Philippine Food Festival 2016, Shangri-la Hotel Sydney

Philippine Food Festival 2016 at Cafe Mix Shangri-la, Sydney

Shangri-La Sydney's Philippine Food Festival is back! It's a fact that we Filipinos love our food and especially in the form of a buffet.  Chefs  Rico Celdo Venzon, Athena Blanche Tan Oropesa and Erma Balaquiao Palanca (Chefs from Makati Shangri-La) made sure that the spread would be of high standards but also staying true to the flavours.

Most loved dishes throughout the Philippines is all at Cafe mix from 16th September 2016 through to the 25th of September for lunch ($57 per person) and dinner ($82). Everything from the succulent Cebu lechon to the summertime favourite dessert Halo Halo, they've got it all! The best way to describe Filipino food is that our dishes are rich with bold flavours. A mixture of influences from Spanish, Malaysian and Chinese cuisine. This is the third time that I've been to Shangri-la's Philippine Food Festival buffet and let me just say, the spread quality gets better and better. Although, the bulalo dish (beef bone marrow soup)  was nowhere to be found, the rest of the spread was top notch.

Here's what to expect:

Fresh coconut water

San Miguel beer

Lechon kawali sisig station

Lechon kawali sisig

The lechon kawali sisig was amazing even if not in its sizzling form. It was fatty, full of umami from a Maggi seasoning like flavour and it had crispy bits.

Cebu boneless lechon belly

The Cebu boneless lechon belly (Boneless suckling pig belly) was legit. The smooth crackling was perfectly crisped and it just shatters nicely when you snap it. The meat was tender, fatty and full of flavour from herbs and garlic. The meat was so tasty that you don't need the usual lechon gravy anymore. Cebu lechon is known for it's tastier meat compared to other lechons in the Philippines.

Inihaw na pusit

Inahaw na pusit (grilled squid)

Ginataang kalabasa, sitaw and alimasag

Ginataang kalabasa, sitaw and alimasag (Pumpkin, string beans and crab in coconut milk sauce).

Ihaw ihaw

Ihaw ihaw (mixed flame grilled meats)

 

Ox-tail kare kare

The Oxtail kare kare was legit! It had all the ingredients of a complete kare kare. The braised oxtail meat was tender and buttery whilst the annatto peanut sauce was so flavoursome. 

I love Lengua estofada (braised ox tongue) and grew up eating a lot of it. This was perfectly cooked and it was just like super tender steak. (No photo available)

Pata tim

Pansit

Maja blanca

 

Palitaw

Leche flan

 

Buko pandan

Mini brazo de mercedes

 

Maja (ma-ha) blanca

Turon

Halo halo

The Halo halo station was a hit! Add all the essential ingredients like nata de coco, jackfruit pieces, sweetened coconut meat, jelly, ube halaya, puffed rice, leche flan and ube ice cream with shaved ice, pour evaporated milk and mix mix (halo halo, everything! 

To honour the 70 years of collaboration between Australia and the Philippines, Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney will donate $2 for every person who dines at the festival to Operation Restore Hope. The lunch buffet is available from 12pm to 2pm and the buffet dinner is available from 6 to 10 pm. For bookings, call (02) 9250 6000.

Ramen Raff and a guest was invited by Shangri-la Sydney to dine at Cafe Mix's Philippine Food Festival Buffet.

Philippine Food Festival 2016

Café Mix

Shangri-la Hotel Sydney

176 Cumberland Street,

The Rocks, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

Bella Shack - Bella Vista, Baulkham Hills

Jal-ap-enyo Face burger

Places and food trucks that serve American-style burgers in Sydney continue to pop up. No complaints here! It just means we get more choices and variety right?! Even better when there's one near my hood on weekends!

Bella Shack is a burger food truck that parks at the Bella Vista Hotel premisses every lunchtime from Friday to Sunday every week. Each burger comes in a combo meal that includes fries and a drink of your choice. The combo starts from a bargain price of $13!!!!! They have been around for a while now but it took a push from Chocolatesuze for me to visit.

Bella cheese

The Bella cheese ($13 with fries and drink) is a burger with beef patty with double American cheese, ketchup, mustard, dill pickles, and lettuce in a lightly toasted milk bun. The juicy patty was grilled to medium rare perfection and seasoned well. The patty also had a nice caramelised surface that gave it an umami kick. They are very generous on the sauce and the cheese was melted properly. Being housed in a lightly toasted soft milk bun makes the handling of this burger heaps easy. This was a solid cheeseburger even if it had letttuce.

Bella chicken

Suze had the Bella chicken ($15 with fries and drinks), which had buttermilk fried chicken fillet, American cheese, chix sauce (special in-house sauce), dill pickles and lettuce in a lightly toasted milk bun. The fried chicken coating had more of a crisped doughy texture compared to the super crunchy texture that you would normally expect from a buttermilk fried chicken. Nevertheless, it was still a good fried chicken burger!

Bella big boy

Their Bella Big Boy ($20 with fries and drink) was epic! Double beef patty, triple sexy melted American cheese, smoked bacon, Bella secret sauce, dill pickles, onions, tomato and lettuce. This burger was messy but #SoSoJuicy! Everything in this burger worked well. I will let the photo speak for itself.

If you're in the area, you need to check out Bella Shack!

