A Meal Fit for an Emperor

Posted by The Chubbychef on Jul 22, 2010 in Featured Articles, General Food News, Latest Resto Finds

Warning: Looking at the photos may cause hunger. Foodie Manila is not responsible for your cravings.

I love my blog. Wait I’m being vague. Let me be more specific.

I.LOVE.MY.BLOG.

Today I was invited to have an intimate lunch at the New World Hotel’s Jasmine Cantonese Restaurant. Their head chef Choi Wing Ki prepared a special menu just for us. My first impression is that it was a feature lunch where I would go and eat at one of their restaurants and then feature maybe a promo or a special offering for a duration. I was accustomed to this way of dealing with bloggers. But to my surprise, the head of communications of New World Hotel greeted me at the entrance. I felt really special. We quickly made our way to the table where I conveniently asked where I could setup my lights, she was surprised that I wanted to shoot the food. She basically just wanted to have lunch with bloggers and just talk. I was quite impressed with the way they treated bloggers! Working in the industry and being a blogger myself, I rarely get a chance to be the actual highlight of the event. They didn’t even expect us to write about the lunch! Thus; no press kits. No prepared spiel about what the lunch was about. This was indeed a huge come-on to me. But as a Food blogger, how could I pass up a chance to shoot such beautiful food?

Little did I know, that one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time would start.

We started off with a Black Truffles pan-fried Foie Gras with XO Sauce. I personally try to avoid Foie Gras because of the high cholesterol content, but how could you say no to this?

The Foie Gras was tasty and oozed flavor and that oh-so-good sinful touch that everyone loves and the Black Truffle was just a perfect touch. The fusion of both Western and Asian tastes was beautifully executed in this dish. It reeked Yin and Yang in a harmonious symphony of taste and texture that left me wanting more. It left me thinking, actually more like hoping and praying Foie Gras wasn’t so bad for you.

The next that was layed on our Lazy Susan, was the Roasted Crispy Skin of Suckling Pig on Crepe. I have tasted some pretty good suckling pigs from some top chefs and yet I find this topping my list. The crunchiness of the skin was unparalleled. The tastiness of every square inch of that pig was just simply amazing. With every bite you could taste the juiciness of the pig as well as the saltiness of the fat top it off with hoisen sauce and you’ve got a meal one would die for. (Figuratively and literally)

I like soups. Wait, that’s not entirely correct. I love soups. I find soups like soul food. I like Bak Kut Teh. I like Sibut. I even like Wintermelon soup. But the Double Boiled Flower Mushroom with supreme fish maw at Jasmin restaurant was one of a kind. I couldn’t have enough. The fish maw and chinese mushroom in it added just the right touch. It felt like home. I felt my soul getting nourished with every sip. Too bad the waiter took away my empty bowl right after I sopped up the last drop. I was literally slurping. I didn’t care that I was at a hotel. It was that good.

And as if things couldn’t get any better, the largest LOBSTER I had ever seen in my life was served right before me.

Let me just say *takes a deep breath* LIVE BOSTON LOBSTER Wok-fried with Cheese & E-Fu Noodles.

It sounds like a concert. And in many ways it was indeed like a one. The lobster was just a masterpiece. The dish was a performance in itself. We were merely spectators to the harmonious taste and dish that was on the plate much like a stage. The same way one anticipates a rock band playing, I awaited the tasting this dish. The very same way I would move and sway to te rhythm of a bad-ass guitar solo or a cool bass lick, I was grooving and jiving to the individual textures of the lobster and E-Fu Noodles. This was no ordinary dish. This was a performance.

The lobster was as large as my forearm or even longer! It was cooked so perfectly that the meat stayed intact and provided enough resistance without being to tough. The cream based sauce was just perfect and it did remind me of a Cantonese dish the club and I had at CSK. The noodles underneath provided the perfect compliment the lobster meat and I just had a blast eating this. Each dish was so far a constant revelation towards Cantonese fine-dining.

The waiter then brought out a platter filled with beef and I thought to myself, “ahhh this I know!” I quickly got a spoonful and shoveled it unto my plate. I looked for the rice since I assumed it went with this dish and couldn’t find it at first. The waiter then placed a tiny “dian xin” container beside me and I thought at first it was indeed dim sum. I opened it and it revealed the rice wrapped in some kind of leaf.

The Wok-Fried Shredded Beef Tenderloin with Scallions in Port Wine Sauce was just absolutely stunning. The rice: Stewed rice with assorted meat and abalone sauce wrapped in lotus leaf was definitely a one of a kind dish which really added to the cantonese taste.

I thought to myself “what an ingenious way to present rice!” as I proceed to nom-nom everything on my plate. The beef was nice and tender and I remember at one point asking Ironwulf if it were indeed beef and not tofu. The consistency and texture were all basically beef, but because it was so tender and soft one would easily mistake it for tofu.

As I scanned the menu in the hopes of maybe finding a unifying theme or at least my attempt at guessing the next food out of kitchen to be served to us, I came across a really unfamiliar food. Sea Mantis in chili and garlic. I thought to myself what are Sea Mantis’? Sea Mantis Wok-fried dried chili, black beans, & crispy garlic “harbor-style” was up next.

