A taste of Munich Oktoberfest

CEBU, Philippines – The annual Oktoberfest held in Munich, Germany is a two-week long celebration that attracts over six million people every year! Visitors come from all over the world to take part in this festival. Held from the last week of September to the second week of October, making it one of Munich’s largest and most celebrated tourist attractions.

Halfway across the world, right in the middle of the Cebu’s commercial district, the Garden Café at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel has always been every discerning diner’s go-to destination for relaxed and quiet evenings with family and friends over great food.  Last October 17, Marriott brought a taste of festive Munich to Cebu for a one-night only dinner buffet featuring authentic Bavarian fare in its once-a-year Oktoberfest celebration!

The usually tranquil Garden Café came alive with blue and silver buntings as guests waiting to savor the German food extravaganza prepared by guest chef Dietmar Dietrich, were gleefully welcomed with a gingerbread cookie on a string by Marriott’s jovial F&B team led by Executive Chef Chachpol Suaisom and F&B Director Lyle Cajayon. As the grill fired up with an assortment of meats and sausages, the band played on and festive music filled the air.  And the stage was set for Oktoberfest— meat on the grill, hearty laughter from family and friends, live entertainment and hefty servings of beer!

Austrian guest Chef Dietmar Dietrich prepared a varied spread of traditional Bavarian delights! For starters, there was frikadellen (meat patties/ mini burgers) with mustard relish, Westphalian ham with asparagus, assorted cold cuts, rollmoepse (pickled herring fillet) with apple-onion dressing, potato cakes with smoked salmon and sour cream, and a heavenly cheese platter to tease the palate even more!

There were two types of soup available to warm the tummy on that pleasantly windy evening.  There was piquant goulash and an all-time favorite comfort food whatever part of the world you may be coming from—clear chicken and noodle soup.

Salads were aplenty starting off with a German potato salad, red beet salad, cucumber in dill-yoghurt dressing, a combination of red and white radish, Hamburg style fish salad and a Bavarian sausage salad.  And of course, no German buffet would be complete without the classic side dish sauerkraut or pickled cabbage.

Moving on to the hot stations, there was Old Munich Sauerbraten (pot roast), Jaeger Schnitzel (breaded pork) in Mushroom Sauce, Kasseler ( smoked pork loin) in apple-marjoram sauce, special Oktoberfest roast chicken and poached fish fillet in dill cream and caper sauce.  At the carving station, roast pork belly with garlic-caraway sauce shared the stage with a Bavarian Oktoberfest meatloaf. And of course, assorted sausages fired up on the grill!

And for dessert, there was apple strudel with vanilla ice cream, Bavarian cream puffs, black forest cherry tart and an assortment of sweets best paired with a warm cup of tea to cap off that truly October-feast!