GOING up to Baguio for the holidays? Now, there are more reasons to choose to stay at Le Monet Hotel at Camp John Hay besides the fact that the hotel is surrounded by pine trees, the rooms (all with verandas) are cozy and comfortable, and service is good. Chef Marie Jo ‘MJ’ Camarista, the young and talented chef consultant of Artstream Hospitality Management Group Inc. (AHMGI), which is the management company of Le Monet Hotel, has just rolled out a new a la carte menu for the hotel. The new menu consists of appetizers, a Pistou vegetable soup, salads and vegetable dishes, sandwiches, pasta and noodles, fish and seafood entrées, meat and poultry fares, and a new USDA Certified Angus Beef Hanger Steak Onglet 12oz.
There are six new appetizers on the menu—Fried Calamari, Le Monet Shrimp Cocktail, Shrimp Scampi Gambas, Salmon Tartare, Baked Brie with Fruits, Nuts & Crostini, and Le Monet Tarts. The latter comes in three variants: Shiitake, Chanterelle and Asparagus; Four-Cheese; and Cherry Tomatoes, Ricotta and Herbs.
Must-tries among the appetizers are the Fried Calamari (Php250), fresh squid coated with spices and fried until golden brown and served with homemade lemon tartare sauce and spiced vinegar; and Baked Brie with Fruits, Nuts & Crostini (Php650), a whole wheel of brie cheese baked to melted goodness, served with dried figs, dried cranberries, rosemary, chopped walnuts and glazed fruits. The combination of salty and sweet, soft creaminess and crunchy texture explodes in the mouth.
When it comes to salads, the choices are Oriental Chicken Almond Salad, Nicoise Salad, Shrimp & Watermelon Salad, and Roasted Fresh Vegetables. While everything offers a different taste profile on the palate, the classic Nicoise Salad (Php750) is the most highly recommended. It is a combination of pan-seared tuna, Romaine lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, olives, anchovy fillets, feta cheese and French beans, topped with soft poached egg, and dressed with a refreshing honey, lemon and mustard dressing. The plating of the salad holds a pleasant surprise. At first look, you only see the slices of pan-seared tuna on a bed of Romaine lettuce, with a few French beans, the soft poached egg and alfalfa sprouts on one side, and thinly sliced, toasted bread on the other. But when you dig into the salad, you find the other components of classic Nicoise Salad waiting at the bottom.
There are four sandwiches on the new menu—BLT or Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato; Grilled Chicken Pesto; Grilled Cheese; and Pan-seared Tuna. I find the Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Php425) most interesting because it is unlike other Grilled Cheese Sandwiches I’ve seen and tasted. Chef MJ Camarista’s version combines four cheeses—buffalo mozzarella, sharp Cheddar, mild Cheddar and Parmesan—on buttery, crusty bread, and serves this sandwich with tomato soup and a shot of chilled tomato gazpacho along with herbed fries and fresh fruit salad.
When you order pasta at Le Monet Hotel, you can have it in Solo or Sharing portions. There are just two pasta selections to choose from. One is the Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli, which is stuffed pasta, and the other is Shrimp Scampi Linguine. Being a seafood lover, I lean towards the Shrimp Scampi Linguine (Php275 for a Solo serving, and Php500 for a Sharing size). It teems with succulent shrimps with fresh linguine pasta, tossed in a rich, buttery white wine and lush lemony garlic sauce flecked with fresh parsley and basil. The sauce is slightly spicy, but diners can ask the wait staff to adjust the heat according to their preference.
Seafood lovers like me will be happy with Le Monet Hotel’s new menu because there are four new fish and seafood creations. These are Almond Crusted Salmon, Char-grilled Tuna in Fresh Oregano, Shrimp Thermidore, and Tilapia Gratin. I am partial to salmon, so the Almond Crusted Salmon (Php450) is my favorite. It’s a beautiful dish not just to savor but also to look at because it’s studded with sliced almond that looks like fish scales.
Other entrées include a meat dish, Stuffed Lamb in Seasonal Vegetables (Php450), and a pork dish, Twice-cooked Pork Knuckles (Php420). Meat lovers would love both, but since Filipinos love pork, more diners would surely prefer the Twice-cooked Pork Knuckles served with Bordelaise Sauce.
(Le Monet Hotel is located at Ordonio Drive, Loakan Road, Camp John Hay, Baguio City; with contact numbers (+6374) 661-0202, (+632) 519-4903 and 0917-5267049. Manila Sales Office: (+632) 3733333 local 201 to 204.)
