Even before the hotel has formally opened, Marco
Polo Ortigas Manila’s all-day restaurant, simply called Cucina, is drawing
sizeable crowds of diners, mostly from around the business district of Ortigas
Center of Pasig City, the dining landscape of which seems to be more vibrant
nowadays.
Cucina opened last March with the soft opening of the hotel at the
24th floor, where the reception area is also located. The L-shaped restaurant
can seat 156 people, and sports high ceilings, tall windows with equally tall
louvers for natural lighting, moody earth tones and quirky wood partitions that
are almost sculptural pieces, fomenting Old World charm punctuated by modern
sensibilities
As with any hotel restaurant, Cucina’s main draw is its buffet, which
has seven or eight stations curated in such a way that each interactive open
kitchen station almost overlaps with one another, save for one or two, to
provide a seamless array of Continental and Asian gustatory delights.
The stations include Chinese, Indian, British, Filipino, Japanese
(mostly sushi and sashimi), Italian, carving and dessert. The seafood is laid
on a blue-lit bed of crushed ice at the start of the buffet spread. The
cheeses, cold cuts and charcuterie station is ensconced by circular walls in
the middle of the dining area.
Though Cucina’s buffet spread is not as expansive as the others,
Marco Polo Ortigas Manila prides itself in emphasizing flavors rather size
through the careful selection of buffet items, overseen by its British
executive chef Benjamin Roy Rendell, who brought with him over 36 years of
experience in international hotels as well as exposures to different cultures,
influencing his culinary style. Aside from winning gold at the Salon Culinary
Bahrain, and acknowledged as creating Bangkok’s best brunch and best buffet and
grill in Thailand for five consecutive years, he also has cooked for Queen
Elizabeth II and other heads of states at state dinners. Rendell believes in
purity—simply prepared classic dishes with contemporary approach.
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| Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s executive chef Benjamin Roy Rendell |
Cucina’s buffet highlights some of his signature dishes, one everyday
for the week.
On Mondays, best get the appetizer—buttery and delicate French dish
of pan-fried duck liver with spring salad, sautéed apple cider dressing and calvados
glaze.
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| Pan-fried duck liver with spring salad, sautéed apple cider dressing and calvados glaze |
On Tuesdays, the warm Thai beef salad topped with grilled fillets of
US beef mixed with traditional Thai dressing and chili takes center stage. This
version is a good introduction to the classic Thai dish for those averse to
spice, but the lovers of spicy Southeast Asian dishes may be a tad disappointed
because its characteristic piquancy is tempered.
Every Wednesday, Filipino cuisine is represented by the barbecue pork
and chicken marinated with lemon, garlic and soya, and served with atchara,
pickled green papaya strings.
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On Thursdays, the kitchen will be manned by Marco Polo Ortigas
Manila’s Hong Kong chefs to prepare dim sums and the star of the day: chili
crabs prepared in Cantonese style. The seafood feast continues the two
following days with moules mariniere and warm rock lobster thermidor. Moules
mariniere is a French dish using imported mussels braised in Chablis wine,
herbs, garlic, dairy butter and beer. It is served with French fries. On the
other hand, each serving of thermidor has half of rock lobster sautéed with
shallots, brandy, white wine and tarragon, and served in a mustard-flavored
cheese sauce.
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| Warm rock lobster thermidor, half rock lobster sautéed with shallots, brandy, white wine and tarragon, and served in a mustard-flavored cheese sauce |
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| Moules mariniere, imported mussels braised in Chablis wine, herbs, garlic, dairy butter and beer |
Go sumptuous on Sundays. They’re having filet of Beef Wellington (boeuf
en croute), using prime US beef tenderloin coated
with pâté and duxelles. This is then wrapped
in pastry and baked. This is accompanied by potato gratin and Madeira
sauce.
These special dishes are meant to keep the buffet experience from
being boring, and in Cucina, buffet is not about the quantity but the quality.
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| Beef Wellington |
Cucina is open daily for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner
from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Price for lunch buffet starts at P1,400 net, Monday to
Saturday. Brunch on Sunday starts at 1,700 net, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner
buffet starts at P1,700 net (Sunday to Thursday) and P2,000 net (Friday to
Saturday). Breakfast buffet is P1,225.71 net.
Marco Polo Ortigas Manila is at the corner of Meralco Avenue and
Sapphire Street, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more information contact (632)
720-7777 or book online via www.marcopolohotels.com or email manila@marcopolohotels.com.
Visit facebook.com/MarcoPoloOrtigasManila or follow @MarcoPoloManila
on Twitter or Instagram or experience MPMDining.com.
Two recipes
from Benjamin Rendell
Lobster
Thermidor
Ingredients:
Shallots (300
grams)
Butter (100
grams)
Olive oil (½
cup)
Slipper lobster
tail (cleaned, 1 kilo)
Penne pasta (500
grams)
White wine (¼
litre)
Brandy (½ cup)
Fish stock (1
litre)
Double cream (½
litre)
Dijon mustard (120 grams)
Mustard grain (50
grams)
Egg yolk (8
pieces)
Cheddar cheese
(grated, 200 grams)
Swiss cheese
(grated, 200 grams)
Parmesan cheese
(100 grams)
Mozzarella
cheese (100 grams)
Chopped parsley
(30 grams)
Molden sea salt (50 grams)
White pepper
powder (20 grams)
Procedure: In a hot pan, add the olive oil and butter. Sauté for
five minutes until translucent. Add the lobster tails for two to three minutes
and then add the brandy and white wine, then cook for two minutes. Take out the
lobster tails and add the fish stock. Allow all to evaporate to half to its
original volume. Add the cream and gently simmer until rich, and the sauce will
coat the back of a spoon. Add the lobster tails. Add the Dijon mustard and
mustard grain, cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese with the cooked pasta. Add the
chopped parsley and mix in the egg yolks. Be careful not to re-boil again. Place
the mixture into an oven proof serving dish and sprinkle with mozzarella and
parmesan cheeses, and place under the grill until all the cheese has melted and
is a light brown in color. Serve immediately.
Warm Thai beef
salad
Ingredients:
US fillet of
beef (140 grams)
Thai fish gravy
(3 tablespoons)
Lime juice (3
tablespoons)
Soy sauce (3
tablespoons)
Oil (3
tablespoons)
Brown sugar (2
tablespoons)
Minced garlic (1
teaspoon)
Shallots (3
pieces)
Cilantro (½ cup)
Basil leaves
(sliced into ribbons, 1 cup)
Mint leaves (½
cup)
Red onion (100
grams)
Cucumber (100
grams)
Cherry tomatoes
(100 grams)
Baby red
chilies (20 grams)
Procedure: Season the beef with salt and pepper and grill with
the oil until medium rare. Allow to rest. Prepare the dressing by mixing Thai
fish gravy, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic and chopped
shallot. Slice the beef into thin slices and mix with the mint leaves, basil
leaves, big dices of red onion, cucumber and cherry tomato halves and the
dressing. Add the baby red chilies in small slices. For presentation, heap into
the center of the plate and decorate with sliced shallot, cherry tomato and coriander.
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