You give me Fever

Chef Jose Luis Gonzalez has worked in five out of the top 10 Best

Restaurants in the World: Noma,

El Celler De Can Roca, Mugaritz, Arzak, and El Bulli, and now this culinary genius is at Fever in

Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.

It kind of looks like a boudoir or a sexy witch’s lair … there are glittering chandeliers, string curtains, black and red cushiony couches. There is a carved wood bar and lit-up tables ready for some sort of sensuous sacrifice. It may have been noon but as I entered, all notion of time drifted away, like an Alice in Wonderland fairy-tale place of sorts, where everything was pretty and mysterious, everything was languid. Were we in the secret chamber of the Queen of Hearts?

In stark contrast to all the rouge et noir, a man in a spotless white chef’s coat came bounding out of nowhere. His bushy brows, disheveled hair and sharp black glasses gave him the air of some kind of mad scientist. Big warm smile and confident handshake, straightaway you could see that he was everything but mad and yet nothing less than a culinary genius.

Chef Jose Luis Gonzalez has worked in five out of the top 10 Best Restaurants in the World. Hold your breath… here’s the list: Noma, El Celler De Can Roca, Mugaritz, Arzak, and the recently-closed-for-research-and-development lab of the gastronomic mad scientist himself… Ferran Adria’s El Bulli. Please give a moment of silence out of sheer respect.

Spectacular: Lobster salad with crispy foccacia, macadamia nuts and truffle vinaigrette

“What on earth are you doing here?” I blurted out. “Well…” Big smile. “Because I like this place!” the chef said so casually. “I was offered a post in Bangkok and was in the process of food tasting, but the culture and language were so different and exotic. The Philippines feels like home.”

It is no surprise that a young Spanish chef wouldn’t feel out of place in Manila — even the Filipino and Spanish palates are so similar.

“And what about the products? The kitchen tools? Aren’t there things that you miss?” I asked.

“I just simply use products I can see every day in the kitchen. To be a chef you have to adapt yourself.”

Let’s get down to business. Although I must say I was flabbergasted by his references, now I had even higher expectations of chef Gonzalez’s food. You see, Arzak for me was an incredible experience. To this day, no meal has been able to beat the culinary excitement I felt over there. Robuchon has come close but there was a certain Willy Wonka experiential factor that Juan Mari Arzak attributed to his dishes. Without being irrelevant, of course. Always staying to the point.

We started out with fresh oysters in a Champagne and lemon granité. I love oysters. I have had the malchance to get horribly sick twice, and yet I still continue eating oysters like little jewels of the ocean. The sensual texture was brightened like a soft ray of sunshine by the delicate lemon and Champagne flavors, coolness of the ice and gelée just like a sea breeze from a far northern sea. Six oysters? Please … bring me two dozen, a bottle of extra brut champagne and leave me to my splendid solitude.

The lobster salad was spectacular. I felt like every micro green was handpicked with cotton-padded tweezers. Only the most perfect leaves mingled in my bowl, like a glittering jungle of beauty. They were fresh and crisp. Tiny shiso leaves made all the difference, providing that hint of exotic citrus aroma to balance the grilled flavor of the sweet lobster. Although I admit that the truffle was perhaps slightly overpowered, I can say with much affection for this dish that truffle was not needed as everything else was truly harmonious.

I was like a child when I saw the Flower Egg on the menu. You see, this has to be my favorite dish in the world. It is similar to something I tried in Arzak. A perfectly cooked egg, shaped like a fat, happy daisy, with chorizo and truffle. Chef Gonzalez had made a nice little chorizo mousse, a cute mushroom concassé, then he ingeniously cooked bacon and bread in a pan and whirled it in a food processor to have microscopic crunchy bacon crumbs. Again, tiny shiso leaves… A rush of happiness fills my heart and I can feel myself doing the chair-wiggle dance of joy (a true sign my food is excellent). It brought me back to my carefree childhood where cholesterol was just a strange spelling-bee word, and I had my French fries, chorizo de Bilbao Marca El Rey and fried egg. The gooey yolk, the sharp acidity and paprika of chorizo, the earthy mushroom and truffle smoothly balanced by the crisp richness and fresh herbs. It was a homage to my Basque grandfather — simple rusticity transformed into sophistication without forgetting all the nostalgic flavor. Go make the trek to Fever if just for this.

