Boracay is not only a magnet for sand and sun worshippers. It is also a go-to place for foodies who want to experience gustatory delights.
For example, the sumptuous two-night, four-hands, six-course dinner at Crimson Resort and Spa in Boracay.
“Boracay is not only about white sand beach. It is also a great food destination,” said Didier Belmonte, the French GM of the resort, adding that Crimson Boracay recently bagged the “Best Breakfast” award given by Conde Nast.
Didier, who has only been with Crimson Boracay for a few months after his stint as GM of Crimson Cebu for eight years, rose to the challenge of treating guests and other residents of the island to a culinary spectacle last weekend. The resort invited two culinary experts — chefs Sau del Rosario and Jeramie Go — to collaborate with Crimson Boracay’s very own — executive chef Nickolai Stoyanov and chef de cuisine Rakesh Singh Panwar, respectively.
The four chefs went out of their comfort zones and the result of the two-night gustatory event was nothing short of mouthwatering. The experience is still vivid on the palate of the resort’s diners.
Sunset dinner
Friday night saw the collaboration between chefs Jeramie and Rakesh. As the glorious Boracay sun set, the two chefs began their artistry in an elevated makeshift kitchen outside the resort’s famed restaurant Azure. The diners, seated on long tables by the beach, had sand in between their toes and the cool after-sundown breeze whetting their appetite.
First to land on the table was Rakesh’s Smoked Ham Urundai — fantastic! Corn, mozzarella and mango were securely hidden with bits and pieces of ham inside a pastry ball. Each bite was magical.
Magical, too, was his Pork and Chicken Terrine. Sliced meatloaf amply drizzled with apple coriander dressing lounged prettily on a garden of greens. Refreshing.
Rakesh, who was born in Northern India and found his way in the kitchen at the age of 15, also served his yummy Baked Black Grouper Fillet that oozed with pumpkin gravy.
Landing on the table next was the Seafood Coconut Miso Curry of chef Jeramie. The plating was poetic, what with the harmony among scallops, mussels, crabs, red snapper that was liberally doused with coconut and miso curry sauce. The curry dish had rhapsody — sumptuous, filling, tasty, luscious.
Jeramie — who put up recently his famous restaurant Pilgrim in Davao after his family’s stint in Canada from 2005 to 2021 — was unstoppable with his kitchen magic when he also served his fork-tender Galbi Jjim. His braised beef short ribs dish was heaven-sent if not made in heaven! The balance between sweet and savory in his short ribs was equalized further with the tang of the wasabi mashed potatoes. A few guests had a second serving of it. (The stretch of Station Zero, where Crimson Boracay is, was inviting for a walk to partially burn the calories earned that night.)
For the sweet ending, the talented but self-effacing Crimson pastry chef Josephine Doromal created the delightful, not-so-sweet Black Sesame Tiramisu. She also served the Passion Fruit Mouse on the second night of the four-hands dinner at Crimson Boracay.
Flavor fusion
Saturday night saw us at Mosaic, the classy restaurant of the resort, ogling the scrumptious temptation being created in the live chef’s table by chefs Nickolai and Sau.
Sau started the dinner with his Hamachi Adobo Mousse with ikura (salmon caviar) and fried leeks. Appetizing.
When his Scallop and Watermelon Ceviche was served, guests revered the dish silently. They were unsure at first if they would gorge on this beautiful creation that had Sturgen caviar, leche de tigre, and cured eggyolk. In a jiffy, my bowl was scraped clean. So was my wine glass with the young Bodegas Naia-K-Naia-Verdejo.
The piece de resistance that night was Sau’s Slow-braised Beef Cheek Barbacoa, cooked for 16 hours in a Sous Vide at 78 degrees Celsius. The tender, lip-smacking, collagen-rich dish was both science and art that could only be perfected by Sau, who studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and further honed his palate in the kitchens in the South of France. Sau has the natural ability to make the diner’s tummy happy.
Talk about happiness, chef Nickolai, who has been a culinary star in many hotels and restaurants in China and the US, also shone bright that night of the four-hands dinner. His Chicken Croquettes had foie gras, chimichurri, Gouda cheese and mystery and magic! One pop of a croquette in the mouth was all it took to know Nickolai is a kitchen wizard
His Black Cod with miso, savory corn pudding, roasted potatoes and macho sauce (a concoction of tomato, habanero, moritapepper, onion, garlic, salt and other spices) was spellbinding in taste and texture. It melted in the mouth and the natural, glorious flavors of cod exploded on the palate. (Ronie Reyes, marketing and communications director of Crimson Boracay and Alabang, who was seated beside me offered me half of her gindara when she felt one serving was not enough for me. Who was I to resist?)
Irresistible was the four-hands dinner events at Crimson Boracay last weekend. Didier, more than happy about the success of the dinners, plans to replicate them through a bigger event soon.
He said, “It’s all about creating an experience. We create memories.”
And the palate will remember for a long time the memories created on two consecutive nights when each dinner was delicious and divine. *