Filipino food reinvented in Shanghai

An informal gala dinner kicked off “Flavors of the Philippines” food festival (June 10 to 20) at the Huating Hotel and Towers in Shanghai. It was one of the activities planned for all the Filipino VIPS and members of the media who flew in for the 35th anniversary of the Filipino/Chinese Friendship Day at the Philippine Pavilion of the World Expo.

Guests of honor were Undersecretary of Tourism Cynthia Carrion, Secretary of Trade Jesli A. Lapus, Philippine Consul General Maria Rowena Sanchez, Maria Roseni M. Alvero of the Phil. Trade and Investment Center, Maria Lourdes D. Mediran of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, and Shanghai Tourism Attaché Gerard O. Panga. Other distinguished guests were Larry Chan, CEO of Oishi China; Benny Y., Aw, SVP of Destilleria Limtuaco; CITEM deputy executive director Thelma Dumpit-Murillo; and Dr. Rebecca Wata.

The stars of the event were the Filipino chefs who were responsible for the authentic Pinoy gastronomical delights that tickled the palates of Filipino and foreign guests. Head chef Pepe Castillo, who started his career at Shangri-La Edsa Hotel 18 years ago, led the pack together with chef Emil Labrado, his contemporary at Shang Edsa as baker and pastry chef. Other chefs that contributed to the success of the event were Robert Gatchalian, head chef of Luneta Restaurant in Shanghai; Marjeddh Nana, junior chef of Travel Café Philippines; chef Carlo Castillo, son of chef Pepe, junior chef of Travel Cafe Philippines; and senior chef Alhubert Coralde of Travel Café Philippines. All thee chefs except for Robert Gatchalian (who is based in Shanghai) were invited to be part of the Travel Café to represent the Filipino chefs in the Flavors of the Philippines Food Festival in Shanghai.

According to Pepe Castillo, executive chef at the Manila Polo Club, the dishes that were very popular among the local Chinese and foreign tourists were our adobo, kare kare, (with bagoong) crispy tadyang, (beef ribs) lechon kawali, mini fresh lumpia, crispy fried squid, and kinilaw (marinated raw fish).

They reinvented the presentation to make the food look more appetizing. For example, the lumpia was made smaller and became a mini fresh lumpia, placed inside a small glass cup with its peanut sauce. The kinilaw was placed on a skewer, barbecue-style. Lechon kawali was chopped just the right bite size with its sweet liver sauce placed on the side, and the same with the crispy tadyang.

Special events cake chef Penk Ching was also flown in to create a three-layer cake with a vinta on top ( made of baked sugar). As part of the evening’s rituals, the cake was cut by Secretary Jesli Lapus and sponsor Larry Chan, and then served as dessert. She also created out of sugar and other ingredients fruits like mangoes, lanzones and bananas. Pineapple and the ingredients of halo-halo were displayed at the entrance of the Lobby Café where the food festival was held. They were life-sized and so real, I was about to ask for one mango as my dessert.

The Lobok Choir from Bohol was flown in by the Chan family to perform at the Expo Pavillion and for the Gala Night of the food festival. Chef Pepe Castillo mentioned, too, that there was incredible rapport and respect for each other’s culinary skills among the Filipino and Chinese chefs working at the Huating Kitchen during the festival. The success of the Philippine Festival was measured by the overbooked tables during lunch and dinner at the Lobby Café of Huating Hotel. Another indication of its success was an invitation by another hotel to the chefs of the Travel Café Group for another Philippine food festival in Shanghai in July.

Outbound tourism from China to the Philippines has improved by 40 percent, according to Tourism Undersecretary Cynthia Carrion during the press conference prior to the gala dinner. This only proves that events like “Flavors of the Philippines” are important to arouse the curiosity of foreigners to visit the Philippines. During the lunch and dinner of the festival, a TV screen showing panoramic sites in the Philippines was showing until the last guest left. This was a very effective tool to promote the beautiful spots of our country and draw in tourists.

The idiom “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” was once again proven true because after the food festival, there were countless inquiries on how to get to the many resorts of the Philippines. Our chefs must have satisfied their palates so well!