YES, celebrity chef Sau del Rosario, now the executive chef of F1 Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, introduced his baby, Luzviminda, over lunch at the hotel’s F Restaurant today (May 30, 2013). No, Luzviminda is not a girl nor a pet, but it might as well be because it’s Chef Sau’s pet project, something that he feels so passionate about. Chef Sau’s Luzviminda is a major food promotion aimed at highlighting exceptional Filipino cuisine from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao which he and the F&B team of F1 Hotel put together in time for the Philippine Independence Day celebration on June 12.
While other hotels may be focusing on certain regional cuisines of the Philippines for the month of June, Chef Sau hauls it all in at F1 Hotel with Luzviminda: Filipino Festival of Flavors from June 1 to 30, 2013. Northern cuisine (from Luzon) that varies from simple dishes made with vegetables or Oriental ingredients to heavy meals off the grill… Central cuisine (from the Visayas) that boasts of seafood recipes and the popular Chicken Inasal… Southern cuisine (from Mindanao) that consists of dishes cooked with strong spices… All these come together in a huge buffet of Filipino favorites for the entire duration of the food festival – from appetizers and salads to hot dishes, carvings and desserts. Diners will surely have a difficult time deciding which dishes to partake of because everything looks so good.
Today’s lunch buffet had such interesting items on the salad station as Mangosteen Salad, Ensaladang Pakô, and Pomelo, Green Mango and Shrimp in Bagoong sa Gata Salad, which went very well with the Maya-Maya Mayonesa appetizer right next to the salad station. The latter was a huge maya-maya fish that had been deboned and flaked and mixed in with mayonnaise but recreated on the appetizer table to once again look like the huge fish that it was.
Over at the seafood on ice area stands a huge whole tuna fish that had been flown in from General Santos City this morning. Surrounded by lobsters, prawns, and fat and meaty mussels on half shells, the tuna fish was so fresh that it was being cut up and sliced into delicious sashimi right in front of the guests. The tuna must have weighed approximately 30 kilograms, according to my husband Raff’s rough estimate, and the ‘carving-sashimi-on-the-spot’ activity turned out to be a big hit.
The longest queue for food, however, could be found at the hot dishes area. The long line just did not seem to want to ease, and it was no wonder why. Guests were queuing up for such sumptuous dishes as Sisig Foie Gras, Habechuelas, Chicken Inasal, Truffled Maya-Maya Pinangat, Deep-fried Crabs with Alabar Sauce, Gising-Gising and Bam-I that led straight to the carvings of Bagnet from Ilocos, spicy and non-spicy Lechon from Cebu, and Baked Tahong (cheese-topped baked mussels on half shell).
The dessert spread featured yet another awesome selection. There was Durian Cheesecake with Passionfruit Glaze, Durian Panna Cotta, Mangosteen Cupcake, Leche Flan, Maja Blanca con Mais, Sapin-Sapin with coconut incorporated in it, Puto, Cuchinta, Palitaw, Pichi-Pichi, Guinatan and a Halo-Halo Bar. On both ends of the dessert buffet, there were interactive stations featuring native Pampangueños making Barquillos and Kapampangan Crepe with grated coconut filling and wrapped around fresh banana leaves.
Preparing the awesome spread for the Luzviminda launch cum lunch today and for the Luzviminda food festival for the entire month of June are F1 Hotel’s very own Chef Sau del Rosario and Chef Willie Ertez and four guest chefs representing the three major islands of the Philippines – Chef Martin Jickain for Luzon, Chef Paul Sidney Uy and Karl John Noel for the Visayas, and Chef Ed Tuazon for Mindanao.
Chef Martin Jickain, a native Manileño, is owner and chef of Station Juan Café at the White House Boracay. Chefs Paul Sidney Uy and Karl John Noel, both hailing from Cebu, own restaurants that are up and coming. Chef Ed Tuazon is the most seasoned of all the featured guest chefs, being a veteran hotelier and executive chef of Marco Polo Hotel Davao. Chef Sau chose to work with them on the Luzviminda project because he had been able to work with them in the past and he finds them to be among the most talented chefs in the land.
Doing the honors of cutting the ceremonial ribbon to launch Luzviminda this afternoon were celebrity chef and TV host Chef Pablo ‘Boy’ Logro, Center for Culinary Arts Manila (CCA) founder Susana ‘Annie’ Guerrero and culinary expert Nancy Reyes-Lumen. A short program was hosted by F1 Hotel’s marketing manager Mikco Maiquez with Sam O, which also featured a fashion show highlighting the designs of four designers, namely Chito de los Santos, Jinggo Inoncillo, Ronald Arnaldo and Eric Pineda.
And, oh, Happy Living sponsored Beringer wines, so everyone had their fill of white or red wine with their sumptuous lunch courtesy of Happy Living’s Katherine Yao Santos. But, well, my favorite Beringer White Zinfandel wasn’t available. I guess I’ll have to reserve that for later.
“Luzviminda is the start of big things to come at F1 Hotel,” Chef Sau promises.
Knowing Chef Sau, he’ll surely live up to his promise.
(F1 Hotel is located along 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. For inquiries or reservations, call 928-9888 or 908-7888.)
