Shangri-La Sydney Philippine Food Week Buffet 2015

Cebu pork belly lechon

It's been over 20 years since I left the motherland and moved to my new home Sydney. But my love for the Philippines and its culture will never fade. This may sound bias but the delicious comfort of Filipino cuisine never fails to bring joy to my heart. From the sizzling sensations of sisig to the sweet cool delight of halo-halo, Philippine food no doubt rocks!

It's that time of the year again when Shangri-La Sydney kicks it off with Philippine Food Week! I was invited along with other food loving people to try Shangri-la Sydney's Philippine Food week buffet. Here's what to expect from the buffet including some highlights:

Bopis (Pork innards cooked in vinegar and radish)

Pata humba (Pork hock braised in sweet soy sauce)

Adobong kankong (Water spinach cooked in shrimp paste)

Oysters

Prawns

Tokwa't baboy (Fried tofu and pork)

Embotido (Minced pork wrapped in Crepinette) and banana ketchup

Lumpiang sariwa (Fresh vegetable spring roll)

Steamed fish

San Miguel beer

Ihaw--ihaw (Grilled bbq dishes: pork skewers, chicken bbq skewers, chicken inasal, baby back ribs, lamb chops and boneless beef ribs)

Chocolate fountain station

Turon (Banana and jackfruit spring roll)

Puto (steamed ground rice cakes)

Sans Rival slices

Fruit salad

Biko

Highlights:

Kare kare

I can confirm that the Kare Kare here is legit! The oxtail meat was totally tender and the veggies including banana blossom were perfectly cooked. The peanut and annatto based sauce was creamy with light sweetness. Try it with a bit of bagoong (sweet shrimp paste) to give the sauce a flavour lift.

Lechon kawali sisig

 I really enjoyed their version of sizzling lechon kawali sisig (sizzling fried pork belly pieces). Some chilli was used for some mild heat. The balance of sour and salty flavours was nice for cutting through the pork belly and pig's cheeks meat.

The dinuguan was also a hit at our table. For those of you who love English black pudding, this pork dish with blood jelly based sauce is a must! The chilli pepper and vinegar in the dish perfectly cuts through the rich elements of this dish.

Kilawing Tanguige (Photo Credit: Adobo Down Under food blog)

The Kilawing tanguige (Spanish mackarel) was amazing! It's a Philippine ceviche where the raw mackarel is cooked in citrus juice and vinegar. I just adore its freshness and delicate textures.

Cebu pork belly lechon carving station

Pork belly lechon and puffed crackling

Crackling from the pork belly lechon

The Philippine lechon (suckling pig) is my ultimate favourite Filipino dish. It's my first time to try a rolled pork belly version of it, which hails from the city of Cebu. Cebu is known to have the tastiest lechon in the Philippines. This version doesn't even require the usual lechon sauce as the fatty tender meat is packed with flavour from the garlic herb stuffing. It is said that it closely resembles Bali's babi guling. The crackling was gloriously crispy.

Halo-halo 

Last but not least is the "make your own halo-halo" station!! No Filipino buffet is complete without halo-halo. No rules, anything goes with what you want to put in this sweet shaved ice delight. As long as you finish off your creation with ube (purple yam) ice cream and leche flan on top!

The Philippine Week buffet will run from 2 October 2015 to 10 October 2015 at Café Mix. Buffet lunch will be available at $55 per person from Monday to Friday, noon to 2:30pm, and from 12:30pm to 2:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. The buffet dinner is available all week from 6pm to 10pm for $75 per person.

Ramen Raff was invited at Café Mix as a guest of Shangri-La Sydney.

PhilippineFood Week Buffet

Café Mix

Shangri-La Sydney

Level 1, 176 Cumberland Road

Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: 02 9250 6260

Sokyo Ramen at The Star, Pyrmont

Cute printed nori

Food is a powerful force! Its capacity to turn ones stress to happiness is amazing. You know what makes MISO happy? Ramen! It is joy in a bowl. No ramen no life right? I admire the sight of its harmonious construct and the way the ingredients work together to deliver that ultimate comfort. So when I heard about a ramen pop-up by the renowned Sokyo at The Star was coming up, I made it my mission to visit. 

Sokyo's Executive Chef Chase Kojima is one of the dopest chefs in town. His hip little ramen joint is located at the The Star's food court. Just look for the Pikachu wall prints! They offer four types of ramen, some snack-size dishes and a range of drinks. If a globally successful chef trained in traditional Japanese cuisine like him says he will do ramen, one makes their way there ASAP! 

Gyokairui Tonkotsu Ramen

The Gyokairui Tonkotsu Ramen ($16) was absolutely beautiful! The light tonkotsu broth had a blend of pork, chicken & seafood Dashi that gave it some depth. Toppings include pork cheek chashu, marinated egg, nori, shallots, and black fungus. I also really liked the firm egg noodles (same noodles used for all their ramen). The pork cheek chashu was tasty and the texture was like super tender ham. 

