‘KUMAIN na kayo [Have you eaten]?” is usually the first greeting people receive when they visit our homes.
It is our way of welcoming visitors, and making sure they feel right at home with us. Sharing a meal, either with friends, family or even strangers, is our way of bonding. It fills our tummies and warms everyone’s hearts.
At the Madrid Fusión Manila (MFM) held from April 24 to 26 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, there were, indeed, a lot of full stomachs and hugged hearts. The event was the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) first step to attract foreign travelers to our shores, and make them notice how much “fun” it is eating in the Philippines, as Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. put it during his opening remarks in the first gastronomy event of this caliber held in Southeast Asia.
For three days, Michelin-starred chefs from Spain and Asia, as well our own celebrated local chefs, shared their expertise and passion for cooking, pastry-making, or beverage blending, and showed off their creativity to eager delegates at the International Gastronomy Congress— a major feature of the MFM.
But what was most uplifting was how our own Filipino chefs— both known, and those still making a name for themselves—worked overtime to feed the over 1,000 delegates in several regional lunches celebrating local cuisine and ingredients.
There were also quite a number of outstanding Filipino products from all over the country that made everyone quite proud about how far we’ve come in making high-quality tasty food and crafting exportable palate-pleasing liquors.
At the welcome dinner fiesta hosted by the SM Group at SM By The Bay, delegates and participating chefs feasted on 25 pieces of roasted piggies from the leading lechoneros in Metro Manila. Of all, my favorite was Pepita’s lechon with salted egg and rice. This, along with free beer and the excellent Philippine Opera Company serenading guests OPM hits, made for an interesting Friday for me and my media colleagues.
At the Luzon lunch for delegates, one of the unique dishes was Via Mare’s Sorpresa de Balut (sautéed fertilized duck eggs), which came in a tasty soup with hints of mushroom. At a separate Luzon lunch program, Destileria Limtuaco premiered its brandy-based cacao liqueur called Intramuros. It was sweet and chocolatey, but the magic happens when poured over ice. It literally perked up my afternoon. (Wink!)
At the Visayas lunch hosted by the Department of Agriculture (DA), the menu card read like a who’s who in Filipino cuisine. I didn’t realize how many Ilonggos and Bacolodnons have been dominating our restaurant kitchens. But the breakout star was definitely Vicente “Enting” Lobaton, a professional cook from Sagay, Negros Occidental, who many foodies dub as the “kinilaw master.” His Enting’s Special on Lacson Street in Bacolod is the go-to place by foodies and Negrenses who just love his straight-up sincere creations.
Aside from his medley of kilawin (fresh fish marinated in vinegars and spices), he prepared a roasted baby lamb with cuts so tender you could cry in joy, and served with, of all things, malunggay bread.
Other noteworthy dishes were Chef Tony Boy Escalante’s dinuguan and puto (pork face blood stew paired with steamed native rice cakes), and Chef JP Anglo’s batchoy (oxtail, pork belly and offal noodle soup). The texture and viscosity of Escalante’s dinuguan was a welcome change from the soupy kind we usually get in Metro Manila— the influence, no doubt, of Northerners. Meanwhile, the broth of Anglo’s batchoy had great depth; it’s the kind you want to take when you need a hug. It was, indeed, the traditional Ilonggo comfort food.
On the last day of the MFM, the Mindanao regional lunches just overflowed with ingredients and cooking methods many Metro Manilans may still be unfamiliar with.
There were huge mud crabs called Buntan, with its delicate meat steamed in banana leaves with coconut milk, and served by Chef Gilbert Alan Mathay of Almont Hotel in Butuan City. From Cagayan de Oro came the sinuglaw (pork kinilaw), which used the tabon tabon fruit juice to wash and soak the pork pieces. (The tabon tabon looks like chico and, when sliced in half, the insides look like a brain.)
At the DA-sponsored Mindanao lunch, Manila-based chefs likewise, used the bounty of Mindanao for their dishes. Chef Roland Laudico made a particularly uplifting tuna kinilaw using suwa (native lime) and tabon tabon, while Chef Tippi Tambunting’s Endulsao Chavacano (braised pork belly and pickled radish served over heirloom rice) was fork-tender, with the rice just surprisingly light and chewy.
Also arresting was Chef Juan Carlos de Terry’s Maja Blanca, an otherwise ordinary Filipino dessert, but his version is custard soft, with the lambanog vanilla syrup just giving it the right kick and surprise to the taste buds. Again, Destileria Limtuaco was the source of the bottled lambanog, now exported to many countries.
At the Trade Exhibit, there was even more eating as Spanish companies testing their feet in Manila, as well as local food and beverage companies plied delegates with free food and wine samples.
San Miguel Purefoods’s Jamon Royale was my discovery of the year, with its Jamon Royale tasting close to the salty hams of Spain. A longer period of curing, and perhaps some smoking, could really push the envelope and make this product truly of international caliber.
Another impressive product is Ralfe Gourmet’s sikwate (chocolate)-based truffles and other sweet treats from Cebu. While it may be less smooth and creamy than foreign chocolates, RG’s products had more cacao content that made it pleasingly on the bitter side.
On their free time, the delegates, as well as visitors, on the last day when the MFM was open to the public, crowded around Terry’s Selection’s stall. The restaurant/deli brought in Michael Lopez Teves, a Filipino master carver who lives in Madrid, who made paper-thin slices of the sublime Jamon Iberico (yum!). Terry’s also served up a variety of Spanish cheeses and smoky sausages with a delicious array of Spanish wines, to the crowd’s delight.
There were stalls selling coffee from Mount Apo, longganisa (local sausages) virtually from every part of the country; tutong (yes, the burnt underpart of cooked rice) ice cream from 1st Colonial— the same company that gave us sili ice cream; curacha from Zamboanga’s famed Alavar’s Restaurant; organic vegetables; and more.
Many foreign food writers have been heralding Filipino cuisine as the next big thing, noting the mushrooming of Philippine-themed restaurants in major cities like Washington, D.C., and New York. Even Top Chefs of Filipino descent, like Dale Talde, Paul Qui and Sheldon Simeon have gotten the thumbs-up from food critics, as they served up dishes based on Filipino food during the show.
With Madrid Fusión Manila, perhaps, foreigners will be not so content watching Filipino dishes served up on their TV screens or eating in their neighborhood Pinoy restaurant, but actually make their way over to our shores to taste what our islands have to offer.
The DOT hopes that after this megaevent (with more MFMs to follow), the Philippines will be known not only for its white beaches and the sunrises viewed from atop verdant mountains, but also for our exceptional cuisine and food-and-beverage products, as well—best shared, of course, especially among newfound friends. Special to BUSINESSMIRROR
Image credits: Madrid Fusion Manila