IF you’re craving for delicious, authentic Singaporean food, then you can swing by Dusit Thani Manila and indulge in what you’re craving for at the hotel’s Basix All-Day Dining Restaurant. But you better do it this week because Swing By Singapore, Dusit’s Singaporean food festival, is ongoing until Sunday, August 18, 2013, only. So if you delay any further, you will miss the chance to partake of food prepared in the true Singaporean hawker cooking style.
Jetting in to take charge of the Dusit Thani Manila kitchen for the week-long Singaporean food festival with his team of Singaporean guest chefs is Chef Paul Then Seh Chon, who is backed by over 30 years of experience in the culinary industry and who carries on the advocacy of keeping Singaporean cuisine nostalgic of the good old days and keeping Singaporean hawker cooking traditions alive. I got a chance to meet Chef Paul last Monday (August 12, 2013), when he was introduced by Dusit Thani Manila’s executive chef Christian Werdenberg at the end of a media lunch held to give members of the local food media an opportunity to sample the Singaporean cooking of Chef Paul and his team.
Our lunch last Monday started with a platter of cold appetizers Achar with Roasted Peanuts (pickled vegetables), Prawn Mango Kerabu (prawn and mango salad) and Tauhu Goreng (deep-fried tofu with bean sprouts, cucumber and peanut sauce). I liked the Prawn Mango Kerabu most.
Next came individually portioned Bak Kut Teh, or pork rib soup cooked with Chinese herbs and spices, as well as Singapore Laksa in a bowl and Chicken Rice in a tasting portion. Served family style were Singapore Chili Crab, Satay (grilled meat skewers with peanut sauce), Sayur Iodeh (a popular vegetable dish cooked in coconut milk) and Pork Belly with Preserved Soya Beans (Singaporean pork belly stew). A special deep-fried bread, usually called Mantao, was served along with the Singapore Chili Crab. It’s meant to be eaten by being torn apart by hand and dipped in the rich and flavorful sauce, just like Singaporeans do.
To end the meal on a sweet note, a dessert sampler platter was served to each of us for a taste of Almond Beancurd, Mango Pudding, Black Glutinous Rice and Sesame Rice Balls.
For the duration of the Swing By Singapore food promotion, though, there are more Singaporean dishes featured on the buffet spread, including Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Char Kway Teow and Assorted Nonya Kuehs for dessert. Nonya Kuehs are small and colorful cakes and delicacies traditionally prepared by Nonyas (*what Singaporeans call Peranakan women, Peranakans being descendants of early Chinese immigrants who settled in Singapore and intermarried with local Malays).
Held in partnership with Cebu Pacific, Swing By Singapore is priced at Php1,450 net per person for the lunch buffet and Php1,650 net per person for the dinner buffet. Aside from the Singaporean dishes featured on the buffet spread as well as countless other international dishes, the lunch and dinner buffets also come with unlimited beverages, including softdrinks, chilled juices and local beers.
Remember: You have only until Sunday, August 18, 2013, to enjoy Dusit Thani Manila’s Swing By Singapore food festival.
(Dusit Thani Manila is located at Ayala Center, Makati City. For inquiries and reservations, call telephone number 238-8888.)
