A different kind of Southeast Asian flavor will invade Shanghai's taste buds as the Philippine food exhibit "Pagkain" and food festival "More Flavors of the Philippines" are set to run at the Renaissance Shanghai Yangtze Hotel until Sunday.
"Pagkain," situated at the hotel's first floor near the lounge, will showcase food editor and writer Michaela Fenix and photographer Neal Oshima's Filipino cookbook, "Kulinarya." The large food photos located next to kitchen-tested recipes aim to target global audience.
The food festival "More Flavors of the Philippines," on the other hand, will be serving dinner buffet starting from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The buffet is priced at 308 yuan ($50.14) per person.
World-acclaimed chef Bryan Salarzon, who traveled straight from Manila, Philippines, will be leading the festival. Before he became a sous-chef at the Marriot Hotel Manila, Salarzon worked for a number of restaurants and was named Supervisor of the Year in 2012.
Consul General Wilfredo Cuyugan graced the festival's opening ceremony held at the hotel's ballroom. Cuyugan said that the Filipino cuisine "coheres different cultures into one, through time."
Indeed a mix of different cultures such as the Chinese, Spanish and American, Cuyugan said that the Filipino cuisine boasts of the country's cooking through these influences.
Signature Filipino dishes such as the lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring rolls), bulalo (beef shank soup), pork sisig (chopped pig face, ear, and liver), kare-kare (oxtail stew) and adobo rice will be offered during the festival.
Diners will also be entertained by the Bayanihan, the national folk dance company of the Philippines, while enjoying their Filipino food.