10th beats at Amorita Bohol
It was a Filipino-themed dinner in Bohol as Amorita Resort presented the 10th edition of BEats — or “Bohol Eats” — with Angelo Comsti and Bryan Koh. Angelo and Bryan are food writers and published book authors. Bryan is actually Singaporean but fell in love with Filipino food because of his Filipino nanny. Both have written extensively researched books about Filipino food, especially little-known Filipino cuisine.
Cocktails from Don Papa Rum were served along with hors d’oeuvres from the two cooks by the cliffs by Bohol’s famed Alona Beach as the Diwanag Dance Troupe from Holy Name University performed for the guests.
The outdoor dinner was held at Saffron, Amorita’s spacious restaurant, with over 80 guests in attendance. Bryan’s appetizer was lowal, a dish from Tawi-tawi which is kinilaw in spiced gata (coconut cream). I enjoyed this spicy yet refreshing starter. Angelo prepared arroz Valenciana wherein he prepared the rice dish from Bacolod like a flat Italian arancini or fried rice balls. The main dish Bryan made was inspired by tamalos from Samar. This was tamales with peanuts wrapped in banana leaves but he included chunks of pork humba in it. Angelo made a tiyula Itum, a dish from Sulu, which was braised beef with lemongrass and burnt coconut broth served with mashed squash. This tausog food from Mindanao was my favorite dish of the night! Their desserts were served together on one plate. Bryan prepared Maguindanao’s daral (crepe with coconut filling) and Angelo made Ilocos Norte’s inkalti, made with arnibal (diluted panucha or panocha which is palm sugar), banana, sweet potato and bilo-bilo or glutinous rice balls. Don Papa Rum cocktails were created by Audrey Gustilo.
The dinner was interesting as the Filipino dishes they prepared were not the popular dishes we were familiar with. Two guests who attended most BEats were given books each authored by Angelo and Bryan.
BEats has featured different chefs from Bohol and Manila including Jordy Navarra, Josh Boutwood and Margarita Forés.
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Beats 10 was co-sponsored by Cebu Pacific Air. Cebu Pacific flies to Tagbilaran, Bohol from Manila seven times daily, and three times weekly from Davao. Check out www.cebupacificair.com.
Check out http://www.amoritaresort.com/.
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