Bella Shack

Bella Vista Hotel

13-15 Lexington Drive,

Bella Vista NSW 2153

Friday to Sunday 11:00am to 3:00pm

Restaurant Hubert, Sydney

The most visited and recommended restaurant this year has got to be Hubert. Based on social media praises and great reviews, it seems like they are not far off from being crowned "best Sydney restaurant" in 2016.

I paid them a visit a couple of months ago.  From the stairs leading down to the restaurant and upon entering the restaurant and bar premises, two things came to mind: grand and magical. The space and fit out is like a bar/club/restaurant straight out of a 1920s Paris period piece film setting. Just like what my dining companion Suze said "The fitout of Hubert is like nothing I've seen in Sydney". Head chef Dan Pepperell (ex-10 William St) is behind the food that has received raving reviews from many punters. We went to try their bar menu (see Suze’s blog post of their restaurant menu offerings) because of our mission: to try the Normandy burger.

Malakoff

One of the most popular dishes here is their Malakoff ($14), which is a half sphere shaped fried gruyere with mustard and pickle. We decided to order two of these because it’s that damn good that we didn’t want to share! From the crisped tasty shell down to the melted stretchy innards it was nothing short of amazing. The sharpness of mustard complimented the cheese well.

The steak frites ($28) is a classic steak and fries dish that consists of a beautifully cooked medium rare 200grams grilled Rangers Valley flank with bordelaise butter and French fries. It was phenomenal! It has to be the best steak and fries I’ve had to date. The bordelaise butter with its red wine and bone marrow goodness was perfect for the steak. The generous amount of thin hand cut fries was crunch and perfectly seasoned.

Normandy Burger

There are many great burgers in Sydney at the moment and Hubert’s Normandy burger ($24 with fries) is one of them. It’s a gourmet cheeseburger with grilled dry aged beef patty, melted gruyere cheese, generous amount of tangy and creamy sauce Hubert in a light brioche bun. It also came with dill pickles on the side. The beef patty was juicy and smoky with a caramelised crust that added extra umami to the burger. The soft light brioche bun used for the burger was the perfect vessel. The whole burger handled well too.

You can also order desserts at the bar area.

The crème caramel ($18) was good and flawless in technique but didn’t quite get there for me. I liked the bitter caramel and how smooth the egg custard was, but I would have preferred if the custard was a little bit sweeter. That way, you would get a nice contrast between the egg custard and caramel.

The melon en surprise ($22) was amazing and refreshing! I forgot take a photo of its innards but underneath the top layer of coconut sorbet you’ll find balls of Santa Claus melon, which has a similar taste to honeydew with pieces of sorrel jelly and finger lime. You need to order this when in Hubert.

Believe the hype! Restaurant Hubert is as great as everyone says it is. I will definitely be back for a sit down session at their restaurant area.

Restaurant Hubert

15 Bligh Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Operating hours:

Monday to Saturday 5pm-1am.

Bar Ume, Surry Hills

Kerby Craig (Executive chef) is back along with head chef Jo (ex-chef and Pitmaster at Vic's Meat Market) and a new team. They are located at the same spot as Ume Restaurant but has rebranded the joint as Bar Ume.

It is now a casual Japanese themed bar that's generally a bar that includes a menu from Kerby's Ume Burger and daily/weekly Japanese snacks specials. I can't help but feel like I was transported back to Blacows at Ebisu. It has a bar/cafe/bistro vibe just like Blacows. The place still has most of Ume Restaurant's interior intact but with a few changes. Expect a good range of sake, wine and whisky. But I was there to smash burgers and fried chicken.

Koji fried chicken

The koji fried chicken ($9) is pieces of amazing karaage chicken! Each bite starts with a crisped coating and followed by a super succulent meat bursting with flavoursome juice consisting fruity and ginger notes from the shio koji marinade. The mayo was so addictive too. 

Double bacon cheeseburger

The double bacon cheeseburger ($20) is a well constructed classic burger with double wagyu beef patty, sexy melted double American cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce, onion, rice vinegar pickles and Ume's special sauce in a soft milk bun. The wagyu patty works well even if it was cooked almost well-done as it was still so juicy. The patty was also lightly seasoned so that it doesn't get overly flavoured along with the sauce. I prefer my burgers without the salad but the salad in this didn't bother me at all as it was quite minimal. This has gotta be the best "classic style" burger in Sydney at the moment.

Ebi burger

Their ebi burger ($15) tastes as perfect as it looks. I mean just look at it! It's so beatifully constructed! It consists of prawn katsu, Japanese tartare sauce and shredded cabbage in a soft milk bun. The prawn katsu patty was simply awesome with its golden-crisped crumb coating and perfectly cooked prawns.

Ume burger

The Ume burger is Kerby's take on a MOS cheeseburger. It's absolutely delicious and yes, it was full of umami. It was a cheeseburger on a league of its own. It had wagyu patty (the wagyu beef patty is covered under that mince sauce), wagyu mince sauce, melted cheese, mayo, tomato, onion and mustard in a soft sweet milk bun (sourced from a Japanese bakery). The wagyu patty was juicy and packed with flavour. The wagyu mince sauce was like a bolognese sauce but more sweet, which gave the burger extra character. The melted cheese, creamy sweet mayo, zingy mustard and crisp bite from the onions gave the burger familiar classic cheeseburger flavours. The tomato gave a nice balance to the whole burger.

I love the burgers at Bar Ume right now. They are all about perfection in simplicity and balance.

Bar Ume

478 Bourke Street

Surry Hills NSW

Opening hours

Monday to Saturday 11am to 11pm

Sunday 11am to 9pm