See you at Cicchetti!

I would always hear about Cicchetti, an Italian restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City area, but never got to try it. This hidden gem is the latest concept in all-day dining from the group that brought us Belle & Dragon and Mandalay Whisky. Cicchetti (pronounced chi-ket-tee) means savory snacks or small side dishes, typically served in a bar or informal restaurant.

Each month, the restaurant collaborates with chefs and industry partners to host a “Four Hands Dinner,” which is the combination of ideas, techniques and cultures by two chefs through a multiple-course dinner paired with crafted cocktails and usually wines sponsored by Pernod Ricard.

I finally got the chance to visit the restaurant when chef Dan Koh of Alaska Prime Seafood partnered with the restaurant’s chef Kim Suva for a seafood dinner. I knew I could not miss this particular collaboration.

Poached cold crab meat.

The dinner started with local organic nama uni. We had it plain, no condiments, no sauce. We slurped it off our fist (just like tasting caviar)... it was delicious, one of the best local sea urchins I’ve had. Next were three Irish Gallagher oysters: plain, with dill lemon oil, and with Thai mignonette. All were so wonderful. They were washed down with Perrier Jouet champagne.

The uni and beef carpaccio ssam (a Korean wrap) made my expectations for the dinner go even higher. This was paired with a pepperoncini sour made with Chivas Regal, grapefruit and chili honey. This was followed by a charred octopus salad with parsley oil and tarragon foam, which was paired with a birra pepperoncino (beer, lime juice, syrup and cayenne powder). 

Lobster claw surprise.

A yuzu (Japanese lime) gelato was served to cleanse the palate before my live Maine lobster tail crudo arrived with Jacob’s Creek chardonnay. The crudo was perfectly seasoned with pomelo and turmeric dressing, which did not overpower the taste of fresh, raw lobster. Served next was the cooked lobster claw with Japanese soy sauce.

My favorite during the dinner was the poached cold crab meat with a tomalley (lobster liver and/or fat) hollandaise on a lobster reduction and pepperoncino oil — pure heaven. It was washed down with Amara Limone made with limoncello, aperol, lime juice and sesame oil.

Organic nama uni.

The last dish was uni and shiitake ravioli served with almonds, shiso (a Japanese herb), and a porcini cream sauce.  This amazing meal was capped off with an azuki bean and matcha (powdered Japanese green tea) tart accompanied by fresh fruits and a hazelnut chocolate ganache. 

After the memorable dinner, guests enjoyed cocktails at the restaurant’s outdoor bar.

Irish Gallagher oysters.

With a wonderful first impression from the four hands dinner, I would definitely love to go back to Cicchetti to try more of its Italian dishes. Kudos to chefs Dan and Kim!  

(Cicchetti is located at 8th floor, MDI Corporate Center, 10th Ave, corner 39th St., Taguig City. For inquiries and reservations, call 987-4756. For more information, visit @cicchettiph on Instagram and Alaska Prime Seafood on Facebook.)

It’s fun at the ‘City of Golden Friendship’

Tourism Assistant Secretary for Mindanao and Palawan Myra Paz Abubakar and Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno.

There are a lot of beautiful and fun places to visit in Mindanao, one of them is Cagayan de Oro, known as the “City of Golden Friendship.”

Recently, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT), concluded another run of its “Regional Travel Fair” held at the Limketkai Center in Cagayan de Oro. The travel fair provided Cagayanons a chance to discover and book exclusive and affordable tour packages from DOT-accredited tour operators, airlines and other exhibitors like hotels and resorts.

Supported by the local government units of Northern Mindanao, the travel fair was held in time for the celebration of the Higalaay Festival, an event that also aims to promote and strengthen domestic tourism in Cagayan de Oro. 

(From left) GRT Travel and Tour’s Grace Tesico, Paseo Premier Residences’ Nelson Octaviano, Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 10 director May Unchuan, DOT Calabarzon OIC regional director Marites Castro and Tourism Promotions Board (TBP) domestic department acting head for sales division Cesar Villanueva.

The TPB, through its domestic promotions department, has been developing and implementing aggressive marketing strategies to increase domestic travel to key regions in the country to encourage a greater level of spending, especially in emerging regions.

A half-day travel exchange table-top session also took place for tour operators, hotels and resorts, destination management companies and airlines to generate direct sales and business leads, meet new partners, and renew deals.

With the TPB Regional Travel Fair, more Filipinos will get a chance to discover and experience the many wonderful and unique destinations around the Philippines.

The TPB 5th Regional Travel Fair at the Limketkai Center in Cagayan de Oro.

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)