Foodies who want to enjoy a meal at some of the metro’s finest restaurants can now give back as Globe partners with Facebook online community Fine Dining Club Philippines for the “Gourmet Giving Series: A Fine Dining Thanksgiving Experience for the Hapag Movement.”
Participating establishments include A-list Filipino restaurants Alegria Manila, The Black Pig, Chef Jessie Rockwell Club, Ember, Flame by Discovery Primea, Gallery by Chele, Helm, La Cabrera, The Test Kitchen, Tiago’s Restaurant, Txoko Asador, and Your Local. Every venue promises distinctive offerings, from special Hapag Movement set menus to exclusive holiday previews.
“With the Gourmet Giving Series, we’re channeling Filipinos’ love for food and sharing meals together into meaningful avenues of giving. We are excited and grateful to have some of the best Filipino restaurants and chefs as partners in our endeavor,” shared Yoly Crisanto, chief sustainability and communications officer at Globe.
For those who want to see what Filipino ingredients and flavors can be transformed into, Gallery by Chele is the restaurant of choice. The brainchild of chef Chele Gonzales, a Basque native that now calls the Philippines home, Gallery by Chele explores and celebrates the best that the country has to offer.
The restaurant turns expectations on its head with familiar flavors presented in a new manner. A bonbon — normally a chocolate filled with liquer, is actually kare-kare with a peanut sauce on the side. A tartlet with an herb foam made using herbs planted at the garden outside the restaurant is filled with scallop sashimi for a flavorful bite to whet the appetite. A chocolate mousse dessert is actually a vegan dish, with the mousse created from silken tofu, topped with dehydrated yuba or tofu skin and flavored with a miso caramel.
Gallery by Chele also fuses ingredients to further elevate the flavors of each dish. Fresh tuna slices harvested from the north of the country are topped with a yuzu and ikura cream, a distinctly Japanese take on the traditional Kinilaw sa Gata.
Another dish sees octopus marinated Inasal-style but served in a thick Laksa-style sauce redolent with fresh spice. The classic Filipino dessert of Buko Pandan is reimagined with small cubes of lemon-macerated fruits nestled on a pandan foam and topped with a coconut ice cream.
There are also classic courses with a Filipino twist. The pan-seared Dorado is perfectly cooked and topped with a Calamansi Beurre Blanc.
Adding another layer of twist is the use of mashed green papaya as a pseudo-starch. The beef tenderloin in the meat course is perfectly cooked as per standards, but the Ube-Latik mash is an unexpected treat.
Diners can enjoy the special dinner menu prepared by Gallery by Chele on November 23.
Special treats also await other Globe mobile and broadband customers who avail of the Hapag Movement tasting menus from the participating restaurants.
“Through the Gourmet Series, we hope to unlock meaningful, memorable, and sought-after dining experiences for our customers. By partnering with some of Metro Manila’s premier restaurants, Globe delights customers to dine in their favorite establishments while supporting a movement for social good,” said Darius Delgado, head of Globe’s consumer mobile business.
