Christmas at Paseo Uno. In Tagalog, it’s called “Paskuhan sa Paseo Uno.” At the Mandarin Oriental Manila’s wonderful buffet lunch today with the members of the press, I was able to experience just that. It was an early Christmas feast!
Chef Ed Quimson (of La Tasca, Via Mare, Nielsen Tower Club, and Giraffe fame, to name a few) who is currently at the helm of Paseo Uno, has concocted a buffet table- ful of traditional Filipino fare more than worthy of being served for Noche Buena!
In traditional Filipino culture (actually this was adapted from the Chinese culture), noodles are integral to any celebration (birthdays and other important celebrations). And I love noodles. When I see noodles on a buffet table, you will know I will end up with a fantastic meal. This Pancit Barbeque is delicious. Very full flavors leave you wanting a second and third serving!
 |
| I can eat this whole plateful of pancit. No kidding! |
The traditional Spanish paella gets a full Filipino treatment: This is Quimson’s Paella Tinola. I had to stop myself from having over 2 servings. It was delicious because it tasted like my comfort food– Tinola soup.
 |
| One of my favorite dishes! Funny I don’t know how I photographed this, it ended up looking like couscous 😉 |
Afritada. A traditional Spanish- inspired Filipino dish of meat and potatoes cooked in tomato sauce
And then this dish below. OMG. This is so sinful and is a luxury to eat. Especially if you have that lurking cholesterol problem hahaha. But know what, it’s the Christmas season. You can be forgiven for indulging in more than one piece. Because once you sink your teeth into this, you will want more than one slice. Dip it into the accompanying shrimp paste and wow, you’ll be taken to pork heaven 😉
 |
| Sinfully good: Crispy Pork Belly with 2 sauces |
Then there was Prawns sa Aligue which was just as sinful. Crab fat (aligue) with prawns made for an excellent pairing. It was so rich!
This was my first plate.
On my succeeding plate, I also tried the balut pate served with melba toast *this was seriously worth trying because it can be very addictive!!!*, but was unfortunately unable to taste the Suha salad (pomelo salad) because I was a tad late and everyone devoured the salad. Boohoo– so I really missed that, and everyone had the best things to say about it 😦 Chef Quimson also has Paco salad (which is also another local favorite of mine) on the menu, so I vow to go back to Paseo Uno to try either salads. So shall I be bumping into any of you there this month? 🙂
Thank you Mark and Charisse for a wonderful early Christmas feast 🙂 Loved it! See you again very soon! The salad, paella, balut pâté… oh dear and pretty much everything else, is calling me back haha 🙂
For reservations at Paseo Uno (you will need to reserve since it was actually so full today), please call
(+632) 750-8888. Visit www.mandarinoriental.com for further details as well!
x
TheBagHag
tresormakati 