Treasures from la Maison Rose

In 1930, a house was built for the Velez family along Gorordo Avenue in Lahug inspired by the culture of French Indochina.

Today, it is known as La Maison Rose (Pink Mansion), the Home of French culture, where the facilities of the Alliance Francaise de Cebu and a French gourmet restaurant are located.

This was the destination for the members of the Chaine des Rotisseurs for a fellowship dinner with the theme Un Voyage de Indochine. Two French Chefs manned the kitchen to deliver a gastronomic tour of the regional specialties of France. This is the 19th year of this gourmet society in Cebu and there are always new, exciting and fabulous dishes served on the dinner tables.

Apéritifs was the Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene and four kinds of hors d'œuvres: Gaspacho Provencal (Cold Soup made with roasted tomatoes & sweet peppers), Gougères Biquette (Burgundy Puff with goat cheese seasoned with fresh herbs), Rillettes du Mans (Pork and bacon with a variety of condiments served on French bread croutons) and my favourite that night, the Queues de Langoustines, a la Plancha (Fine rock lobster tail simply grilled with a drop of olive oil, fresh basil leaves and garlic).

The names of these dishes are intimidating to those who are unfamiliar with the French language. A bi-lingual menu was of assistance together with a very friendly staff who guided patrons in the intricacies of French cuisine.

The soup was Soupe de Courgette a la crème de Gruyère made with zucchini and Gruyère cheese. Zucchini or courgette is a kind of squash and this very tasty soup was perfectly matched with the accompanying wine, the Le Sylvaner d'Alcase. A pasta dish was then served, Ravioles de Crustacés à l'armoricaine (Gourmet Shell Fish ravioli with fine Armoricaine bisque) paired with a Chablis 1er Cru.

This was followed by the Bonbon au foie gras a la crème de Morilles (Roble foie gras wrapped in candy style filo pastry topped with savory creamy sauce of Morilles mushrooms and Porto wine served on Aragula and Romana lettuce) with a white wine, Late Harvest Gewurztraminer. This was my favourite dish that night! You bite into a very flaky coat, then savour the richness of the fatty liver, tempered by the earthy mushroom essence and the slightly bitter taste of the Arugula and finally succumb to that sweet wine. This is absolutely, excuse me, the embodiment of French cuisine.

Main course was the "Lechon" à la Française (The French gourmet answer to the one and only Cebuano lechon served with savory puree Joel Robuchon style and vegetable flan). My beloved readers will have to taste this dish and judge for themselves how it will compare to our native delicacy, the lechon.

The Trou Normand (Vodka Zubrówka and calamansi sorbet) came to offer a smooth transition for the cheese plate. Almost always, whenever a French dinner is served, those wonderful French cheeses will never be far behind and hopefully, a lovely wine such as the St Emillion 1er cru would be served.

With a glass of Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, I pondered on a difficult situation – which of the wonderful French tarts and cakes would I select? In the end, your favourite food columnist chose the path of least resistance and I simply tried everything.