I've been present in various events of Heritage Hotel Manila since I've become friends with its marketing communications manager. Early this month, I received an sms inviting me to witness the cooking demo for "Malaysia...Truly Asia's Kitchen" and I replied that I will have to check my schedule first since I'm supposed to be meeting friends for dinner on the day of the event. Her reply was, "Please do, would love to see you before my move to ..." mentioning a hotel in Cebu, so how can I turn her down?
I went to the event with my staff so we can be introduced to whoever is taking over her position for us to forge a new partnership. We were early so we had the chance to roam around the venue. The path leading to the grand ballroom was decorated with waves made of stones and highlighted by tea light candles, setting the festive mood for the event. The entrance was decked with colorful sarongs, welcoming the guests to a night of good food and good company.
Heritage Hotel Manila has been promoting Malaysian cuisine for the past three years so it was no surprise that the hotel has joined the Malaysian Kitchen Programme, supported by the Embassy of Malaysia in Manila, Tourism Malaysia and MATRADE. In celebration of Malaysia's 54th National Day and in observance of Ramadan, Heritage Hotel launched "Malaysia...Truly Asia Kitchen," a two-week Malaysian food fest at the Riviera, through a cooking demo by Executive Chef Alex Chong and Multi-mach's Corporate Chef Mike Bautista. Malaysian Ambassador Dato Siri Dr. Ibrahim Saad and Heritage Hotel General Manager Eddie Yeo led the festivities.
As I said, we arrived early so we also had to stand up longer than the rest of the guests for the programme and cocktails, which started a little after 7:30 in the evening. The opening ceremonies began with a break fast of various Malaysian pastries, with iced Bandung (milk flavored with rose cordial syrup) or hot Teh Tarik (hot Malaysian beverage made of black tea and condensed milk) because, as the Malasian Ambassador explained, sweets were served first in order to prepare the body for the intake of other food after a day-long of fasting and prayers.
The cooking demo showcased the preparation of a fusion of the traditional Malaysia Roti with Chicken Curry Sauce and traditional Italian pizza ingredients namely Mozarella chesse, onions and fresh tomatoes aptly called Rotizza. Chef Alex also cooked the seafood version, replacing chicken with shrimps.
The Rotizza was not cooked in a conventional oven but in Multi-mach International's Rational CombiMaster, a combination oven that lets you cook in so many ways -- baking, roasting, grilling, steaming, braising, blanching, poaching and much more -- in just a single unit. I want! If only I have USD 20,000 to buy this kitchen wonder.
Guests were also treated to a buffet spread of various Malaysian dishes such as Beef Rendang (beef sauteed and maribated in ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, chili and blue ginger), Ayam Perchik (marinated chicken in spicy coconut gravy), Satay (barbecued and marinated chicken and beef in turmeric, coriander and cumin), Wok Fried Prawn Ganxiang, Tandoori Marinated Chicken with Mint Yogurt, Gado-gado with peanut sauce, Ulam-ulam with Sambal, fish fillet Sambal, Chicken Ganxiang Fried Rice, Sambal Squids with Long Beans, Nyonya Sayuh Lodeh (spicy mixed vegetables with cocnut milk), Nasi Lemak (coconut-flavored rice with pandan leaves), Roti Canai (Malay Pastry Pancake) and Penang Fruit Rojak.
It was a night of great tasting food and new learning for me (about Malaysian cuisine and Ramadan) but I was also sad to bid goodbye to a friend. I'll definitely visit her in her new workplace soon as I always have the opportunity to fly to Cebu, whether for work or for personal vacation.
No comments:
Post a Comment