Media Noche Memories at The Maya Kitchen

Last Saturday, my mom and I attended November's featured class - Media Noche Memories with Chef Fern Aracama at The Maya Kitchen. I first knew about Chef Fern from the culinary magazines then later on as a celebrity host/judge for the Philippine version of  Master Chef. Aside from being a celebrity chef, Chef Fern is the man behind Aracama Filipino Cuisine and is also the culinary consultant for Philippine Airlines.


This event focuses on dishes one can serve for the upcoming holidays, and were inspired by dishes the chef grew up eating as well as those inspired by his travels.

Dishes prepared:


Malunggay and Cheese Dip
A signature appetizer at Aramaca Filipino Cuisine, this one was the local response to the well known Artichoke and Spinach Dip, using Malunggay or Moringa to replace the artichoke. A very, very easy dish to make and was mom's favorite from all the dish prepared. Will prepare this at home this week and share you the recipe on Friday.


Patatas Riojana
A dish inspired from Chef Fern's Spanish trip. Another simple and easy dish to make, but I found the broth a little too salty for my taste. The chorizo tasted great, by the way.



Grilled Ensaimada - Media Noche Style
The heartiest and the richest dish of the day... Ensaimada cut in half and turned inside out and filled with Chinese Ham, mustard, Quezo de Bola then pressed and grilled in a butter greased pan. The dish prepared for the photo shoot was a little burnt, but the dish served at the end of the event was grilled perfectly. I loved this one as it had a great balance of sweetness and saltiness.


Insalata Uva
To counter the richness of the Grilled Ensaimada, Chef Fern prepared Insalata Uva, a signature salad dish chef's old restaurant called Uva. I do love to eat salad, but I rarely prepare vinaigrette, so this was something I am thankful for. Means I can now include vinaigrette on my salad as well.


Bunuelos with Spiced Chocolate Dip
A dessert that was my favorite dish that day. It was like profiteroles, but this one's lightly crunchy on the outside and very soft and moist inside. At the demo, this was paired with a chocolate dip, but at the buffet, this was served with another dip - Dulce de Leche. The Spiced Chocolate Dip was great, but I personally loved the Dulce de Leche more.

With the Christmas coming around the corner, people are not only stressed with thinking which gifts to wrap, stress from thinking what to serve also wears us down. All these dishes were very easy to make and not only would these make the Christmas table look great, these were also great Christmas gifts to family and friends.

I am not sure if there will be a featured class this December... if there will be one, I will share details here on my blog as soon as possible.

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The Maya Kitchen Features "Breaking Bread With Our Heroes"

The Maya Kitchen gave Filipino cuisine another spotlight as it featured "Breaking Bread With Our Heroes" cooking demo last 26 October 2013.


"Breaking Bread With Our Heroes" was a culinary event Ilustrado Restaurant had in cooperation with the National Museum. It aimed to showcase different dishes in relation to certain Filipino heroes, and a few years after, these dishes are passed on to those who attended the event. Now, it's my turn to pass on this knowledge to you, my dear readers.

For this featured class, four dishes from the said event were demoed, but the people behind Ilustrado Restaurant, headed by its president - Mr. Boni Pimentel, also shared two dishes from the restaurant. Here were the dishes:


Umbuyan
A dish that traces its origin from Tondo, Manila where the hero Andres Bonifacio hailed from. Back then, that part of Manila was still known for its smoked fish, which was the main ingredient for this dish. Flaked smoked fish wrapped in Pechay leaves and drizzled with olive oil was a good appetizer, although I found it a little salty. Maybe it needed to be paired with steamed rice to mellow the saltiness, but it was a very easy dish to do that my mom and I wanted to try it one time at home. We just have to find a not so salty smoked fish or maybe add a little something to tame that sodium level a little.


Bagnet with KBL
A very famous Ilocano dish for the sons of Ilocos, Juan and Antonio Luna. Not for the weak of heart as this was a cholesterol rich food, but even if the process of making this was a little tedious (from boiling to baking to frying), it was still very delicious! In Ilocos, the best partner for this would be the KBL or the Kamatis - Bagoong - Lasona (tomatoes, fish paste, shallots), but it was made better with the addition of minced ginger.


Manok ng Mga Bayani
A dish that was said to be served in one of the events hosted by the former Philippine President, Manuel L. Quezon. A very interesting dish because it tasted like a cross between Kare Kare (because of the toasted peanuts and rice) and Adobo (because of the tangy flavor brought by the Kamias or Bilimbi). So delicious and so tasty!


