CEBU, Philippines - Filipino heritage recipes highlighted the reopening of the Original Pino Restaurant in Lahug on Saturday, February 8, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. Guests and customers alike were thrilled with the different Filipino dishes prepared by one of the big names in the food industry.
Joel Rama del Prado revives the former Pino food bistro and renames it “The Original Pino Restaurant – Home of the Best Filipino Buffet,†giving it the shot it needs to stay true to its business principle of providing high-quality cuisine at an affordable price. This is after del Prado decided to rest from the food industry for three and a half long years.
The reopening salvo featured the best from the Doyenne of Gastronomy, Editha Cerdina Singian, and dubbed as HERITAGE RECIPES: Editha’s Way!
Featured during the occasion were Filipino menus that included Tibok-tibok, Kalabasa Rice, Pugad ng Maya (shrimp balls half-stuffed with quail egg laid on crispy noodles with creamy sauce), Okoy, Humba, and Seafood Lumpia. My favorites were the Grilled Blue Marlin with Bopiz Sauce, Pinangat na Penchay, Dinuguan, Lengua Mechada and Tinutungan (a Bicol delicacy). For desserts, Suman sa Lihia at Mangga with Choc Nut, Leche Flan with Fruit Cocktail, and Yema with a Twist completed my meal.
Chef Singian conducts regular cooking demonstrations of her signature recipes and of those she developed for brands like Ajinomoto, Oregon Fruit Products and SABA Sardines, Mackerel, Squid and Pink Salmon. She continues to develop her passion for cooking both inside and outside the kitchen. She is a columnist of Cook Magazine’s Foolproof and One Philippine and author of recipe books called Editha’s Way. She is also a food consultant to some of the major food companies such as the Pancake House Group.
Pino Restaurant has been known around the province of Cebu and other places – both near and far – to conduct regular festivals featuring world Filipino renown chefs and culinaires on a three-month basis. To make it more exciting this time, the Original Pino Restaurant is featuring chefs on a monthly basis. Editha Cerdina Singian is the featured chef for the whole month of February. The recipes of Nora Yap Daza of the famous Aux Iles Philippines are to be the focus for next month, with Daza’s son Chef Sandy Daza teaming up with Nancy Reyes Lumen, the granddaughter of Lola Asyang of Aristocrat and Sandy Daza’s protégée. (FREEMAN)