|
Saturday, September 03, 2005
It’s all in the kitchen
By Orly J. Cajegas
I used to get excited when invited to another eat-all-you-can buffet because I’m always in the market for a dining bargain ... as long as the food is good.
But by the time the 20th lookalike buffet came along, the novelty faded, and it became hard to ignore that most of them didn’t merely look alike but acted pretty much the same, serving similar selections mostly of ho-hum Chinese and American fare. If the chef is competent and if management takes care to keep the buffet offerings fresh and hot, a buffet can be a good deal for a quick lunch - or even a family-style seafood dinner on a weekend evening. It’s important to pick and choose.
So when I got word to sample a lunch buffet recently at the International Culinary Arts Academy Cebu, it was too much of a temptation to resist. So off I went to the school (located across USC Girls High) which has been in the industry for the last four years.
Here, Tuesday means lunches: huge treats and lots of second helpings on the buffet table. It’s the day that students can show off —and share — with their friends and family what they have learned in the school cum kitchen.
The buffet is a large one, featuring five separate buffet tables - one of them a “double-wide” - plus a standup sushi bar along one side of the room. About a dozen choices were surprisingly good, well-made and carefully attended to by hard-working servers who kept the pans stocked with hot, freshly stir-fried delicacies that seem right up to the quality you would expect if they were prepared to order.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, right? Without wasting much time, I sipped the soup right away. There was a particular zing to it, which tasted a tad bit sour and spicy. But yes, I instinctively took a particular liking to it. Ah, Asian buffet at last. A vegetable roll with crisp green beans at the center was interesting
Hot-and-sour soup didn’t at all glisten with cornstarch thickener, but it was a fairly flavorful rendition, thick with egg scrambles, tofu dice and mushrooms, and the flavors were correct, peppery spice and tangy vinegar in balance.
Being the perpetual rice eater that I am, I quickly made a dash towards the main course, a calf roasted to perfection, pinoy style. I’m salivating now just thinking about it.
The dessert table was a winner. Halo-halo is an easy choice, I must admit. Plus I got the chance to have Chef Jeremy Young sprinkle sesame seeds onto the hodgepodge beloved of pinoys.
Amidst the frenzy and the long beeline, I kinda liked the feverish atmosphere in the kitchen. The students get their hands full with “restaurant operations”. They make the menu from its conceptualization (the theme, say, for example, Italian or Mediterranean) down to the actual food preparation.
For just a mere Php190, guests and walk-in culinary addicts are treated to a full lunch buffet complete with drinks and dessert. You’ll have to make reservations, though, at 2560461 or 4182988.
Come September, it’s brunch.
(September 3, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