Halayang Bayabas
A dish inspired by the National Hero, Jose Rizal because of the abundance of guava in his hometown. Tasted a little bit like guava jam, but made creamy because of the milk. A simple way to end a historic dining experience.

Like I said, Mr. Boni Pimentel and his team also shared two dishes from Ilustrado Restaurant:


Paella Ilustrado
I love fried rice, but I admit I am not a fan of flavored rice, Paella included. However, there was something in this dish that made me like it - rice not resembling the texture of the suman. I truly don't like mushy flavored rice, but since this one wasn't mushy, I quite enjoyed eating it.


Sampaguita Ice Cream
As a treat to the people who attended the event, we were all served Sampaguita Ice Cream, one of the most unique ice cream flavors I have tried. The jasmine scent and flavor was prominent, but the ice cream's consistency and feel in the mouth was so awesome that it made me really thankful to have tasted such delight.

A country's history isn't just measured with the words from the books, or the pictures taken... it can also be seen through food. Thank you, The Maya Kitchen for making me a part of this event.

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Farm to Table: Organic Gourmet Cuisine by Chef Robby Goco at The Maya Kitchen

Busy lives made us go for quick fix meals, often going for the instant kind. Likewise, the need to produce a bountiful harvest has allowed many farmers to use fertilizers and pesticides, which... whether we admit or not, has an effect on our bodies. Nowadays, there are just so many kinds of illnesses, and the way we eat has always had a contribution to it.

Clean eating is still something I haven't totally embraced, honestly. I love eating fast food and junk food... and I am still having problems jumping on the Organic way of cooking and eating because we all know that organic ingredients are very expensive and our location is way too far from the few stores that sell organic products.

Organic eating and cooking is now slowly gaining spotlight, maybe because of the many illnesses people are suffering now. As they say, prevention is always better than cure.



Last Saturday, The Maya Kitchen featured Chef Robby Goco of Green Pastures Original Local Organic restaurant. Opening the restaurant took him many years because he wanted everything on the restaurant to be organic and locally sourced as much as possible. He is very firm about the ingredients used in the dishes served in the restaurant, that they make their own ketchup, mustard... and that Chef Robby personally know the farmers and where he sourced his ingredients. He even knows the person who planted the Olive trees where the olive oil used in the restaurant came from as well as the person who makes the salt for the restaurant. Same goes for the meat.

The event was the longest one I attended at The Maya Kitchen because everything was made from scratch. We were taught how to make our own tomato sauce without the aid of food processor and blender as well as making homemade ricotta cheese. Aside from these, we were also taught some tips about transitioning to organic eating and where to buy organic produce.

For this class, we were taught seven dishes:


Cheesy Kale
A very simple salad that used Kale, Pecorino Romano cheese, Olive Oil, and Sherry Vinegar. I love salads, but I am not big on cheese because I feel it's the cheese and the dressing that makes the salad packed with calories somewhat "unhealthy," but this one was good. I loved the contrast between the tangy vinegar and the salty cheese. By the way, if you want to know where to buy Organic Kale, you may purchase it at any Sugarleaf branches.


Arugula and Apples Salad
This salad was something Chef Robby came up with when he ran out of this certain vinegar for the salad. Using Granny Smith Apples, which we all know is known of its sour flavor, it provided a fruity twist to cut the bitterness of the arugula. I love, love, love Arugula leaves, and I just loved the flavors of this salad!


Ricotta on Toast, Onion Jam, and Roasted Garlic
Thankful for this event, I now know how to make our own Ricotta Cheese. We were also taught how to make the Onion Jam, which was very easy to do despite its long cooking time.


Pumpkin Toast
This had the same concept as the other appetizer, only that this used mashed baked pumpkins and maple onions together with the homemade ricotta cheese. Between the two appetizers, I preferred this one because I loved the natural sweetness of the pumpkins. This might be an appetizer, but it can also be a meal on its own.


Young Goat Bolognese Pasta
Chef Robby told us that one of the best meat we could feed ourselves and our family is goat meat because not only is it leaner, goats also eat grass mainly. The only problem with using goat meat is the "anggo" factor, but for this dish, certain ingredients were used to counter that negative flavor to the goat meat. This one was a very unique pasta for me as this was the first time I got to taste goat meat with spaghetti.


Seafood Cioppino
One of the best soups I have tasted because it was packed with a lot (and I mean a lot) of seafood - crab, prawn, squid, fish, clams, and mussels. A lot of seafood had the tendency to fight each other flavor-wise, but because not all of the seafood were cooked in the same pot, it allowed each ingredient to have its own shine. I also loved the smooth yet chunky homemade tomato sauce.


