From October 10-19, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati’s Flavors Restaurant welcomes Chef Dennis Lim, who brings his passion for cooking to the hotel’s famed buffet spread for lunch and dinner!
Even though I frequent San Fernando, Pampanga to visit my lola, I've never been to Den Lim's Kitchen. Why? Well, believe it or not, securing a spot in his restaurant can take up to a year! You really have to schedule your visit in advance if you want to see the self-taught chef in action and experience private dining at its best in the north.
Lucky for us, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati is collaborating with Chef Den Lim from October 10 to 19, 2017!
“We are always looking for interesting food ideas and collaborations to bring a great dining and travel experience to our guests and customers,” states Mr. Andy Belmonte, Hotel Manager, Holiday Inn & Suites Makati. “Chef Den Lim is a good fit because his cooking style reflects Flavors Restaurant’s friendly, choiceful and unpretentious vibe."
Flavors Restaurant started us off by letting us try their take on the Tamarind Iced Tea which Chef Den Lim serves in his restaurant. It gave us a glimpse of what interesting dishes they have in store for us that afternoon!
Chef Den Lim's Old Fashioned Beef Mechado was first on my list. I really enjoyed how tender the meat was in that tomato stew!
Top off your plain rice with lots of sauce and you're good to go!
When I first saw the Kilayin Capampangan, I didn't think I would like it. But I'm glad I tried it since it gave me more of an idea what Pampanga has to offer in terms of food. I mean, sure, my lola cooks all the time but she already knows what we like, so she usually just prepares those when we visit! To give you an idea on how it tastes, I was told that the Kilayin Capampangan is much like bopis, but with vinegar.
Moving on to one of my favorites, the Roasted Chicken. It's a simple yet very flavorful dish - I think I had two servings of this.
Next, we had the Caveman Beef Shank. This tender, smoked beef shank is braised for 5-6 hours and smothered with mushroom gravy. When I got myself a portion, I made sure to drown it in gravy and a spoonful of garlic! SO GOOD!!
The Crab Marlen was easily everyone's favorite! We all had the same idea of grabbing a cup of rice and topping it off with the crab sauce! Would you believe the crabs were sautéed with basil and 30 (yes, thirty) salted egg yolks!? I kid you not!
Another one we greatly enjoyed was the Pasta Corrito, which is named after Chef Den Lim's partner. It's a rich seafood pasta with shrimp, mussels and squid, cooked with seafood brine, lemon, capers, and extra virgin olive oil.
The star of the show is Chef Den Lim's Pugon Liempo Wrap served with buro! It's his signature dish at his restaurant and one of the reasons why it's fully booked for months at a time!
We highly enjoyed the succulent roasted pork belly wrapped in lettuce and arugula, topped with housemade pork buro and tomatoes. A definite must try!!
Chef Den Lim’s dishes are a welcome complement to Flavors’ choice selection of dishes that are well thought out and deliciously prepared, showcasing bread, cold cuts, a salad bar, a pasta bar, a carving station, a variety of mains, and a sushi bar. For dessert, the buffet showcases a spread that rivals the top bakeshops in town, with its heavenly Ube Cheesecake, as well as the Café Jeepney Crepe Samurai of the former InterContinental Hotel Manila. Flavors’ lunch and dinner buffet are priced at Php 1,818 nett.
Holiday Inn & Suites Makati is located at Palm Drive, Ayala Center, Makati City. For more information, please call 909-0888 or visit www.holidayinn.com/makati.
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