(From left) Tohru Nakamura, Rui Silvestre, Rene Frank, Enrico Bartolini, and Alvin Leung at the launch of Solaire's Gastronomic Indulgence event. Jeeves de Veyra
MANILA -- What do you get when you get five Michelin-starred chefs to cook in one venue? You get a gastronomic indulgence.
Solaire Resort Entertainment City gathers five of culinary rock stars, partners them with world class beverage virtuosos, and have them take over its premiere restaurants to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
The chefs came together in the resort’s Italian restaurant Finestra for the launch to give a taste of their mastery over flavor and texture.
Chef Enrico Bartolini, whose Ristorante Enrico Bartolini in Milan, Italy boasts three Michelin stars, makes Finestra his home kitchen during the celebration. His Olive Oil, Lime, and Octopus Bottony with a seafood forward Cacciucco sauce was an amazing starter. A simple dish but beautifully balanced.
Olive Oil, Lime, and Octopus Bottony. Jeeves de Veyra
Bartolini followed this up with Turbot with chicory sauce and a chicken liver sauce for his turbot topped with a chicory sheet and caviar. Liver mixed with the herby, earthy chicory notes was a treat for those who like their liver.
Turbot with Chicory Sauce. Jeeves de Veyra
Master mixologist Salvatore Calabrese will pair his cocktails with Bartolini’s “Contemporary Classics” dinners.
Taking over Solaire’s Japanese restaurant Yakima is chef Thru Yakamura of the two Michelin-starred Schreiberei in Munich, Germany. For his first dish, he presented Toro with crispy rice bits on top of shio koji that had delicate yuzu notes punctuated with a bit of heat from wasabi.
Toro. Jeeves de Veyra
He elevated the humble chawan mushi, or steamed egg custard, with light grilled wagyu tartare and caviar for his second dish with just the right hints of umami from konbu ponzu.
Wagyu chawan mushi. Jeeves de Veyra
Sake samurai Hakihiro Igarishi will complement curated sips of sake for Tohru’s feasts.
Chef Rui Silvestre whose Vistas in Vila Nova de Cacela, Portugal has one Michelin star, highlighted his refined takes on curries. His carabiniero, deep see cardinal prawn, with tapioca and curry is a bit on the strong side, but when sliced up with mantao, became a nicely balanced bao.
Carabineiro Curry. Jeeves de Veyra
He also made a tikka marsala with lobster instead of the usual chicken. It was best to combine the celery root and black garlic paste to get the most out of this dish.
Lobster Masala. Jeeves de Veyra
Silvestre partners with head sommelier Eanglebert Guina for their tables of “Seafood Galore” at Waterside.
Known as the “Demon Chef,” Alvin Leung of two Michelin-starred Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, shows his colorful personality with his food. Leung showed off both sides of the culinary spectrum with his dishes. On one end, elevated comfort food with his puff pastry covered arroz caldo made with rich chicken broth and morel mushrooms. Breaking the puff pastry to let it mix in with a gingery congee is akin to adding upscale croutons in a Chinese breakfast table.
Pastry-capped Chicken Soup. Jeeves de Veyra
On the other end of the dining experience, Yeung shocks and awes with an indulgent Surf and Turf with Wagyu, abalone and generous shavings of black truffle guaranteed to have a bit of that exotic flavor in every bite.
Truffle Abalone Wagyu. Jeeves de Veyra
Leung heats up “Red Lantern” with his “Demonic Eat-All-You-Can Dimsum” with master sommelier Elyse Yeung.
Rene Frank of the two Michelin-starred CODA in Berlin, Germany proudly believes that dessert can be part of a main course. Frank’s experiential combinations truly demonstrate what Michelin star fine dining can be all about. He turns eggplant, of all things, into a complex layered dish that just has to nibble in between sips of his eggplant-sherry cocktail.
Eggplant. Jeeves de Veyra
Then for the actual dessert of this meal, the wait staff gave guests a sniff of thyme and only then can guests dig into the dish with grapefruit pulp, mascarpone, and cabbage.
Grapefruit. Jeeves de Veyra
Those with a sweet tooth should visit the Oasis Garden Café for dinner service for more of Frank’s desserts. Or better yet, go for the Finestra brunch where he will tag-team with Bartolini and Calebrese.
Aside from the restaurants, personalities from the liquor and spirits world are also taking over the Solaire’s bars including the Baccarat Room and the Whisky Bar, most notably whisky expert and author of the annual “Whisky Bible” Jim Murray, multi-awarded mixologist Antonio Lai, entrepreneur and sommelier Gerald Damsco, Remy Martin/Cointreau’s Kate Osmillo, and Don Papa’s Audrey Gustilo.
Solaire Resorts and Casino sure knows how to throw a party by bringing this rare gastronomic indulgence to the Philippines. It would cost a fortune to travel to these chefs’ home restaurants to have a taste of their food. If anything, the collective demonstration of culinary might show that fine dining is alive and well.
As for me, I’m already looking forward to what Solaire has in store for its fifteenth anniversary.