Spicy Miso Tantanmen

Out of all the tantanmen I have tried in Sydney, their Spicy Miso Tantanmen ($16) is the most well-balanced I've come across. The sweet miso based broth starts out light then next thing you know the flavours and heat starts to creep up. The toppings include pork mince, marinated egg, nori, sesame seeds, and black fungus. I love how the sesame adds that roasty accent to the broth.  

Yuzu Shio Ramen

The Yuzu Shio Ramen $15 is almost like a Chinese style noodle soup but with a citrusy flavour in the light chicken and katsuobushi dashi based broth. I like the sweetness that comes from the zest too. Toppings include mixed green salad, pork cheek chashu, marinated egg and nori. 

Mai-Dan's Fried Chicken

I was also able to try Mai-san's Fried Chicken ($9). It's a ridiculously amazing marinated sake soy chicken karaage dish! I enjoyed the light crisped and slightly doughy batter. The meat was flavoursome and juicy but not oily. It went well with the spicy mayo. 

Yuzu Pop Soda

The Yuzu Pop Soda ($5) was refreshing! It had a nice balance of passionfruit and citrus yuzu flavours. 

Sokyo Ramen is worth a visit! Get there soon as their pop-up will only be there for 3 months starting from the 10th of September 2015. Follow Chase Kojima on Instagram for further updates.

Sokyo Ramen

Level G, Café Court

The Star,

80 Pyrmont Street,

Pyrmont NSW 2009

Trading hours

Sun - Mon 11:30am - 9pm

Tue - Thu 11:30am - 10:30pm

Fri - Sat 11:30am - 11pm

Nomad, Surry Hills

I have devoured a lot delicious dishes in my journey as Ramen Raff. But every now and then, I would come across a cafe or restaurant that would leave a stamp of awesomeness in my food obsessed heart. The renowned Nomad in Surry Hills is one of them. 

Since opening in 2013, Nomad has received various awards and raving reviews. This amazing Mediterranean influenced restaurant is situated on Foster Street between Hunt and Campbell streets. Their space has a mix of Scandanavian and industrial interior design with large glass windows perfect for catching natural lighting during daytime. It has spacious dining areas with available seatings by the window or at the bar for walk-ins. One of the things that I love about them is that they do their own house-cured and smoked meats. House-made pickles and cheese are also available. A few weeks ago, Chocolatesuze and I went to check Nomad out. Here's the low-down on our visit: 

Nomad charcuterie with pickles

We started with the Nomad Charcuterie with Pickles ($27). I loved all the house-cured/smoked meats but the pork & fennel, chorizo and mortadella were standout for me. I also enjoyed the pickled baby carrots as they really complimented the cured meats well.

Goats cheese churros with truffle honey

Suze and I both agreed that the Goats Cheese Churros with truffle honey ($18) was the star of the night. The savoury goats cheese churros were super fluffy inside with a nice crisped surface. To have a truffle honey yoghurt dip with it was just pure brilliance. The balanced combination of sweet, creamy, sour and earthy flavours worked a treat. There's a reason why this dish stayed on the menu since its debut on day one. We enjoyed it so much that we had it for dessert too!

Bbq cauliflower with almond tarator and manchego

Just to balance things out, we ordered vegetables in form of their BBQ Cauliflower with Almond Tarator and Manchego ($16). The sweet, nutty and buttery almond tarator along with the sharpness of the grated manchego brought the best out of the smoky bbq cauliflower.

 

Bbq wagyu skirt with charred mushroom and Pedro Ximenez sauce

For our protein intake, we ordered the BBQ Wagyu Skirt with Charred Mushroom and Pedro Ximenez sauce ($40). The tender wagyu skirt was rare and cooked perfectly. The sweet charred mushroom was the perfect accompaniment to the wagyu skirt. The molasses-like flavour of the Pedro Ximenez was nice for cutting through the richness of the fatty wagyu meat. This was another flawless dish. 

 

Wood roasted suckling pig with stuffing, broccolini, chilli burnt butter

 I'm bias to pork especially if it's a perfectly executed dish like their Wood Roasted Suckling Pig with stuffing, broccolini, chilli burnt butter ($39). The pork meat itself was tender, flavoursome and slightly on the smoky side. The broccolini was nicely cooked and the stuffing was like meatloaf only softer. The highlight for me is the two types of crackling: the air puffed crackling with chilli seasoning and the thin-crisped crackling. The glorious thin-crisped crackling reminded me of a Filipino-style lechon crackling. 

This has been one of my best dining experiences. If you haven't been to Nomad, get there quick!

Nomad 

16 Foster Street

Surry Hills NSW

Ph. 02 92803395

Opening Hours:

Lunch Wednesday to Saturday - 12pm to 2.30pm Dinner Monday to Saturday - 6.00pm till late (open from 5.30pm Saturdays) Sunday Closed