By David Belmonte
With the festive fanfare and the Filipino food, the Philippine Culinary Heritage food festival establishes that the Diamond Hotel Philippines’ Corniche restaurant is indeed far grander than your run-of-the-mill buffet. The festival’s debut was appropriately held on June 19 – the birthday of our national hero, Jose Rizal.
Upon entry, we were greeted by people dressed in the recreated historical attire of soldiers, farmers and aristocrats from colonial times. It was an appropriate prelude to the tantalizing celebration of food, culture and history that would take form in the buffet, which was centered around Filipino dishes.
Calling the shots in the kitchen is guest Chef Christopher Carangian, the founder of the culinary organization Razorchef PH. A man passionate about his Filipino heritage, Carangian brings three rare recipes into the festival – one of which is even described as extinct.
The first of these dishes is Pancit Langlang, a soup from Imus, Cavite made with sotanghon noodles, chicken meat, shrimp, quail eggs and vegetables. This particular dish was thought to have been a favorite of Jose Rizal’s, since he paid tribute to it in his novel, El Filibusterismo.
The dish was served in a cauldron filled to the brim with glass-like noodles, colorful vegetables and the tender white meat of poultry.
The next of the big three is another dish from Cavite called Ciento Quinse, and Carangian himself stated that this “extinct” Chavacano dish was something he wanted to bring back to life. And those who attend the Philippine Culinary Heritage food festival will be lucky enough to sample this long-lost recipe.
Ciento Quinse is a dish created using a mixture of 115 different chilis – hence the name – and seafood such as crabs, mussels and shrimp. The dish also includes other interesting ingredients such as coconut cream and jackfruit, giving it a rather thick and creamy texture – one that blends well with the intense flavors of a myriad peppers.
Asked how he managed to come across this curious recipe, Carangian answered that he first learned about Ciento Quinse from someone at a wake. This person said to him “sana i-revive mo yung luto ng lola ko” (“I hope you revive my lola’s dish”). Carangian smiled, claiming that the name on its own had already piqued his interest. He asked them how it was made along with what ingredients to use, and eventually he moved on to share it with the rest of the country. No longer just a memory, Ciento Quinse is one of the primary dishes available at the food festival, and sampling it is an unforgettable experience in itself.
Finally, the last of the three featured dishes is one from Northern Luzon called Warik Warik, and it is a pork-based dish reminiscent of the Kapampangan sisig and the Ilocano dinakdakan. It features a cut of liempo along with choice offal infused with ginger and other spices.
The result is this masterpiece of a meal – velvety and rich; creamy, but not sickeningly so. A brilliant combination of all its ingredients, this dish is far greater than the sum of its parts. Here’s to hoping the dish finds a way into the Filipino mainstream, popping up in the menus of traditional Pinoy restaurants for families to share.
The Philippine Culinary Heritage food festival will be held until June 30 at the Corniche restaurant, Diamond Hotel Manila. Diners can enjoy a wide range of local flavors from all across the country for the price of P2,990 nett per person. Guests who spend a minimum of P5,000 at the Corniche lunch or dinner buffet are given a raffle ticket for the chance to win a 2-night stay in Baguio.
