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Compliments to the excellent Philippine-style chefs

I learned that in the Philippines, the term used for this is delicious, is “sarap nito”. Of course, in my mind, it was plain and simply, yummy!

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Grilled beef kaldretta, soft and thick, cooked to perfection, and braised beef brisket, sweet potato mash and turned vegetables

I attended the media sample dinner of the Philippine Food Fiesta, at the five-star D’oreale Grand Hotel’s Aurelia’s Restaurant, on Monday evening, June 24, with my guest, our editor and some colleagues, to get a sneak preview of what food lovers on the East Rand would have experienced throughout the rest of June, while the feast was on.

We were introduced to the vibrant and bold flavours of Filipino cuisine in the form of seven mouth-watering dishes that were served to all.

We were welcomed with a selection of fine fresh bread with a choice of sun-dried tomato and normal salted butter.

I particularly enjoyed the olive bread; it was a new and delicious flavour and if I was not informed that I still had six other servings coming my way, I would’ve loaded my plate with this bread.

This was followed with a tray serving with the choice of Lumpiang shaghai, which is a Philippe spring roll, inhaw na hipon, which is BBQ tokwa’t baboy.

The next serving was Mama Sita’s steamed sea bass with oyster sauce.

This dish was a hit and had everyone at my table’s compliments.

The bass was fresh, juicy and tasty.

Our palates were then cleansed with a sweet and tangy mango sherbet.

After that it was the grand finale, a nice, somewhat familiar dish to South Africa, except it had a Filipino touch to it.

This was a plate of grilled beef kaldretta, soft and thick, cooked to perfection, and braised beef brisket, sweet potato mash and turned vegetables.

I really got excited when it was desert time, as this was the moment where I was truly impressed.

For pudding, the chefs prepared Philippine lava cake, a spongy chocolate delicacy enriched with a chocolate sauce in the centre.

This was accompanied by Ube macaroon and cashew nut sans rival and yema custard.

Their dishes have a Spanish influence, which makes them extra exotic.

Our waitress’s name was Faithful Jalvan, and she was friendly and helpful all the way.

The feast was brought to life by Emperors Palace in conjunction with Mama Sita’s hot sauce brand and the Shangri-La Hotel in Manila.

Aurelia’s restaurant always provides a lovely, elegant atmosphere, good service and delightful food.

It was a delicious experience and definitely provided a spontaneous and exotic feel in comparison to our everyday routine.

The feast continued at Aurelia’s and Queen of the Nile restaurant until the end of June, in a series of lunch and dinner buffets and set menus, as well as a Filipino high tea for South Africans to indulge in these delicious foreign flavours. TB

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Philippine lava cake, a spongy chocolate delicacy enriched with a chocolate sauce in the centre.

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