The Manila Hotel celebrates National Heroes Day for the first time with their Kabayanihan food festival, featuring a collaboration with guest Chef Jessie Sincioco. Chef Jessie has fashioned a menu peppered with favorite dishes of our heroes like Dr. Jose Rizal, Melchora Aquino and Gregorio del Pilar. Cafe Ilang Ilang will have a special buffet spread from August 20, 2018 to September 2, 2018 while the Champagne Room will host a special degustation dinner on August 30 and 31.
We got to sample some of the dishes that will be featured in the buffet. The buffet is priced at P2,375 nett for Monday to Saturday lunch, P2,550 nett for Sunday brunch, P2,675 nett for Sunday to Wednesday dinner and P3,270 nett for Thursday to Saturday dinner.
Alugbati Salad. A salad using alugbati and pansit-pansitan, drizzled with a bagoong vinaigrette and topped with crushed kesong puti, salted egg and crispy dulong. eh sturdy leaves of the alugbati hold up well and give a nice satisfying crunch while the vinaigrette and toppings give a strong contrasting flavor to give the salad an oomph. An interesting tidbit is that Chef Jessie uses organic alugbati grown by her sister in their Bulacan farm.
Melchora Aquino’s Tinolang Manok. A clear soup extracted by slow boiling chicken bones to achieve a flavorful broth. Chef Jessie deboned the free range chicken for easier consumption.
Dr. Jose Rizal’s Bistek. Chef Jessie uses Angus tenderloin seared quickly to lock in flavor and preserve tenderness and lathered with citrusy and savory sauce with caramelized onions and homemade atchara (pickles). Dr. Jose Rizal was said to have eaten this with “gravy”, which most take to mean the sauce as many Asian countries refer to it this way.
Budin. A classic bread pudding made with sponge cake and pudding mixed all together that you can taste both creaminess and heft from each bite. There are surprise macapuno strips in the middle that give a burst of nutty sweetness.
Other dishes on the menu rotation are Lapu-Lapu’s sinigang na tiyan ng bangus, Wild Boar carving, Gabriela Sialng’s pinakbet, Andres Bonifacio’s litchong manok, Marcella Agoncillo’s pork adobo sa dilaw, and Gregorio del Pilar’s sapin sapin.
The Kabayanihan spread is just one station in Cafe Ilang Ilang’s extensive buffet spread so you can still indulge in wide range of dishes in the other stations.
The Manila Hotel
One Rizal Park, Manila
Philippines
Contact No.: (632) 527-0011
Facebook Page: The Manila Hotel
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