Kangaroo steak and crocodile ceviche: Aus-some treats at The Pen

It’s not every day that one gets to savor two unlikely meat items — crocodile and kangaroo. And if you’re not that adventurous when it comes to food, you’ll be a bit apprehensive about trying the dishes right away.

That’s exactly how most of us felt when the waiter plopped servings of crocodile ceviche on the table. Everyone fell silent for a moment, while some even stole glances at a table nearby where guests from the Australian Embassy savored the dish with gusto. Finally, one of our seatmates gathered enough courage, tried the crocodile ceviche, smiled, and said, “It’s like any other ceviche. But this one tastes like Birkin.”

We were at the launch of “Tasting Australia,” a festival of the best of Australian food and wine, which runs from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3 at Old Manila, The Peninsula Manila’s in-house restaurant.

The food festival promises to be the perfect opportunity for food lovers to enjoy the best that Down Under has to offer in terms of produce and wine. It will also be a showcase for the talents of visiting guest, The Peninsula Tokyo executive chef Adam Mathis, and Escolta chef de cuisine Anthony Craven, who are part of a group of daring and innovative chefs that has emerged from the continent.

Steak it away: Cooked medium rare, the kangaroo steak is surprisingly tender. It tastes like beef and corned tuna combined.

For the launch, the tasting menu was prepared by Old Manila chef de cuisine Gavin Stellars and chef Craven.

The crocodile ceviche — served with wild herbs and flowers, pumpkin, beet, pomelo, and pepperberry tartare — looked and tasted like fish, has almost the same texture as squid, but is slightly more rubbery. It was better than I imagined.

“For the ceviche, I used meat from the crocodile tail because it’s more tender, and has more meat,” notes Craven.

Main dish was kangaroo loin, very lean steak-like pieces, flavored with quandong jus, a kind of fruit that looks like a dried red plum.

Sweet and lemony: The lemon myrtle cheesecake

Some consider kangaroo as among the finest of game meats, with a rich, appealing flavor. Depending on whom you ask, it is compared to venison or hare. Well, I liked the kangaroo steak more than the crocodile ceviche. Cooked medium rare, the meat is surprisingly tender and tasted like beef and corned tuna combined. It was served with kumara, the Australian version of sweet potato, dusted with dukka, an Egyptian dip that is a mix of herbs, nuts, and spices.

“Preparing kangaroo has its unique challenges because — the kangaroo being active in the wild — its meat is very lean. It jumps a lot, and goes up to 80 kilometers per hour. So there’s no fat in the meat at all; there’s no marbling. So it’s very important to pick your choice of meat. You can use the loin for the steak, but you have to cook it rare or medium rare, otherwise the meat becomes tough,” explains chef Craven. The flavor intensity is said to range from subtle in young animals to distinctively gamy in older ones.

Kangaroo meat, chef Craven adds, is best enjoyed as a steak. “You can use other parts of kangaroo for stewing or it can be made into pies.” No matter how you cook it, though, the goal is to go no further than medium rare.

Contrary to popular belief, both crocodile and kangaroo are not something an Australian would eat regularly.

Choco loco: An Aussie treat is not complete without Tim-Tams.

“They’re considered gourmet food even in Australia. The meat is usually served in high-end restaurants,” shares Andrew Byrne, deputy head of mission of the Australian Embassy in Manila.

For dessert, we were served lemon myrtle cheesecake, which had a very strong lemony taste but was not too sour; and Tim-Tams, the famous chocolate-coated biscuit from Australia.

But for most guests, it was the uber-moist damper bread with a mix of blue cheese that was the showstopper. In fact, due to the favorable response the bread got from the media and Australian Embassy officials, The Pen general manager Sonja Vodusek (who is also from Australia) promised that the delectable bread would be available at the deli for the duration of the festival.

“We are proud to be a partner of ‘Celebrate Australia 2012’. Throughout the festival, you can try a little bit of everything — from the seafood platter, a sweet Riesling, modern Asian-fused meal to a crocodile ceviche,” Vodusek adds.

The Pen general manager Sonja Vodusek with Andrew Byrne, deputy head of mission of the Australian Embassy in Manila

For those who are passionate about good food, the festival is the perfect opportunity to learn more about the culinary traditions of the world’s smallest continent. 

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“Tasting Australia at Old Manila” will run from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3. There will also be a simultaneous “Tasting Australia in Escolta” festival with Escolta chef de cuisine Anthony Craven demonstrating how things are done differently in Australia’s most sophisticated city — Sydney.

“Tasting Australia” will also afford guests who avail themselves of the special festival menus in Old Manila and Escolta the opportunity to join in a raffle and win a round-trip ticket for two to Sydney onboard the new Qantas A380 aircraft.

Escolta chef de cuisine Anthony Craven

Those who want to learn some of executive chef Mathis’ kitchen secrets may join The Penisula Academy Cooking Class — “Australia On My Plate”— on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Cost per person is P3,300 inclusive of the cooking class, a three-course lunch, a Peninsula Academy apron, and a special gift.

For inquiries, call 887-2888 or visit peninsula.com.