This was a night that I was so looking forward to — a carbohydrate-loaded dinner, something people generally avoid. It was a dinner at La Vie en Rose in Poblacion, Makati, that was to highlight the pasta of Noodle Lab and the wine of Bastardô! by Wine with Spirit.
Three friendly faces greet guests upon entry: Noodle Lab’s Ally Lim-Gonzales, La Vie en Rose’s Ash Rye, and Bastardô! by Wine with Spirit’s Camila Lhuillier-Albani.
Cocktails were served in this cozy place that totally doesn’t feel or look like Manila.
Lim-Gonzales and her team prepared all four pasta dishes as Lhuillier-Albani paired the dishes with the wine. The first course was a Tortelloni, a larger, stuffed tortellini. This was a beautifully striped squid ink tortelloni filled with local blue swimming crab (alimasag), ricotta, lemon, and parsley in a Nduja (a spreadable Cantabrian pork sausage) cream sauce paired with “Seafood & Co” vinho verde wine.
This was followed by the Bastardô! mafaldine al burro e formaggio, so named since the mafaldine (a type of long, ribbon-shaped pasta) was made using Bastardô! wine mixed in an emulsified sauce of Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano cheese then topped with brown butter dashi and shimeji mushrooms. This was obviously paired with “Bastardô!” red wine.
Third course was the 60-layer lasagna. That’s 12 layers each of the pasta sheets, ragu (Italian meat-based sauce), Béchamel, and two types of cheese: 24-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella! This is then sliced and torched to give the lasagna a bit of texture and bite. This was paired with Bread and Cheese Red Wine.
The final course was the Raviolo al uovo cacio e pepe, a huge cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper) ravioli with a runny egg yolk at the center served with seared Australian Wagyu ribeye and paired with “Dine with Me Tonight” red wine.
The four delicious pasta dishes were perfectly sized for diners to have a delicious tiramisu prepared by La Vie en Rose. This was paired with “Basta!” Brut white sparkling wine.
It was a wonderful wine-pairing dinner, which I hope will happen more often.
* * *
La Vie En Rose is a private events place that can be booked through Instagram at @lavieenrose_mnl. Get artisanal fresh and dried pasta by ordering through their Instagram account @noodlelab.ph, where you can also check their announcements for future pop-up dinners or pasta making sessions. Check out the Portuguese wines paired with this dinner at @winebastardoph on Instagram.
A six-hands Spanish Dinner
It was a night of gastronomic delights at Origine Spanish Cuisine, the Spanish restaurant of Brittany Hotel in BGC, Taguig City. A nine-course menu consisting of Spanish and Filipino-Spanish cuisine was prepared by chefs Alexandra Cacho, Sau Del Rosario, and Francis David.
The six-hands dinner started with a pass-around of Pan con tomate y jamón ibérico (Iberian ham and tomato on bread) prepared by Cacho.
The sit-down dinner commenced with Sopa de ajo (garlic soup) with poached egg, jamon serrano chips and black garlic espuma by del Rosario followed by a salad of beets, Manchego cheese, and Pedro Ximenez balsamic vinegar made by David.
Each chef also prepared an entrée starting with Cacho’s Arroz meloso con su gamba (sticky rice with shrimp) followed by del Rosario’s Ensaymada with chorizo and Manchego then by David’s Calamari, roasted peppers and salchichón (sausage).
Mains included Grilled bacalao (salted cod), potato confit and mojo sauce (by David), Duck a la Catalana with lentils and prunes (by del Rosario), and Entrecôte frito (fried steak) with a touch of piquillo peppers by Cacho, who also made the Tocino de cielo for dessert.
Cacho has a master’s degree in Spanish culinary arts and was behind the Spanish restaurants Gaudi and Tapella. Del Rosario was trained at the Culinary Institute of America and is renowned for his innovative approach to Filipino cuisine. The Pampanga chef is also behind Sawsaw, whose new home is also at Brittany Hotel. David is the executive chef of Brittany Hotel. Before joining the hotel, he worked with The Bistro Group under the guidance of Josh Boutwood and with the Antonio’s Restaurants under the mentorship of Tony Boy Escalante.
* * *
Origine Spanish Cuisine is located on Level 1, Brittany Hotel BGC, 6 McKinley Parkway, Taguig City. Call (0995) 7883797 or landline (02) 88605830 for inquiries or reservations.
Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.