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| Chefs Sandy Daza, Glenda Barretto, Myrna Segismundo and Jill Sandique |
The munggo soup
(mung bean soup) is a favorite, rich and thick, common in many Filipino
households. I love putting a spoonful of it on a dollop of rice and a dash of patis
(fish sauce) with crushed chilis. Chef Myrna Segismundo prepared it the
traditional and common way, but suggested a little twist. A small bowl of munggo
was garnished with thinly-sliced crunchy pork chicharon (pork
cracklings) on which she put a dash of vinegar and drops of olive oil. The munggo
suddenly developed another dimension. The chicharon and olive oil
added more flavor and body to the already thick soup and the vinegar cut the
richness. Yet, another way of loving munggo more.
A proponent of Filipino
traditional cuisines, Segismundo offered adobo the way it is cooked at home,
but savored with side dishes that have become rare in Filipino households,
particularly in Metro Manila. Her Batangas chicken and pork adobo came with burong
mangga and burong santol. The fermented young mango had a little
acridity and the santol sweetness that complimented the saltiness of the
adobo.
The author of two
cookbooks, who has been showcasing Filipino foods around the world, has a
cooking studio in Quezon City where
she holds private dinners and cooking classes at night.
On the other hand,
restaurateur and chef Sandy Daza, whose mother Nora Daza was a pioneer of
cooking shows in the Philippines ,
whipped up pancit langlang, which tasted like pancit gisado,
sautéed noodles with soy sauce, but this dish used four kinds of local noodles
such as bihon and miki. Also a cooking show host, Daza created
oxtail bistek, his take on the bistek Tagalog but using oxtail.
The founder of the famous
restaurant Via Mare, Glenda Barretto did not put too much twists on her
Filipino dishes and instead concentrated on getting the best ingredients and
perfecting the cooking as evidenced by her yummy sugpo with gata and
talangka (prawns in coconut milk and freshwater crabs) and pinangat (taro
leaves in coconut milk).
Trained by prestigious
chefs, the owner of pastry shop Delize, Jill Sandique presented pastries and
sweets that have made her famous such as the pistachio sansrival and chocolate
mousse. She also deconstructed the brazo de Mercedes. The custard, which forms
the core of brazo de Mercedes, was flavored with lemon and placed inside
a glass, and then topped with meringue and fruits. It tasted closer to lemon
meringue pie.
These dishes and more will
be offered together in a food event from April 1 to 3. The 40-hectare
“residential resort village” Pico de Loro Cove, the first phase of the
5,900-hectare coastal development Hamilo
Coast
One of its several dining
spots, Lagoa Restaurant of the Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club, will
highlight the four celebrity chefs’ dishes in its dinner buffet on April 1,
lunch and dinner buffets on April 2, and lunch buffet on April 3. This
celebration of Filipino cuisine is a fitting prelude to the upcoming big food
events of the Philippines ,
including the second run of Madrid Fusion Manila.
For more information, call (02) 4647-8888.
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| Sugpo with gata and talangka |
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| Munggo soup |
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| Oxtail bistek |
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| Pinangat |
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| Pork belly |
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| Pistachio sansrival |
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| Lumpiang Shanghai |
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| Brazo de Mercedes |
