Irresistible Chinese cuisine at Feria
WITH an accomplished team of Chinese chefs, Radisson Blu Cebu Hotel’s Feria Restaurant is puling out all the stops to satisfy the
Cantonese cuisine cravings of
discerning food enthusiasts. Led by Chinese Head Chef Peter
Yeung, the Chinese station in the daily buffet layout is a feast for the senses. Chef Eric Ziliang creates dim sum dishes that touch the heart. Enhancing the dining experience, too, is an amazing La Mian Chef (Noodle Puller) Li Baojiang.
I was totally astonished with his skill in making noodles by hand.
La Mian is the ancient art of noodle pulling, where the wheat flour dough undergoes a process of stretching, pulling and folding to form unbelievably long, even strands of noodles. Chef Li does not speak English so Chinese head chef Peter serves as interpreter. Thirty-six-year-old Chef Li has been pulling noodles in China for
15 years now, way back since the late 90s.
To usher in the Lunar Year, Director of Marketing and Communications Rica Renee Rellon hosted lunch for us at Feria. The team of Chinese chefs together with F & B Director-Executive Chef Marco Amarone gave us a warm welcome as we took our seats. Our anxious palates were not disappointed when an appetizing plate of Chef Eric’s Dim Sum Medley was served for openers. This consisted of Steamed Abalone Dumpling, Deep-Fried Crispy Flower Style Roll and Steamed Crabmeat Sio Long Pao or Shanghai steamed soup dumpling. A bite of the dumplings results to an explosion of rich,
hot soup. I used to wonder how such delicate dumpling skin could contain hot soup without breaking. I found out that little squares of set gelatinous broth is placed
in side the dumpling with the
desired filling. The gelatin melts while the dumpling is steamed.
Ingenious, isn’t it? The Special Set Menu had Roasted Duck Breast wrapped in Chinese Pancake with Hoisin Sauce, Double–boiled Chicken with Dried Scallop Soup, Steamed Lapu-Lapu-Traditional Style, Wok-fried Stuffed Scallop with XO Sauce and Stir-fried Hand-made Noodles. As the lunch progressed, we found ourselves enjoying the Chinese dishes in between lively repartee and laughter. To seal a very satisfying lunch, Pastry Chef Sonny Juanino prepared a
delightfully dainty plate of Dessert Degustation–
Mango Sago, Chocolate Crème Brulee, Chocolate Wall Nut Espresso Cookie and Red Velvet Cake.
Radisson Blu Cebu
Hotel’s Feria is one culinary haven. To allow diners to enjoy its buffet offerings without hurting the pocket, a 50 percent discount on the regular buffet rate can be had every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. And, as an added treat, the Chinese Section offers more Dim Sum selections and Wok dishes on Saturdays. My friends and I
enjoyed a Saturday buffet lunch recently and we were just beside ourselves as we enjoyed our
favorite Cantonese dishes to our hearts’ content. We made room for a piping hot bowl of hand-pulled noodles with choices of meats and condiments. Le Mian Chef Li just kept smiling as we watched him pull the fresh noodles and quickly cooked them in boiling broth. Such dexterity!
