We were staying at the Holiday Inn and, every morning, we would walk to the Star Ferry to cross the harbor. I still remember how my older brothers would pull me every time I would break away from the group (we were 12 children) when I wanted to linger at the nearby Peninsula Hotel. I was just so awed by the grandness of the building and the little pageboy in white, who always looked so happy when he greeted guests getting off the black stretch limousines
"But why can’t we stay here?" I asked my mom.
"Because it is very expensive," she said.
"If I do not buy a toy, can we stay here?" I asked.
My mom smiled, and said, "Not even if all of you do not buy toys."
Maybe that conversation with my mom added to my curiosity and quest for the hotel. "One day, I shall stay in this hotel and eat and eat," I said.
Years later, Mary Ann, too, traveled to Hong Kong. When she entered the Peninsula Hong Kong lobby for the first time, she instantly liked the lavishness of the place. She admired the well-dressed tai-tais having high tea while being serenaded by a pianist.
"One day, I shall stay in this hotel and have tea at the lobby and dine in one of its fine restaurants," she told her bosom friend, Cherie.
Fast forward to 1998. The two souls bitten by the Peninsula bug met and fell in love and hurriedly got married in Hong Kong. After our civil wedding, Mary Ann’s Chinese friends booked us a night at the Hong Kong Peninsula and dinner for two at its fine French restaurant, Gaddi’s. It was only then did we talk about our all-time wish. We did not realize it would come true on our wedding night. "There cannot be a better time than now," my romantic wife whispered.
Honestly speaking, I cannot remember much about our dinner at Gaddi’s because I was too much in love with my Darleng. But I remember I was so miserable and uncomfortable because of the dress code. I had to wear leather shoes, a coat and tie, which I hurriedly grabbed at a nearby Marks and Spencer. I could not wait to go up to the room to undress (but that’s another story).
"This is miserable," I said.
"This is romantic," she said without batting an eyelash.
Some seven years after our miserable/romantic dinner, we received an invitation from The Peninsula Manila to sample the cooking of its guest chef, the Englishman David Goodridge, head of Gaddi’s nine-chef team. We literally dropped everything and cancelled previous engagements. All schedules were finally taken care of, but I had another problem. The invite said "Suit for men and cocktail dress for women."
"Why does Gaddi’s make life so complicated?" I was talking to myself, of course.
Let us rewind a bit. In 1953 when Hong Kong was not yet as busy and modern as it is now, the only way to experience real French food was to travel to France. So, Sir Horace Kadoorie, then chairman of The Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels Ltd., decided to create a fine French restaurant for Hong Kong’s elite. He named it Gaddi’s, after then Peninsula GM Leo Gaddi. Today, half a century later, Gaddi’s is known the world over and remains the finest French restaurant in Hong Kong. And maybe that is why it can make demands for a proper decorum that befits the best.
Forward to present time. Our dinner at the Manila Peninsula started with a bubbly 1996 Dom Perignon at the presidential suite. Darleng took one sip and instantly liked it. "What is this?" she asked the butler, as she looked at the bottle. "Oh, no wonder," she stopped herself, looking so pleased and beautiful in her black dress. A Dom Perignon for a welcome drink is like saying, "The dinner you are going to have is one that is expensive and lavish and not just distinct." She had another glass before she was ready to go down for dinner. (Oh women, why do you have naturally expensive tastes?)
The first course was an exquisite marinated goose liver confit with thin slices of Bresse pigeon, both imported from France. The goose liver was marinated for eight hours and then cured for four days before cooking. And how long did it take us to eat a dish that took so many days to prepare? All of 10 minutes, and all our plates were wiped clean with the brioche as it went perfectly well with a sweet 2001 Sauternes Baron Philippe.
Then came a dish that certifies that us, Famfangos, are the equal, if not greater than the French when it comes to gastronomy. They adore our signature "silent H," and frog’s legs to them is a gourmet dish while to us it is just a farmer’s daily fare. Chef David’s frog’s legs were done like chicken lollipops and those not used to having frogs, just imagine it to be chicken breast with mushroom cappuccino foam. This dish we – at least for Mary Ann and me – enjoyed with a 2002 Houghton G. I. Reisling.
Next was an unusual confit – a salmon confit with minted peas. It was not fried but poached in olive oil. It was moist and tender, almost raw. The cucumber and butter sauce was frothy and added flavor to what would have been a bland salmon. I enjoyed it, but not Mary Ann, who has no love for filleted fish. This we had with a 2002 Chablis, Louis Jadot. Well, you cannot please everyone.
For the meat course came a medallion of slow-cooked veal loin, with braised cabbage and Parmesan gnocchi. This time, beef eater Mary Ann was happy. It was first put in a bag and then poached to cook slowly. It was very tender and all the flavors were sealed in the meat.
"I’ve never had beef as tender as this. When I first sliced it, I thought it was brown bread, soaked in meat sauce," she said. Agreeably, it was that tenderly good and made even better with the 1998 Rioja Reserva, Bodegas Ramon Bilbao.
And finally for the dessert, a warm and moist rich chocolate tart with refreshing fresh berries. All the women guests went singing in unison, "Ummmn." as we men joined them sipping the 2003 Rimage La Coume Banjul, Domaine du Mas Blanc.
It was a long dinner that lasted for four hours. And you must be wondering how I survived four hours in a black suit and black leather shoes. Well, Mary Ann made me walk around the house in the same suit and leather shoes for three days before the event just so I got used to it. Some things in life are just (a bit) hard to learn.
Catch The Peninsula Hong Kong’s Gaddi’s chef David Goodridge at the Old Manila until September 17. It is a tad pricey, but come on, this is Gaddi’s head chef, flown in all the way from Hong Kong. To the men out there, take a clue. Satisfy your woman’s natural expensive taste by taking her to a Gaddi’s dinner. And believe you me, your reward will naturally come tenfold after the dinner. And if your lucky stars will allow it, you might even win two round-trip Cathay Pacific business class tickets to Hong Kong with a three-night accommodation in a superior suite at the Peninsula Hong Kong, including daily American breakfast and a dinner for two at Felix.
Chef Goodridge’s cooking class is on Sept. 17, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. For inquiries and reservations, call 887-2888 local 2953 or 2205.