Cebu, Home to New Filipino Flavors

CEBU, Philippines - There are certain points that can distinguish a dish as one’s own. It could be perfection in the preparation of a dish, the introduction of a particular cooking technique, the combination of several cooking methods or the addition of a new ingredient to a standard dish. I add a few grains of tableya to humba, for example, and I claim it as my own discovery. 

Recently, Chefs Roland (Chef Lau) and Jackie Laudico introduced some 50 new dishes at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, in a buffet dinner called Cafe Uno’s “Modern Filipino Taste: A Filipino Feast for all Senses.” The dishes are a modern interpretation of traditional Filipino dishes in general and an updated Cebuano cuisine in particular.

The two chefs visited Pasil, home to the fresh seafood in Cebu, and Carcar to touch base with the local market and draw inspiration for their culinary artistry. One of the dishes commonly found in Pasil is a fish stew called “nilarang” and Chef Roland tweaks it a little to mirror a French fish stew, the bouillabaisse – and the “nilarang bouillabaisse” is born.

Appetizers served in the buffet were Balut Napoleon + Shots, Sisig Baskets, Ngo Hiong Cones, Sinigang Bites and Palabok Bites. The latter was pancit palabok packed into a roll and seasoned with chicharon dusts from Carcar, Cebu. Also served were Lumpia Sariwa Rolls, Sushi Noy, Spicy Seaweed & Seafood, and three kinds of Mango Salad – my favorites were the Sisig Baskets.

The Live pasta station was quite interesting. They had prepared three types of sauces: the Seafood Tuyonesca, Malunggay Pesto and the Chorizo de Cebu. Any pasta would be too filling so I just tasted the sauces; the Chorizo followed by Malunggay Pesto was the best.

Main dishes were the Kimchi Pinangat, Grilled Pinakbet Vegetables, Fried Humba, Kaldereta Pie, Tinutong Bam-i, and the Baked Fish with Crusted Salt. The Kaldereta presentation was like the Shepherd’s Pie with its topping of mashed potato and cheese.  I tried to get little portions of everything, but not of Tinutong Bam-i as it was gone before I could get my hand on it.

There was a very attractive dish because of its presentation, the Danggit Macaroons, loaded on a miniature model of the jeepney. It was Chef Tristan Encarnacion who made it and it had quite an intriguing combination. I think, though, that it should be classified with the desserts because of its dominant sweet taste.

Waterfront also had a lechon station and I tried small portions of several lechons – lechon kambing (roasted goat), lechon baboy (Carcar style), Sinampalukang Turkey (tamarind marinade) and the Pinaupong Nilasing na Manok (beer marinate), and the winner was… the turkey.

I usually avoid eating it but if the food selection is limited I go for the wings and the tail because the rest are usually too bland. This time, I went for the breast, it was good and I went back for more.

Dessert was quite interesting with two dishes out of the box – Suman Pannacotta and the Tsokolate-oh with Peanut Butter Mousse. Any tsokalate reminds me of “Noli Me Tangere,” Rizal’s book which mentions two types: tsokolate-eh was served to the rich, and tsokolate-ah went to the poor. Chef Jackie went for the middle and called it Tsokolate-oh and together with the Suman, I ate with gusto. (FREEMAN)