With the love for local food and an overflow of creative talents, Megaworld Hotels and Resorts (MHR) brings people together for an evening of festive culinary delights entitled LaMeza, with its own take on The Modern Filipino Table.
On this night, MHR gathers all its executive head chefs from all its properties as they debut the future of its culinary offers available in all its locations through an elevated 9-course dinner designed to draw you closer to the flavorful roots of “Our Heart, Your Home”.
As a proud homegrown brand, “We want to offer our very own” shares Ms. Cleofe Albiso, Managing Director of Megaworld Hotels and Resorts.
The night begins with Baguio. For the first bite, guests enjoyed a freshly baked soft raisin roll topped with crispy quinoa and the dark sweetness of molasses. It also has cream cheese and softened butter flavored with locally picked strawberries.
We move on to Aklan. With influence of Italy, guests follow through with a unique pasta dish cooked with the freshest crab catch from the province and the famous chorizo of Boracay’s “choriburger” fame. The pasta’s flavorful sauce is made from seafood consomme and saffron cream and making it more appetizing is the spinach tuile from a local harvest.
Bicol highlighted the Laing Espesyal, a classic Bicolano food wherein taro leaves are braised in coconut milk for three hours and enhanced with scallop and prawn paste for a flavorful and rich taste. The was elevated with the use of prawn and lechon kawali.
It is then followed by La Union, known for its octopus. The usual specialty is given a Spanish twist by poaching the octopus until it is fork-tender, then searing it “a la plancha” or grilled on a metal plate. To enhance the flavors, the dish is served with creamy celeriac butter, classic aioli, and smoked tomatoes.
Up next is a savory vacation to Cebu with a unique dish of stir-fried scallops with crusted chicharron, served with purple yam and corn puree with chorizo oil and Sriracha cheese.
Guests now take a trip to Mindanao and land their taste buds in Davao to enjoy Calderobo with Cacao Cheese.
As the “rice granary” of the Philippines, it’s a must for the Nueva Ecija special to be a rice dish perfectly complemented by a delectable viand. Here, tiger prawns are cooked in a vacuum container, then served with pumpkin-infused risotto, nutty and earthy edamame pods, topped with Parmegiano Reggiano.
To end the meal on a sweet note, the guests enjoyed a delightful bite of Bulacan with a serving of pastillas macaron, macapuno truffle, espasol praline and peanut brittle chicharon.
Coming into a close, one’s journey will never be complete without the sweet offers of Iloilo with the finest cheese made from their carabao dairy farms complemented with a batuan jam and mango compote.
At the end of the evening, due credit and recognition was then extended to all the inspirational Executives Chefs who, through their talent, passion and creativity, made the night truly interesting.
