We’ve reported on the entertainment numbers, amusing guest list and Casa San Miguel’s polvoron at the state dinner for US President Barack Obama—now let’s talk about what was served in Malacañan Palace’s Rizal Hall.
During the cocktails served at the Guest House, “the hors d’oeuvres were Filipino delicacies given a twist, including Philippine cheeses, ham, jam and honey—Davao Malagos selection of blush, goat cheese and blue pepato, Laguna smoked kesong puti, dried mangoes and jackfruit, pili and cashew, Excelente Quiapo ham with watermelon and honeydew melon, Guimaras mango jam, santol marmalade, Negros guava jelly, sugarcane honey,” reports Thelma Sioson San Juan in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The serving portion at the four-course dinner, according to San Juan, “was just right, not huge.”
In a break of Malacañan tradition, the dinner was not catered by Margarita Forés. Shangri-La Makati’s executive chef, Gene del Prado, stepped in with his “Lobster Kilawin Carpaccio, Baby Sprouts and Fiddle Fern with Calamansi Jam appetizers and the main course of Marinated Beef Tenderloin with Annatto Lemongrass, Pumpkin Mash and Vegetables from a Batangas farm.”
Was the spread Filipino enough? At least one reporter has noticed “the noticeable absence of a few Filipino staples, and what seems like a lack of distinct local stamp—despite having kilawin, inasal, and pochero—in the menu, which was in contrast to the pronouncedly Japanese sushi dinner that the US President had with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” writes Amyline Quien Ching in Manila Bulletin. The choice of Coconut Lychee Ice Cream with Mango Macapuno Strudel for dessert was “a nod to one of the country’s core industries,” a government official has explained.
If they had their way, what would other Filipino chefs have served at the state dinner? According to the Manila Bulletin report:
— Laudico Guevarra of Bistro Filipino: Sinigang na bangus with guava and tamarind as souring agents
— Sau del Rosario of F1 Hotels: Rellenong bangus
— Carina Guevarra: Sinanglay, “a Bicolano dish where the dalag is wrapped in cabbage with vegetables and simmered in coconut milk.”
— Chefs Myke Sarthou of Tatung’s: A platter of Pinoy desserts like tibok-tibok; barquillos filled with cream cheese and mangoes; and duck egg leche flan served with tanglad tea
— Gene Gonzalez of Café Ysabel: Coconut jam or pastillas ice cream
— Jacky Ang Po of Fleur De Lys: Queso de bola ice cream, made of carabao’s milk topped with pastillas, and served with a Cotabato 70 percent dark chocolate cake
— Buddy Trinidad of Park Avenue Desserts: Banana, langka, and chocolate ganache turon with mango kalamansi sorbet
