the Philippines during World War ll. American prisoners of war eating well-polished rice had beriberi while Filipinos eating rice with lots of bran escaped the malady. Later, a vitamin supplement called Tiki-tiki was a commercial success.

Another toxin found is shikimic acid which can cause stomach pain in humans and luckily, both toxins can be deactivated by heat generated during cooking. A reference book, Fiesta of Flavours from the Filipino Kitchen by Arlene Diego recommends blanching to precook the greens.

The second dish that had interesting flavors was the Pinais na Alimasag (stuffed crab broiled in banana leaves) and this dish is well documented in the Flavors of the Philippines by Glenda Rosales-Barretto. Steamed crab’s flaked meat, sautéed with buko meat and coconut cream with spices and then wrapped in banana leaves and broiled until the leaves are seared.

Laborious gyud to make the dish; wait na lang for the 4th Filipino Food Festival because finish na ang 3rd Food Festival in Shangri-La’s Mactan  Resort & Spa (phone (231-0288, e-mail: [email protected]). Late na pud the culinary reports of your favorite food columnist; thankfully my beloved readers already know that I submit my articles in chronological order to the invitations received.

For dessert, Malacañang Roll was interesting but it was the Turones de Saba (fried banana roll, cooked with ripe nangka) that awakened some memory cells. Back to impoverished students days in U.P. Diliman, the turon (one ingredient: only banana) was our snacks after P.E. 1 (swimming). I was then surprised that many students from Luzon did not know how to swim which is second nature to residents in an island like Cebu. With calcium-rich drinking water (hard water), kettles for heating are heavily encrusted, tokwa quality is poor but Cebuano dentition is relatively better.

Thank you, Lord, for creating Cebu!