IMPERIAL FEAST FIT FOR AN EMPEROR

Anvil Business Club was yours truly and our birthday girl, the lovely Director for Fellowship, Sheree Chua, who accepted the invitation with strict instructions to keep the event arcane and adulatory.
Anvil's President Mr. Reginald Yu was invited as part of a very select group of distinguished ladies and gentlemen to an exclusive sit-down dinner, courtesy of Marco Polo Ortigas Hotel’s premier Chinese restaurant, Lung Hin (龍軒). Representing the
Strategically nestled at the 44th floor of Marco Polo Hotel overlooking the scenic Ortigas skyline, its premier Chinese restaurant offered a seven-course Imperial Set Menu which showcased its most superior Cantonese dishes; jointly prepared by two of the hotel’s finest chefs – Chinese Executive Chef Sunny Cheng (鄭陽坤) and Dim Sum Chef Pun Ka Ming (潘嘉明) – who were especially flown in from Guangdong Province (廣東省), home of the world’s best Cantonese cuisine (粤菜), for this special occasion.
“An authentic Cantonese chef's goal is to preserve the food's original flavor,” says Chef Cheng. “Unlike other Chinese styles of cooking such as Sichuan style where the cook buries the food in a lot of spices and oil, a Cantonese chef aims to bring out or highlight the original flavor of the vegetable, meat, or fruit. So little spice or sugar is used generally.”
The exclusive group of distinguished patrons – including some of high society’s most illustrious businessmen and professionals – were given the red carpet treatment, as they were personally welcomed by Frank Reichenbach, Marco Polo Ortigas Hotel’s general manager, who left no stone unturned in ensuring that this privileged crowd of VIPs would have an eventful gastronomic adventure.
In-between bite-sized dollops of “Beef Cubes with Sliced Garlic,” “Black Fungus in Vinegar,” and “Minced Shrimp in Toast,” the habitués were also treated to an overflowing array of exquisite spirits, including goblets of “2012 Sauvignon Blanc Cloudy Bay Marlborough” from New Zealand and “2010 Chardonnay Casa Lapostotle Casablanca Valley” from Chile.
By the time the second set of tasty samplers of “Braised Spike Sea Cucumber with Shrimp Roe” and “Whole Bird’s Nest with Fresh Crab Meat Sauce” arrived, the restaurant’s special visitors were already having a grand time devouring Uncle Johnny Litton’s proverbial pick-up lines and colorful stories. Indeed, living up to his legendary reputation as as Society’s Number One raconteur and perfect host, Uncle Johnny certainly did not disappoint. In fact, his mere presence alone was worth the price of braving the horrendous Friday Metro Manila traffic.
Of course, the set’s “pièce de résistance” was the “Braised Six-Heads South African Abalone with Goose Liver” complemented by bottles of “2013 Cabernet Blend Chateau Cap de Fer Bordeaux Supérieur” from France. Just as the diners were nodding their heads in earnest approval, the chefs brought out their specially-prepared “Baked Tiger Prawn in Cheddar Cheese” and the “Morel Wanton Soup” to cap off an unforgettable main course. The “Sweetened Longan Tea with Quail Egg” – complemented by a glass of “2012 Riesling Dr Loosen Bernkasteler Lay” from Germany – became the course’s fitting “finis” to an extraordinarily exquisite dining experience.
Great thanks are certainly in order to Uncle Johnny Litton for giving us the opportunity to be part of this culinary journey; to Marco Polo Ortigas’ Mr. Frank Reichenbach (General Manager) and Ms. Judith Los Baños (Director of Marketing Communications) for the excellent hospitality, as well as to the lovely Tara Litton of Jayelles Holdings for being grand-dad Johnny’s “secret weapon” in ensuring a wildly-appetizing tryst.