Exotic dishes, rare wines and great company

So many restaurants have sprouted in the Cebu malls, parks and centers over the recent years.

We have the Terraces in Ayala Center, the Northwing of SM City, the fast developing IT Park and countless mini-malls such as Banilad Town Center, Crossroads, Gallery and Country Mall.   With such a wide range of cuisine choices and a never-ending variety of dishes — imagination and innovation are a must to maintain a competitive edge.

The Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, known to have one of the best, if not the best buffets in town, brought back the celebrity father and son chefs Gene and Gino Gonzalez  for an intimate evening of exciting gourmet experience dubbed “Sauvage” indicating delicacies from the wild like boar, venison and mallard duck.

The journey began with ostrich liver pate, which was served with Deakin Estate Brut, a sparkling blend, perfect for starters. This was immediately followed by crepinette of pigeon in bigarade, sprout and corn kernel salad.

Lentil soup, a popular staple in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes, is usually made with a base made of chicken or beef stock, but the guest chefs added wild boar sausages to the stock, which made the combination of ingredients quite exotic and truly delightful. This came  with apple and onion bread paired with Meerendal, Pinotage wines from South Africa.

The highlight of the evening was the main course, which consisted of deer tenderloin with mixed mushrooms sauté, shallot and balsamic reduction with Cognac demi glace. Vistamar Sepia Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, South America complemented the dish.

The culinary adventure culminated with the hotel’s special dessert called Marco Polo Ice Bomb.  This refreshing piece de resistance consisted of  three layers of vanilla, strawberry and pistachio topped with nuts, orange peel glaced fruits and choco chips.

 It certainly was an evening of fine food  in a wonderful setting. Perfectionist food and beverage manager StephanWieprich gave attention to the minutest details, which made the feast more enchanting. General manager Hans Hauri and his ever supportive wife Bo Hauri were the perfect hosts to a perfectly  enjoyable affair.

Chef Gonzalez is the owner-chef of Café Ysabel, an upscale fine-dining restaurant in San Juan, Metro Manila. He is also the founder and president of Center for Asian culinary Studies specializing in Asian, European and fusion Cuisine. His son Gino is an Alain Ducasse-trained chef who recently established a new restaurant called Buenisimo in Manila.