Terra Marre pop up dinner

 

Terra Mare- meaning land and sea- very apt title for a limited pop up dinner by visiting chef John Buenaventura. Trained in CCA and currently working in Dubai for the royal family, he really excludes a passion for cooking. I am glad we got to taste some of it during this pop up.

I loved the open kitchen and the intimate setting of the venue (one world kitchen) . We went early and did the 5:30 seating because we don’t like late dinners and afraid of parking problems if we do the later seating. The menu was interesting and I loved the mix of Japanese and Peruvian (with the incorporations chilis)

Hamachi tira dito

Lying on a bed of yuzu , the hamachi was really fresh and a great start, it wasn’t too tart and the chili on the side wasn’t too spicy. Caviar on top was a nice addition and they even have some crispy quinoa for the crunch element.

Salmon ceviche

The salmon was lying on a bed of mashed avocados (toasted in the burner and mashed with lime), it also had 3 kinds of corn (which the chef hand carried in his luggage to Manila). The white one is called chulpe corn, plus choclo corn *the big kernel on the side, and some roasted baby corn (which  I thought was a nice  visual). This dish had more of a kick- citrusy and spicier than the first, which was nice follow up second course to elevate the dinner. 

Dry aged beef tostada

The beef was super juicy and tender and the aji panca sauce (which had murita chiles *also hand carried, ) was great. Spicy but not too much (not like some Indian food I have tried… which was too busy taste wise  for me…heavy on the palate)

I loved the fact the chef was the one serving and explaining the dish and we can ask questions about it. He gamely engaged us in banter which was a plus. First time to try aji panca (which is roasting peppers, blitzing it and combining it with Japanese mayo.)

Murita chili- if you smell, it had a Smokey aroma. Quite interesting!

The tostada was crunchy (which I loved) and had to carefully eat it lest I drip the juices on my white shirt… which I tend to do all the time. Hahaha. Pickled onions was also nice. 

mud crab broth Nikkei

They poured the broth after I took that picture… so there is actually more broth.

The broth was made from the shells of the mudcrab (which they parboiled and took out the meat) and then made into dumplings. We were the first served and we felt our soup was under seasoned and not hot enough. We conveyed it to the chef and he quickly remedied and adjusted it for the other diners who were being served after us. He also gave us another cup of soup (adjusted taste) and it was just right. The umami of the crab finally coming through after the right seasoning. Loved that he took our feedback and was happy to adjust.

Pico sour sorbet

- palate cleanser. Loved it. 

Inca prawn halea

We were joking that we might mistake the black coals and dip it into the aji Amarillo (another mayonnaise infused with chili). The prawn was battered with activated charcoal and squid ink. It was served piping hot and I loved that we used our fingers to eat it. Finger linking good. 

Taco de Juan 

The taco was soft and lengua (you drizzle the lime on top) was nice. Although I liked the tostada better… I like crunchy more than soft tacos. But hey, that’s just me, there was also some pineapple on the side to balance the taste of the tacos. (Which the chef said they did in house)

Cazuelas

The highlight!!! COD in a bed of mud crab risotto! The risotto was cooked with the soup of the mud crabs and shells of the prawns. (Yum). The cod was just pan fried. Simplest cooking but delish just the same. The balance of the items in the menu was good. This was just the right amount to end our tummies with a BURP. 

Picarones 

Tres leches ice cream on a bed of cookie crumble. With picarones (looks like beignets but made out of pumpkin). Loved the tres leches (I asked what milk was in it… and the chef aside white chocolate, Carabao’s milk, condensed milk)… was so yummy had to ask the chef for one more serving sans the picarones. There was a passion fruit syrup on the bottom that was sour… so you had to put the tres leches together with the picarones so as not to get a mouthful of sourness. But my second serving of ice cream was just right for the coffee I ordered.. (full crema and with a kick) 

Overall, we loved the night and the experience and would love to try another pop up in the future. I would not hesitate to book the space for an intimate dinner with friends too ( I think the place just seats max 20… 12-14 on the counter and a few tables on the side.

Kudos to chef John for a great menu! Would love to try his pop ups anytime he’s in town!

Le petit Chef dinner

 

I had the chance to book a slot at Grant hyatt for the Le peti Chef experience. I say experience because that what it exactly was. Food theater if you can call it that.

We chose the premium menu.. although I think you can opt for the classic one too (P5800). The animation is the same, the difference between menus is the soup and the grade of steak, (all others are the same)

A host came out to introduce the whole set up… hew reminded me of the engineer from Ms. Saigon. LOL.

We were seated with another couple and they commented that it felt like a double date. Hahaha

This started us chatting with them the whole night.

First course: Italian burrata

This burrata with arugula, balsamic vinegar , some pink grapefruit and mandarin oranges. It was light and I enjoyed it. (8:30 seating and hubby was ravenous)

Second course: lobster bouillabaisse

The animation was great… I am just disappointed I don’t get to upload it here on the blog. It had sea bass, avruga caviar, scallops and mussels. Balance flavor throughout. Classic French soup.

Third course: Smocked chicken foie gras ballotine

The foie gras was in the middle with the smoke chicken surrounding it. For me, this was just ok. Couldn’t really taste a lot of the foie gras. Hubby by this time was still hungry. First two courses didn’t do it for him.

Main course: Char grilled Australian Wagyu Beef tenderloin (marble score 6++)

This was really hearty and we asked for medium doneness - it was cooked perfectly!. The carrots were so cute. The sauce complemented the beef really well. Gave hubby some of mine since I got full already.

Sweet treat: mascarpone, crème brulee

 It has berry compote in the middle and rice pudding on the bottom. Of course the crème brûlée I loved.

Dessert: Royal Baked Alaska 

22k gold foil , Italian meringue, chocolate balls and chocolate and vanilla ice cream in the middle. I couldn’t finish this one since I was too full already. Taste wise, I liked the chocolate balls. This dessert was just ok for me. ( my seatmate finished hers )

Overall, it was a nice experience and a nice night of conversation with some new friends. (Our seatmates) Although the 8:30 seating (they have a 6pm earlier one) was a bit late for us and we finished nearly at 11pm. I  haven’t had a heavy meal at that late an hour for a long time since we have dinner at 6pm and sleep by 9pm! So it was a full late night for this oldie!!!

Some things to note: they have a choice of free flow wine (one choice of red and one white which you can consume throughout the meal priced at 1200/ person) this is worth it if you can DRINK. For me, I am not good with holding my alcohol. 

Also, the offer water (Perrier) with charges. I got embarrassed to ask if that have tap water - Sosy yun seatmate ko, kakahiya. LOL tinipid ko na lang inom ko ng tubig. Hahaha

If you want to experience this kahit once, worth it naman. It’s like the dinner in the sky., I’ll upload some videos of the dinner in my facebook. 

Let me know if you tried this and what you thought.