My brain was still stuck in a chorizo cloud as they brought out the next dish, seared foie gras with orange peel and carrot spaghetti. I’m a bit tired of foie gras, to be honest. It’s so highly requested that, well, to me it’s nothing all that special anymore. What make all the difference in foie gras are two things: how it’s cooked and what it’s served with. The texture was excellent: crisp and caramelized outside, soft and creamy inside. I learned that the chef soaks it in milk first to drain the blood. I especially enjoyed the sweet and tangy caramelized orange peels and tiny slivers of carrots.

Our main dishes were sea bass and fungus tenderloin. The sea bass was so simply and perfectly cooked: crisp skin (my favorite part), soft and flaky flesh. It was served with a toffee onion purée and confit of onion leaves. Oh, surprise! Bright pink bougainvillea leaves on my plate! “Chef? Why toffee onion?”

“The onions are poaching and cooking for so long, all the sweetness comes out that when you put your head in the kaserola it smells like toffe! Absolutely no sugar.”

The onion leaves, I learned, were placed in a vacuum with citrus oil and cooked in a steam oven, wallowing in its own flavorful juices. It was soft and firm all at the same time, with that hint of acidity, reminding me of the onions that I love to fish out from sinigang.

“Bougainvillea leaves?”

“Where I used to cook, it was very minimalist and we used a lot of flowers. As soon as I arrived here I walked around the gardens and tried every leaf and flower I saw.”

He then proceeds to mimic himself, picking and tasting leaves, making funny faces: “Not so good…” and then, a big smile… “Yes! This is good!” One can only imagine the comical scene, with his mad scientist in eyeglasses making tests in the Sofitel gardens as guests and staff alike look at the peculiar sight.

The tenderloin has a high concentration of mushroom flavor. I love the use of shimeiji mushrooms, breaking free of the typical Portobello and porcini stereotypes. It has to be one of the softest pieces of meat I’ve had in a while, truly buttery and savory. His use of the vacuum and steam oven truly highlights the product. Whereas many chefs get stuck on one or the other, he is a firm believer that traditional and modern techniques should work hand in hand. Whatever produces the best result for the product.

The meal ended with a Willy Wonka-worthy bang! The magic dust was sprinkled on heavily as we were presented with a deconstructed milkshake made of roasted pineapple, tomato, strawberry and basil sorbet with a bubbling fountain of milk poured over dry ice. It was a spectacle all by itself and all souls in the room went, “ooh and ahh!” That sorbet? I wanted to steal a gallon or two … take it home with me and hang out with it by the pool.

Boudoir or sexy witch’s lair: The interiors of Sofitel’s Fever Luxe Lounge

Our final dessert? Pumpkin cream with beer ice cream. Bright and cheery on my plate, dotted with some cacao, orange zest, the wondrous shiso leaf… Brand-new and bold yet nothing superfluous. It all made sense. My whole meal made sense. Not one leaf out of place.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill hotel food. Oh, no. No safe bets. No bland perfection of techniques. No towering, impressive displays with lackluster flavor profiles. This was adventurous. This was a moment to get lost and disappear in the oxymoronic world of the sensitive, flower-eating, mad scientist. Come like a child. Eat with wonder as each bite takes you down a sensual road. Leave flushed with burning cheeks singing a sexy tune… “You give me fever … in the morning, fever all through the night.”

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Fever Luxe Lounge accepts smart dining from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. They also serve inventive bar chow to match your cocktails and drinks. For more information, call 551-5555 loc. 5000-5001. Fever Luxe Lounge is located in Sofitel Manila, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.