The 2011 Miele Guide is out! Ate Publishing, publisher of the Miele Guide, once again organized a very fancy, very memorable Miele Guide Gala where, aside from the presentation to the participants of a copy of the guide itself, this year they got four chefs to present modern island cooking. First on the menu was this appetizer of Reshmi Chicken Boti, Roasted Tomato Pave, Chilled Melon Shooter by Chef Wee Meng Goh of Resorts World Sentosa Singapore.
Pinoys, who were the noisiest during the gala (as usual), of course grew crazy when the entree by Chef Tonyboy Escalante of beef sinigang was served and when he went on stage to describe sinigang to the over 500 chefs/restaurateurs/food writers who graced the event. Tonyboy was our star. He served the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef sinigang with Vietnamese rice noodles. The beef was super soft and (at least to us Pinoys) the soup was just the right amount of sour.
Another Pinoy whose face and name were flashed on this giant screen was Roberto Abello, the young chef from Bacolod who was awarded a Sunrice Academy scholarship last year. We can't wait for him to come home and taste his cooking!
Meanwhile a
Chef of Chefs award was given to
Chef Umberto Bombano of
8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong, the #13 restaurant on the list. Chef Bombana has been described by his peers as "the greatest chef in Asia" although he hails from Bergamo in Northern Italy. He was a sweetheart and indulged us Filipina ladies with a photo op.
Another celebrity in the house was Bobby
Lin (I hope I got his name right ) Chin (the Virgin Mare has corrected me). Everyone at my table said he is famous although I have never seen his show on the Asian Food Channel myself. But I got a mock kiss at the after party! Haha!
The one who in my opinion absolutely looked like a celebrity was Ate Publishing founder and Miele Guide creator Su Lyn Tan. I am so impressed at how the Miele Guide and Ate Publishing (now Ate Consulting/Ate Media) has developed to become a highly sought after publishing/PR firm in the short period of four years.
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| With Su Lyn Tan |
Tonyboy's Antonio's made Top 11 in Asia and the other top restaurants from the Philippines include Restaurant Verbena (#2), The Goose Station (#3), 22 Prime (#4) and Cirkulo (#5).
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| With the gorgeous Sunshine Puey-Pengson of The Goose Station |
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| Malu Gamboa strikes a pose with other top restaurateurs |
Other restaurateurs present who made the list: Suzette Montinola of La Cocina de Tita Moning, Annie Montano and MM Vasquez of Mamou, Chiqui Mabanta of Corner Tree Cafe, Rolly Laudico of Bistro Filipino.
Afterwards we attended the after party at the Hard Rock Hotel lobby where Pinoy bartender John made sure we got the best drinks!
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| John the bartender |
Tonyboy Escalante, rock star ...
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| With Priscilla Tan of Ate Media |
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| With Suzette Montinola of La Cocina de Tita Moning |
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| With Malu Gamboa of Cirkulo & Azuthai |
Fun!
The Miele Guide lists best restaurants determined by a special jury and online voting (no free meals, advertising or restaurant sponsorships!) in 17 Asian countries: Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. This year's Top 5 are: Iggy's in Singapore; Restaurant Andre in Singapore; L'Atelier de Robuchon in Hong Kong; Robuchon a Galera in Macau; and Caprice at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong.
The Miele Guide 2011/2012 will be available at National Bookstore by first week of December.
Or buy it online www.mieleguide.com/shop.
