A night at Anya

For one night, two creative chefs collaborated to produce a memorable dinner to celebrate Anya Resort Tagaytay’s second anniversary. 

Anya’s French executive chef Jonathan Bouthiaux and Black Pig’s Spanish chef Carlos Garcia came up with an amazing seven-course dinner held at the resort’s Samira Restaurant. Each course was paired with a selection of red and white wine from the Aboitiz Wine Company and presented by Diego Virata, who played sommelier that evening.

(From left) Anya Hospitality Group managing director Juan Roca, Anya Resort Tagaytay F&B manager Alejandro Lorences, AWC’s Diego Virata, Black Pig chef Carlos Garcia and co-owner Tricia Villacorta-McDonald, Anya Resort Tagaytay executive chef Jonathan Bouthiaux and Santi Elizalde.

Cocktails started at 6 p.m. with Botanist gin cocktails paired with Fever Tree tonic.  This was immediately followed by dinner.

Guests started with a local crab salad with apple, coriander and lemon purée served with Spanish Zarate Albarino 2017. It was followed by crispy organic egg yolk with grilled chorizo, green asparagus, sweet onions and smoked paprika sauce paired with French Chateau Roubine La Vie en Rose 2018.

(Left) A welcome kit for each guest that night. (Right) The resort’s L’Occitane toiletries for its guests.

The first main course was a duo of marinated tiger prawns and prawn ravioli with a basil and pumpkin condiment, topped with lobster sauce that went well with Ferraton Pere & Fils Cote-du-Rhone “Samorens.” The second main course was Iberian pork jowl with morcilla (blood sausage) with peach and carrot purée paired with Vina Pomal Reserva 2013. According to Diego, the food paired with Spanish wines were prepared by Carlos while the French-wine paired dishes were prepared by Jonathan.

Palate-cleansers and desserts followed and Anya F&B manager Alejandro Lorences prepared the resort’s famous signature drink, Café Anya (with cognac) after dinner.

Prawns served two ways.

Present at the full-house dinner were Roxaco president and CEO Santi Elizalde and wife Marilen, Anya’s Juan Roca and Roxaco senior manager for marketing and communications Mylene Mendoza. Other guests spotted at the event were Linggoy and Connie Araneta, Benjie Toda, Lino and Toni Palenzuela, Micky Fenix and her sister Cristina Abalos, Angelo Comsti and Ingrid Chua with her sons Julian and Nicolas.

Crispy egg. Food photos by PEPPER TEEHANKEE on a Leica C Digital

Anya Resort Tagaytay also announced the tie-up between Rustan’s Frequent Shopper’s Program (FSP) and its Anya Elite Club. The partnership, forged by Dina Tantoco and Roxaco’s Mylene Mendoza, gives FSP members preferential room rates, priority booking and special personalized room amenities. Anya Elite Club members will get free membership to FSP as well as inclusion in the FSP online promos. This agreement is for a three-month trial subject to extension.

Chefs at work: Jonathan Bouthiaux, Tricia McDonald and Carlos Garcia.

(For more information, visit www.facebook.com/anyaresorttagaytay/ and www.anyaresorts.com/.)

All about beef at EDSA Shang

Chef Hiromi Yokenawa.

Meat lovers like me are in for a treat as EDSA Shangri-La, Manila offers Matsusaka beef, one of Japan’s Top 3 premium brands of Wagyu (literally “Japanese beef”),  in its Japanese restaurant Senju. This will be available until Sept. 15. Matsusaka remains one of my favorite Japanese brands, along with Kobe and Ohmi.

Savor the extremely tender and flavorful Matsusaka beef prepared by Senju’s Japanese chef Hiromi Yokenawa and enjoy the high-grade beef in different forms — seared thinly sliced beef with ponzu red radish, torched Wagyu sushi, and shabu-shabu dobin soup. Guests may opt for deep-fried breaded Wagyu cutlet with tonkatsu or curry sauce, onion leeks and fried garlic slivers rolled beef with teriyaki sauce, teppanyaki Wagyu with mixed vegetables in teriyaki and balsamic sauce, Matsusaka Wagyu beef yakimeshi and seaweed-battered Wagyu tempura.

Matsusaka aburi nigiri sushi.

Whichever way you choose your beef cooked, I’m sure you’ll experience the same satisfaction as I did when I ate there! Non-beef lovers can also enjoy the restaurant’s mouthwatering sushi, sashimi and seafood dishes.

(For reservations or inquiries, call at 6338888 ext. 2952, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.shangri-la.com/manila/edsashangrila.)

Usuyaki Matsusaka Wagyu negimaki.

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(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)

Matsusaka Wagyu katsu.