Felix says Oui! to the flavors of Canada
JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, GMANews.TV
11/19/2009 | 04:52 PM
A “coup de palate" in one of Makati’s hottest fine dining restaurants was launched recently by the Canadian government to introduce Filipino taste buds to its continental cuisine -- part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of its diplomatic relations with the Philippines.
Canada picked Felix, located at the posh Greenbelt 5 mall, as the venue for its two-week promotional tasting of its prized seafood, beef, potato dishes and wines. The food festival is aptly titled “Oui Canada!" and features several dishes highlighting Canadian ingredients in the menu of Felix from November 23 to December 6.
Last week, the Canadian embassy invited several food bloggers and writers to sample some dishes from the Maple Country.
For starters, Felix offered the Pacific King Crab Tempura. Hauled from the cold waters off Canada, the golden, deep-fried crab dipped in a sweet-sour sauce is the king of this dish.
Not to be outdone is the Arugula Salad with smoked salmon, deliciously topped with roasted pears and apples in cranberry vinaigrette. The salmon melts exquisitely in the mouth like butter, and doesn’t have a fishy aftertaste. The sweetness of the roasted pears also strikes a balance with the sourness of cranberry.
Everything was going well, until the next dishes were served.
For the main entrée there was braised beef short ribs flavored with maple and served with thyme potatoes, haricot vert (French beans) and roasted tomato.
The beef, though clearly the centerpiece of the entire dish, is unfortunately overpowered by the coarse sweetness of the glazed fig sitting quite uninspired on top of it.
Felix had been serving this beef dish with the fig for sometime, executive chef Florabel Co Yatco said, but they had to add the maple syrup in keeping with the theme of Canadian cuisine.
A Canadian gentleman from the embassy told me to pair my red meat with a Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillion, but as I am not a big fan of red wine, I opted for the Estate Reserve Riesling Ice Wine instead. It was a good choice, the ice wine serving as a refreshing cleanser to the maple aftertaste.
For dessert we had a boring Vanilla Panacotta mixed with Canadian raspberries, local strawberries, and walnuts. The panacotta was rather dry and not creamy enough for my taste.
Nonetheless, the menu highlighting Canadian dishes succeeded in acquainting the discerning Filipino taste with high-quality ingredients.
Chef Florabel, who is also a well-known restaurateur, says she has been buying Canadian ingredients for a long time and so the partnership was inevitable.
The tender Canadian pork, for instance, is one of the biggest food exports of Canada to the Philippines, along with its wines and of course, maple syrup. – GMANews.TV
Photos courtesy of the Canadian Embassy
Felix is located at Level 1 Greenbelt 5, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Tel. 729-9062 or 496-0725. Open Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 12 midnight; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Canada picked Felix, located at the posh Greenbelt 5 mall, as the venue for its two-week promotional tasting of its prized seafood, beef, potato dishes and wines. The food festival is aptly titled “Oui Canada!" and features several dishes highlighting Canadian ingredients in the menu of Felix from November 23 to December 6.
Last week, the Canadian embassy invited several food bloggers and writers to sample some dishes from the Maple Country.
For starters, Felix offered the Pacific King Crab Tempura. Hauled from the cold waters off Canada, the golden, deep-fried crab dipped in a sweet-sour sauce is the king of this dish.
Not to be outdone is the Arugula Salad with smoked salmon, deliciously topped with roasted pears and apples in cranberry vinaigrette. The salmon melts exquisitely in the mouth like butter, and doesn’t have a fishy aftertaste. The sweetness of the roasted pears also strikes a balance with the sourness of cranberry.
Everything was going well, until the next dishes were served.
For the main entrée there was braised beef short ribs flavored with maple and served with thyme potatoes, haricot vert (French beans) and roasted tomato.
The beef, though clearly the centerpiece of the entire dish, is unfortunately overpowered by the coarse sweetness of the glazed fig sitting quite uninspired on top of it.
Felix had been serving this beef dish with the fig for sometime, executive chef Florabel Co Yatco said, but they had to add the maple syrup in keeping with the theme of Canadian cuisine.
A Canadian gentleman from the embassy told me to pair my red meat with a Mission Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillion, but as I am not a big fan of red wine, I opted for the Estate Reserve Riesling Ice Wine instead. It was a good choice, the ice wine serving as a refreshing cleanser to the maple aftertaste.
For dessert we had a boring Vanilla Panacotta mixed with Canadian raspberries, local strawberries, and walnuts. The panacotta was rather dry and not creamy enough for my taste.
Nonetheless, the menu highlighting Canadian dishes succeeded in acquainting the discerning Filipino taste with high-quality ingredients.
Chef Florabel, who is also a well-known restaurateur, says she has been buying Canadian ingredients for a long time and so the partnership was inevitable.
The tender Canadian pork, for instance, is one of the biggest food exports of Canada to the Philippines, along with its wines and of course, maple syrup. – GMANews.TV
Photos courtesy of the Canadian Embassy
Felix is located at Level 1 Greenbelt 5, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Tel. 729-9062 or 496-0725. Open Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 12 midnight; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
