Aficionados of authentic Spanish cuisine are making a beeline at the Manila Hotel every Thursday evening, there to partake of regional Castilian specialties seldom available under one roof in this country.
The Café Ilang Ilang plays host to “A Taste of Spain” buffet dinner every Thursday starting this month, under the strict supervision of executive chef Konrad Walter and chef Ainer Ebue, who ensure diners of fabulous feasts the likes of which are rarely seen here.
SPAIN'S FINEST Pulpo de Gallega (Images by RUDY LIWANAG)
Grilled Fresh Baby Sardines
Paella alla Valenciana
Roasted Pepper with Tuna
We had our fill of the Manila Hotel’s fantastic Spanish offerings last week, in the company of veteran journalists from newspapers and food magazines. We each had preferences: the PDI’s Cathy Canares is a meat-eater and thus, enjoyed grilled lamb, prime roast, ribs, and loin medallions; Expat’s Carmen Acosta took a bite of everything; a foodie editor was bowled over by various paella variants: paella valenciana, paella negra, and fideua, an unusual dish that uses thin egg noodles instead of rice.
And moi? I started with six fresh oysters perked up with green Tabasco and lemon juice, followed by steamed blue swimming crabs (alimasag) and a dozen kinds of tapas. Photographer Rudy Liwanag joined me in digging into several servings of rare, expensive anguillas (European baby eel) lightly scented with roasted garlic. We both felt like royalty.
Diners were lining up for freshly cut, paper-thin slices of jamon iberico ($200/kilo), which a few gourmets paired with crunchy melon from the dessert corner. A huge silver platter was filled with Spanish cold cuts: lomo iberico de cebo (cured pork loin) and salchichon gran reserve (Spanish salami).
And what would a Spanish buffet be without callos? The bowl we had contained tender chunks of imported tripe and beef parts, simmered to perfection with sausages, and spices, notably smoked paprika.
Another Spanish dish familiar to Filipinos is stuffed boneless chicken called galantine which was napped with a subtle mushroom gravy. The stuffing was smooth as pate, with no visible lumps except for dark bits of truffle.
What is great about the Manila Hotel Thursday Spanish dinner buffets is the fact that all the live cooking stations of the Café Ilang Ilang are open and continue to serve the best dishes from China, Japan, Thailand, the Middle East, and Korea. So it’s not just Spanish.
For dessert, executive pastry chef Rolando “Mac” Macatangay outdid himself with innovative meal enders incorporating surprising ingredients from Spain: olive oil chocolate ice cream, olive oil lemon cake, pastas de almendra (almond cake), crema catalanaa (crème brulee with orange and cinnamon), churros, and melocotones al vino (peaches poached in red wine).