Saturday, November 19, 2005
Feasting on Mushrooms
By Jenara Regis Newman
MUSHROOMS and more mushrooms are in store for patrons of Shangri-la’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa’s Italian restaurant, Paparazzi, during its Il Mondo Mushrooms Food Festival on November 20-30.
Mushrooms may be strange-looking vegetables but they are delicious on their own or prepared with other meat and vegetables. Paparazzi’s chef Marco Anzani says that in his country, mushrooms are most abundant in autumn, meaning now.
So now is the time to savor the different subtle flavors of mushroom varieties in dishes.
We had the opportunity to sample some of them at a press dinner and we truly enjoyed Creamy Polenta with Mushroom Ragu, a concoction of three kinds of mushrooms, Crispy Pancetta with a touch of spicy tomato, Potato Gnocchi with Porcini mushroom, flavored with garlic and tomato and tossed in extra virgin olive oil, and Grilled Australian Beef Tenderloin on a bed of fried onion rings, toasted mushrooms and red pepper on garlic mashed potato.
That was a truly good meal topped by no, not candied mushrooms for dessert but Italian Semolina Pudding with strawberry topping, a light, yummy ending for such a fine meal.
There will be other dishes at the festival like Caesar Salad and Truffle Cream, Penne with Chicken and Black Truffles and Ossobucco on Casserole. You can even learn to do some of these dishes if you want to, as Chef Marco will share some of his special recipes on Monday, November 21, and Friday, November 25 at 3 p.m., inclusive of dinner. Slots for these are limited so call 231-18224 for reservations.
During the Il Mondo Mushrooms Festival, a la carte menu is available daily for lunch and dinner except for dinner on Wednesday, which will feature the usual Paparazzi buffet and Sunday lunch, which will have the usual brunch with kid’s entertainement from 12 noon to 2:30 p.m. So food buffs, if you want to taste the many flavors of various mushrooms, be at the Il Mondo Mushrooms Festival!
(November 19, 2005 issue)
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