Only for kings and emperors

It was the fellowship night for the premier gourmet club of Cebu, the La Chaine des Rotisseurs with the theme “Imperial Ports of Call” which featured the Royal Court Cuisines of two countries, Korea and China. It was held at the Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa, M.L. Quezon Highway, Brgy. Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City (phone: 494-5000), (http://www.imperialpalace-cebu.com/).

To write about imperial cuisine, you need a person who knows the history of the country and the royalty that ruled the country and your favorite food columnist is a bit familiar about China. Through the years, I have collected books and videos about the dynasties of China from the first, Xia (2100-1600 BC) to the last, Qing (1644- 1911) with special emphasis about the cuisine served to the court. I wish my beloved readers would be able to view the video I copied from CCTV China TV about the recreation of the Han Manchu banquet served during the reign of Qianlong Emperor.

I find difficulty to write about Korean Royal Cuisine because my knowledge about Korean food is limited to ordinary fares like kimchi and bulgogi and a thing or two about black goats and bamboo salt (copy na pud, Arirang TV). In Korea, there is a renewed interest about royal food brought about the KBS TV series “Jewel in the Sky” according to Han Bok Ryeo, President of Institute of Korean Royal Cuisine.

I did have a copy of the recreation of the cuisine during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897); it was a great festival in February 1795 to honor the 60th birthday of the Queen Mother Hyegyong of King Jeongio (Yi San or Hong Jae, 22nd King). However, I could not locate it, presumably lost among the terabytes of food videos collection from around the globe. Some dishes however will never be served during a La Chaine dinner like Steamed New Born Piglet (Yeonjeojung?) with whole chicken, pheasant and beef because it is too exotic!

As you enter the Dubhe Grand Ballroom where the Imperial Feast was held, the Korean dishes were served on the left side while Chinese food on the right and appetizers were found on the back portion. I quickly took photos for the proper culinary accounting (including the names of each dish) and there were at least 45 dishes served altogether. This is the widest selection of food, excuse me, I had the last 17 years with the Chaines des Rotisseurs.

Definitely, that’s too much food even for a certified gourmet but work has to be done, an average of one teaspoon na lang of each serving and back to the dishes for a second helping of the favored dishes. My choice for soup was the Braised Superior Shark’s Fin with Assorted Mushroom which I found to be simply irresistible.

On the Korean side, I had a second service of the following: Gal Bi Gui (Broiled Beef Short Ribs) and the Kal Bi Jim (Braised Beef Short Ribs). On the Chinese corner, I went back for the Roast Piglet, Deep Fried Oat Prawn and the Braised Sea Cucumber & Abalone.

More choices were available for the desserts like the mochi, deep fried sesame balls and like or you can choose from a selection of fresh fruits. But in all La Chaine dinners, chocolate pralines are served always which you can pair with coffee, tea or cognac.