Honey Comb Dessert with Greek Yogurt and Lemon Curd
You read it right... this dessert had real honey comb. This white honey comb was sourced in Batangas, where the bees feasting on nectar from rambutan flowers produced white honey comb. The lemon curd was the actual star of this dessert as it provided the most flavor in the dish, and it was really good!

Organic eating and cooking is still a working progress for me. It will be very difficult for me to go with it because most of the meat at the market were from animals that were fed with factory produced feeds, but I guess vegetable would be easier to source because we can always plant our own and it would be cheaper than buying organic vegetables.

If you're looking for a restaurant that serve Organic dishes, you can visit Green Pastures at the Shangri-La Mall.

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‘No Borders Cuisine’ at The Maya Kitchen

The Maya Kitchen presents the ‘No Borders Cuisine’ of guest chef Vicky Pacheco, Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants’ Executive Chef and Chief Operating Officer on August 31, Saturday, 9am-1pm.

Chateau 1771 Group of Restaurants is composed of Chateau, Café, Sentro, WineBar, SideBar and 1771 El Pueblo.

Chef Vicky will demonstrate a signature dish from each of the restaurant concept in the group. Lemon Chicken is crisp fried organic chicken leg nuggets coated with honey-lemon sauce from Chateau; Salbacho Pizza, a Sidebar staple, is topped with salami, bacon and chorizo; Fresh Smoked Fish Spring Rolls from Sentro is a fresh lumpia of tinapang bangus, salted egg, mustasa, onions and tomato; WineBar’s Lacquered Salmon is grilled salmon steak with soy sauce and honey reduction, mashed potatoes with parmesan and Café’s Bread & Butter Pudding is brioche type bread baked in a luscious custard with butter and real vanilla bean.

The first Chateau 1771 opened its doors in Malate in 1988 and has since relocated to its present location in Greenbelt 5. Its patented “No Borders Cuisine” is a blend of well-loved Swiss, Italian and French creations.
Café 1771 in Ortigas is a beautiful dining destination serving truly unique sandwiches, breakfast, lasagna, stews, pizza and dessert.

WB 1771 is the group’s Wine Bar concept with a wine selection from 11 countries and 48 regions while SideBar is the perfect place to unwind with great food and wine.

The group has not entirely left behind the Filipino palate with its trailblazing Sentro 1771 restaurant concept. It made famous sinigang na corned beef, rated GG and more. The people behind it describe themselves as ‘living, breathing and dreaming’ Filipino food.

Chef Vicky first joined Chateau 1771 as Assistant Restaurant Manager in December 1988 and has since occupied several positions as Restaurant Manager, Executive Chef and Food and Beverage Manager.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from the University of the Philippines then got a Food and Beverage Diploma at the Les Roches, in Bluche-Montana, Switzerland.
Prior to joining Chateau 1771, she trained at The Manila Peninsula Hotel, the Hotel St. Georges and the Eurotel Riviera. She also worked as Assistant Restaurant Manager at the Puerto Galera Restaurant and Parola Bar in Daly City, South San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

For more information on other course offerings, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mail contactus@themayakitchen.com or visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 8921185 / 892-5011 local 108 / Mobile No. +63947 835 2290.

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Mabuhay Palace Chinese Feast at The Maya Kitchen

On July 27, Saturday, 9am-1pm, The Maya Kitchen presents the chefs of Manila Hotel’s Mabuhay Palace who will prepare a sumptuous spread of Chinese cuisine.

Executive Chinese Chef Sun Bing and Chinese Operations Manager/Executive Chinese Sous Chef Josephine Yu Tanganco-Candelaria will demonstrate Vegetarian 'Peking Duck,' Shrimp Laced with Almonds, Anchovies with Water Chestnuts Fried Rice, Stir Fried Chicken Glazed with Soya Sauce, West Lake Fish Soup and Chinese Red Bean Pancake.

Chef Sun Bing graduated from Beijing Culinary School and joined the Beijing Hotel after graduation. He came to the Philippines in 1988 and for over 20 years has been delighting local diners at the Aloha Hotel, Mandarin Oriental Hotel and The Manila Hotel.

Chef Tanganco-Candelaria has been with Manila Hotel since 2009. She was previously with Mandarin Oriental Hotel and intercontinental Manila.

For more information on other courses offerings, log on to www.themayakitchen.com or e-mail contactus@themayakitchen.com or visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 8921185 / 892-5011 local 108 / Mobile No. +63947 835 2290

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