Corniche Restaurant at Diamond Hotel has been successful in their series of food festivals. I’ve actually heard lots of good feedback about it. So I’m glad that I was able to finally try it last tuesday with their current offering, Selamat Menikmati: A Culinary Journey of Indonesia’s Best.
From August 16 to 28, 2011, Diamond Hotel features the rich flavors of Indonesia’s cuisine. The hotel buffet showcases authentic culinary specialties from three of the best chefs in Indonesia. Sous Chef Ovan Prahoro, Chef de Partie Asep Marthy and Chef de Partie Agus Setiadi flew here to Manila to recreate Indonesian’s best dishes at the Corniche Buffet.
It’s such a perfect time to sample those yummy authentic Indonesian dishes created by the master chefs from Bandung, Indonesia as it’s also the celebration of Indonesia’s national day.
It was really exciting as I haven’t tried eating at Corniche Restaurant and I also haven’t tried authentic Indonesian dishes.
As I entered the restaurant, I was in total awe with the design they put up for the Selamat Menikmati event. The beautiful lamp in each table and the awesome Indonesian figurines in each of the food stations were so nice to look at.
Some servers even dressed up like an Indonesian. I had to ask him to take a photo with me. I couldn’t resist it. Isn’t he adorable?
While the buffet has the usual favorite food items that we love like sushi, roast beef, chinese food, I had my eyes only for authentic Indonesian food. It was a rare opportunity to have three master chefs staying here in Manila for 2 weeks just to cook us their masterpieces. I can always go back for our old-time favorites. Last tuesday, I was all for Indonesian dishes.
- Appetizer Station
Together with salads, pizzas, breads, cold cuts, cold seafood, there were 2 Indonesian dishes that I had try out. You can differentiate the Indonesian dishes from the rest as the label of the dish has a different color and of course, there’s the Indonesian name.
Gado Gado (Mixed Vegetable Salad with Peanut Sauce) — Rujak Buah (Mixed Fruits with Sweet and Sour Sauce).
- Roasting Station
This station is definitely my favorite. It has all the dishes that we wouldn’t wanna miss having in a buffet. Food like roast beef, lechon, peking duck and lamb.
A chef is of course manning the station as he had to cut the meat whenever we want to get one.
Featured dish: Kambing Guling (Grilled Whole Lamb)
- Grilling Station
Beside the roasting station is the grilling station. This station probably has the most Indonesian dishes displayed. All the main dishes plus rice and noodles can be found there.
Nasi Begana (Steamed Rice wrapped in Banana Leaves), Perkedel Kentang (Deep Fried Mashed Potato), Soup Kimlo (Mixed Vegetables and Fish Ball Soup), Mie Tektek (Stir-Fried Noodles)
Ikan Bumbu Pemol (Steamed Fish with Yellow Sauce), Opor Ayam Suir (Shredded Chicken with Coconut Curry), Tongseng Kambing (Lamb Stew with White Cabbage), Tempe Mendoan (Butter Coated Soya Beancake)
This has got to be my favorite! Look at how beautiful the presentation is. This is Sate Ayam and Sapi which is skewered grilled chicken and beef. You must get this when you visit the Corniche buffet at Diamond Hotel. Hurry as you only have less than 2 weeks left to try this!
- Dessert Station
Last, but definitely not the least, is the Dessert Station. You’ll see the usual chocolate fondue, the beautiful cakes that Diamond Hotel is known for and some other mouth-watering desserts on display.
Aside from the Sate, the Indonesian desserts were such a delight. I was enjoying Urap Jagun Manis (Sweet Corn with Grated coconut), Lapis Surabaya (Layered Sponge Cake with Strawberry Jam) and Dadar Gulung (Stuffed Pineapple Roll). Most of us enjoyed the pineapple roll but I liked the sweet corn the most 😀
I truly enjoyed my first experience with Indonesian food. Indonesian cuisine is diverse and has many different influences. You can actually notice that some of the food are actually similar with our food and some other cuisines. You must try it!
Take note that you only have till August 28 to try out Selamat Menikmati: A Culinary Journey of Indonesia’s Best. For only Php 1,588 per person, you can enjoy all the Indonesian dishes I mentioned in this post plus a chance to win roundtrip tickets for two to Jakarta, Indonesia. How cool is that?
While you’re enjoying the Corniche buffet, you might see Sous Chef Ovan Prahoro. Go for it and say hi, he’s such a friendly master chef. We had a great time chatting with him during dinner.
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Selamat Menikmati: A Culinary Journey of Indonesia’s Best
August 16-28, 2011
Corniche Restaurant
Diamond Hotel, Roxas Boulevard cor. Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila, 1000 Philippines
(02) 528-3000
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