I quickly googled it as soon as I got home and here is what Mr.Wikipedia has to say:

Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimp nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may reach 30 centimetres (12 in) in length, although exceptional cases of up to 38 cm (15 in) have been recorded. The carapace of mantis shrimp covers only the rear part of the head and the first three segments of the thorax. Mantis shrimp appear in a variety of colours, from shades of browns to bright neon colours. Although they are common animals and among the most important predators in many shallow, tropical and sub-tropical marinehabitats they are poorly understood as many species spend most of their life tucked away in burrows and holes.

Called “sea locusts” by ancient Assyrians, “prawn killers” in Australia and now sometimes referred to as “thumb splitters” — because of the animal’s ability to inflict painful gashes if handled incautiously— mantis shrimp sport powerful claws that they use to attack and kill prey by spearing, stunning or dismemberment. Although it happens rarely, some larger species of mantis shrimp are capable of breaking throughaquarium glass with a single strike from this weapon.

It looked like Crispy Tadyang actually. I didn’t know how to eat it. So I just quickly popped it into my mouth and started munching. I didn’t want to ask how to eat it because I could see everyone just happily digging into the different dishes and also I didn’t want to seem like I didn’t know anything. Until someone raised the question “how exactly do you eat the mantis?” did we all chime in at figuring out the best way to eat it! Apparently NOBODY knew if we were suppose to eat the skin!! But we eventually all did and just tossed it up to experience.

Now I know I am a HUGE lover of desserts. Not only do they look good in pictures, (yes, they are the most photogenic of the bunch) but it brought with it creativity in terms of combinations and the most unconventional pairings. From experiencing something as unique as Chocolate and Chili to getting down and dirty with Bacon and Egg Ice-cream flash frozen with Liquid Nitrogen, dessert was part of the meal that really had much pressure on.

The waiter then carried out a single Orange on a plate.

I was slightly disappointed.

I don’t have anything against fruits but c’mon, a FRUIT? Much less an Orange?

As the plate was laid before me I saw that the top part was cut off. I quickly removed it to see Orange gelatin inside the fruit. Definitely A+ for presentation.

Chilled Orange Jelly served in a whole orange it said on the menu. I read it once or twice and I was “meh”

The story behind the Orange gelatin was that it was made from PURE SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE. Ok that got my attention. The fact that it took 7 oranges to come up with enough juice to fill one also did wonders for my curiosity. I didn’t quite like orange juice pure because it tasted so sour that I sometimes find it odd that it was refreshing. I quickly grabbed my tangchi and scooped a small portion. I paused. I scooped some more, this time a bit more. I got again. With every scoop the portions getting bigger and bigger. I wanted the gelatin to last FOREVER. It was that damn good.

I LOVE THIS DESSERT.

It was so simple, beautifully presented, not overwhelming, refreshing, and it definitely cleansed my palette after all the strong flavors of the other dishes. This is what a dessert should be. It wasn’t too sweet nor sour, IT WAS PERFECT. If not for anything else, I would come back for this. Carla if you are reading this and you feel I did the restaurant justice, please do send this again. I hate New World hotel for introducing to me the perfect dessert. I am most likely never tasting this again. No wait, NEVER SAY NEVER.

Orange gelatin we will meet again.

I was happy. I was in heaven. I was in bliss. What more could I ask for? The lunch or meal ended perfectly the way it did, or so I thought. The last thing they brought out, in true Chinese way were some buchi. But what made these buchi so different was not what coated it outside, but what was inside. These tiny little glutinous rice balls all contained chocolate. But it wasn’t just any kind of regular chocolate. It was valrhona chocolate.

NO ONE SAYS NO TO VALRHONA CHOCOLATE. NO ONE.

If you don't know what Valrhona chocolate is, please do yourself a favor and GOOGLE now. You will thank me later. I swear. Or you will hate me forever. It depends actually. The glutinous dumpling stuffed with chocolate and tossed with fine peanuts were perfectly prepared. It was nice and soft and the peanuts added just the perfect texture to the dish. As you bit into the glutinous rice dumplings, the warm chocolate inside, with all its chocolatey gooey-ness, came oozing out flooding your mouth with such a treat that you wanted that feeling to last forever. You can’t/won’t be able to stop yourself from taking bite after bite after, and yet somehow, if there was a way you wanted it to last forever, you would have done it. Simply Amazing.

For a sit down lunch this has got to take the cake. It was even better than actually featuring the restaurant. For a meal that was never supposed to end up on a blog, it was pretty awesome. How could this not BE on Foodie Manila? This is definitely one of the highlights of 2010 or maybe even my blogging career so far.

Thank you Carla and Ms. Monique  for the invite. I truly did have a wonderful experience meeting you. Again *ahem* if you ever have some spare orange gelatins lying around, you know where to find me!

Again, for the nth time; I.LOVE.MY.BLOG!

Cheers,
The Chubbychef aka. Carlos
Lobster