Philippine food fest / Shangri-La Sydney

By Evelyn A. Opilas
Photos by Evelyn A. Opilas
Sydney-Australia
September 26, 2017



Food fest features all-time Filo faves

All-time favourites, such as kare-kare, adobo, and embutido, took centre-stage at the recent Philippine Food Festival at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel, reinforcing the interest Filipino cuisine has been attracting in Australia and elsewhere.

The hotel flew in guest chefs Jovelyn Adria, Clayford Manuel and Charie Carmel Ferolin of Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila to provide ‘authenticity’ to the array of Filipino dishes, presented in partnership with Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Department of Tourism Sydney.

Said to be the original ‘fusion cuisine’, Filipino food has attracted celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson and Andrew Zimmern to the Philippines to savour, learn about, and feature Filipino food in their television platforms.

Shangri-La Sydney’s Executive Chef Hemant Dadlani observed that “The taste of Filipino food relies entirely on acids and sweetness, perhaps more than any other cuisine.”

At the media pow-wow, the Manila-based chefs noted that ingredients for sisig and dinuguan, for example, seemed unavailable, prompting Sydney-based Pinoys to suggest places where these could be obtained.

Director of communications Deane Brosnan said the event was the fifth Philippine Food Festival at the hotel’s Café Mix, which has become home for international food festivals and a sumptuous seafood buffet.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La and Resorts currently operates over 95 hotels in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East with a room inventory of over 40,000