Fil-French Fusions

Gourmets have up to Sept. 25 to enjoy the "Paris/Manila Culinary Pleasures" at Inter-Con’s Prince Albert Rotisserie. The treat is in conjunction with Philippine-French Friendship Week being sponsored by The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry headed by Sergio Ortiz Luis and Le Club headed by Lionel Rossignol.

Incidentally, Le Club is composed of French businessmen nearly half of whom are married to Filipinas.

The unique culinary event offers innovations of French Chef Cyrille Soenen and our own Chef de Cuisine Regina "Reggie" Aspiras who are currently fusing flavors and textures of their respective countries while coming up with dishes that appeal to both French and Philippine palates.

Take one of the soups, for instance. It’s the creamy broth of our alimango mixed with crispy coriander ravioli scented with coconut milk. Try another soup concoction: smoked prawns in pomodoro sinigang. Here’s a third: camote cream with a bouquet of crisp root vegetables.

A fish entree might be bangus belly tatin served with garlic onion marmalade and crispy potatoes scented with truffles. Mix-match roasted sea bass a la pobre, Pequillos puree and braised baby potatoes. For a meat entree, Soenen and Aspiras have "invented" the Bulalo Steak of Osso Buco and, among others, Duck Magret "Pritchon" Style with Pandan Pancake and Spring Onions served with three sauces. How’s that for imaginative blending?

Cold and hot appetizers, cold and hot desserts–there are countless choices–are similarly clever fusions of East and West. The widespread rumor is that Mr. Ortiz Luis’s verdict of the menu is "Ang Sarap!"; that of honor guest Ambassador Reneé Veyret and Monsieur Rossignol is an emphatic "C’est si bon!" At the food festival, there’s the delightful possibility of chatting with the personable, witty GM Michael Hermann, Consul Pierre Coquillat and F & B manager Chad Davis.

Wines For The Heart

Eminent cardiologists George Garcia, Manuel Mandayag, Simon Sawit and Joseph Barril –all of Asian Hospital–were heard agreeing at the inauguration of Magnum, the newest wine-bar and restaurant in town, that wine in moderation is good for the heart. However, if you’d like to know what are the best wines to drink, you’d have to ask the lady of the house, Tita Trillo (Dr. Sawit has an edge over his colleagues because his son Alex is a wine connoiseur).

Actually, the reader needs no counsel because the menu card–here quoted–indicates which wine went with what course. Empanadas–1) ground beef and onion paprika, 2) cheese with caramelized onions, 3) ham and cheese with chives, as also Ceviche–marinated tanigue with fresh tomato and onion cilantro Vinaigrette–were relished with Frontera Merlot 2001, Sunrise Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 and 2001.

Grilled Pacific Prawns went with Casillero Sauvignon Blanc 2001, Cream of Roasted Pumpkin and Pan-fried Pear Fish went with Amella Chardonnay 2000; Grilled Tenderloin garnished with Chimichurri, sweet potato gratin and grilled vegetables were bolstered by Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 1998.

The wines come from the Concha y Toro Winery in Chilé, for which reason its chairman, Don Alfonso Lorrain, expressly flew to Manila to grace the opening of Magnum with Chilean Ambassador Carmen Lynam, the other special guest.

This might seem misleading. Actually, Magnum Wine Cellar and Grill is not Chilean but the country’s first Argentinian-inspired restaurant, its Argentine influence extending to food, wines and atmosphere. In this regard, guests immediately notice pictures and posters of couples doing the exotic Argentine tango.

In fact, Roselyn, one of Tita’s daughters, is a chef married to an Argentinian hotelier, and both had suggested that Magnum exude the ambiance of Buenos Aires.

What about our cardiologists? They can also indulge in mild drinking at Tita’s Cork (also in Makati), a French wine-bar and bistro. Everything’s grilled there; the sauces are French with an Asian twist–or tang.