AnExclusive Food Tasting

CEBU, Philippines — Diamond Suites & Residences sent me an invitation, through The Freeman office, for an exclusive food tasting of select dishes that they would offer for their dinner buffet. Diamond Suites, at corner Apitong and Escario Streets, is in Cebu City’s premier business district, and, incidentally, was the venue of the meeting I had with EC2 Excellence Academy last May this year.

Representing the Diamond group as hosts for the lunch event were AppleOne Properties corporate communications manager Angela Emphasis, Diamond Suites GM Kathy Angala, F&B manager Alfredo Magdales and Sous Chef Warlito Fetalvero. On the side of The Freeman were GM Melandro “Bhoy” Mendoza, account executive Cherrie Mae Uy and myself. First off, I told the group that Chinese cuisine was my specialty and that earlier in my career I had worked as marketing specialist of Abbott Agri-Vet division.

We started with Appetizer – the Chef Wars Special made with seared scallops and shrimps with pumpkin salsa and peas puree. It was delicious; the taste of the shrimps was enhanced by the pumpkin and pea combination. Soup was the Roasted Pumpkin Creamy Soup; it was lovely… and quite filling.

The appetizer and soup combination we had would be okay for guests accustomed to Western standards, if that’s the hotel’s target market. However, if the guests were Chinese, it would not be acceptable because the Chinese palate would probably not appreciate two dishes in succession with the same pumpkin taste. In a Chinese banquet (with an average of eight dishes), the cooks could not even use the same cooking technique twice like frying fish and frying duck.

The salad served was the Hearty Salad – a Mix of Apple, Avocado and Arugula, followed by pasta, the Mee Goreng Mamak (Malaysian Stir-Fry Noodles). The use of chilies is quite common in ASEAN countries and many millennials have adapted to the taste. It is important, though, that the degree of hotness of the dish is indicated in the menu.

The next item we tasted was a sandwich/burger called Chori Burger – Boracay Famous Burger. The meat patties used local chorizo mixture, only with more meat than fat content. This dish would be very acceptable to the locals. At this point, we started sharing the dishes because too much food, excuse me, dulls the taste buds!

Two Main Dishes were served: Stuffed Calamari with Ground Pork Filling & Chimichurri Sauce, and the Beef Roulade, Bacon-Wrapped Fillet Mignon. The Argentina/Uruguay sauce is made with finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Some cooks would avoid using food processors because they’d want a loose oil-based condiment, but time constraints sometimes justify the use of blenders.

My favorite dish was the Beef Roulade. Wrapping the beef with bacon prevented the meat from drying up and the taste of pork and beef complemented each other. It was delicious!

A lovely finish to the three-hour business lunch was the Mango Cheesecake with Lemon Sugar Tart with Flamed Caramelized Meringue.