The chef is home

Entertaining at home is a great pleasure, yet it is not always practical for the host, considering all the details one needs to attend to. But not if you can get help from a professional. A fortnight ago, we met Carlo Jacinto Miguel, half of a team of young chefs (with his brother Jose Antonio) from the outfit EST Fine Dining. Carlo came back to Manila with his parents after living in Australia where both brothers trained and successfully carved a niche in Sydney’s very competitive culinary field.

EST offers complete service, personally supervised, as if the chef is in your home. Their cuisine is Modern Australian, typifying the country’s vibrant gastronomic culture. We were among the lucky ones who sat at a table at the Miguel house when Carlo, the innovative master, presented to us a dinner that would not be easy to forget. We were privileged to get a taste of what he can offer when he presides over anybody’s kitchen, serving a meal worthy of a five-star ranking.

For starters we had truffled cauliflower soup, simply done with milk, in a small crystal cup. It whetted our appetite for the seared prawns with mango salsa, coriander and vanilla dressing, with the subtle flavor of Vietnamese mint. The gorgonzola tartlet with arugula, thin slices of pear, caramelized walnuts and truffle honey was just the right size to prepare us for the main course. Having found some guayabano in the kitchen, Carlo concocted a sorbet with vodka and lemon to clear our palate. Then came the piece de resistance: Australian roasted lamb, pink and tender, with a very smooth pumpkin custard, asparagus and mint jus. Dessert was a chocolate tasting plate–a trio of white chocolate with passion fruit, a pudding and a chocolate Bailey soup. We poured the latter over our pudding. Sinful, but terrific!

A lot of factors make us give this dinner high marks. Carlo introduced each course. The ingredients were all fresh, some of the herbs came from their backyard. There was perfect blending of flavors, not one overwhelmed another. There was no unnecessary garnish. The portions were just right and each dish was matched with the chef’s personally selected wine. The service, with the help of his charming sister Crissy, was impeccable–relaxed, efficient and gracious. The genius of the young kitchen master surfaced when he said he did not have recipes to give out, because each dish he served came straight from his imaginative mind, considering the items he had at the moment he was preparing them.

For that special occasion then, hire this chef who will be glad to work right in your kitchen, so you can entertain without having to worry about anything. Carlo can be reached at tels. 842-4673 and 0916-367-1239.

A few days after the Carlo experience, we motored to Liliw, Laguna and equally enjoyed a truly Tagalog meal at the Salud home. We had comfort food from our childhood–patane (lima beans) with sotanghon and bawang na mura (young garlic), basuy (their version of the batchoy), adobong pusit, ginataang malilit na hipon plus crabs and prawns. Dessert included ginataang bilo-bilo and nilagang kamoteng kahoy with coconut. Needless to say, we had special Laguna espasol. In between lunch and merienda, we did a bit of shopping for those lovely slip-ons produced by Entrada and Socialite.

On the way to a friend’s house in Pasig, we decided to take a look at the Pioneer Center on the street that carries its name. The place is expansive and the supermarket is well stocked. There is a mini food court which is not very visible. There were some promo girls pushing their products, which irritated some shoppers. We got a few cans of Nestle’s Cream (P39-plus each) and other items which were rather heavy. We checked out through counter 18 and when we were about to wheel our cart out, we were stopped and told we could not do that. It turned out that these carts are not supposed to leave the supermarket, and goods need to be transferred to heavy-duty trolleys which were supposed to be waiting for customers after one pays. That day no one was waiting for us with a trolley nor was the strange system explained. This certainly is not good customer service.