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The Philippine Food Festival
By Fiona Chen

为迎接厦门国际马拉松赛,厦门马哥孛罗东方大酒店精心策划了菲律宾美食节. 届时,将特邀两位来自菲律宾的大厨为厦门人民呈现充满异域风味, 融合中西美食文化的独特佳肴.

In conjunction with the Xiamen International Marathon and the Xiamen Food Festival, The Marco Polo Xiamen will hold The Philippine Food Festival from March 26 to April 11.

Philippine cuisine is as diverse as the different cultural groups that make up the Filipino people. It is flavored by a rich variety of herbs and spices found all over the country. Aside from the many tropical fruits and vegetables grown in the mountains and plains, fish, meat and poultry are also a major part of the Filipino diet. Not to mention rice, which is also a staple food. Contact with foreign cultures resulted in interesting blends of flavors with Philippine cuisine. Spanish and Chinese cooking are among the many influences in Filipino food preparation.

The Marco Polo Xiamen has specially invited two Master Chefs from the Philippines to present this exotic blend that will be characteristically unique and provide a never ending source of gourmet surprises. You will not only be taken on a trip sampling various kinds of special Philippine cuisine but will also experience the tropical islands' culture.

Desserts and drinks are an important part of a satisfactory ending to a meal. In The Philippines' native language "minatamis" means dessert. These include baked rice, banana with caramelized sugar; cream and fruit salad. The Marco Polo Xiamen also brings to you Philippine ice cream and special drinks that will entice your appetite.

During the food festival, another important activity is scheduled for the 31st of March — a cooking class for Philippine dishes, during which the Philippine chefs will demonstrate the cooking procedures for five popular local courses.

Staff in traditional Philippine attire, the typical Philippine setting, along with tropical music and delicious food, will weave you a picture of exotic ambience.

Appetizer
开胃小吃
Dessert
甜点
Main course
主食

 

Private room dish, another food fad
By Jean Chen

伴随着香港贺岁浪漫喜剧片<魔幻厨房>的上映,一股以私房菜为招牌的美食风也开始风靡鹭岛. 厦门去年末就开了一家老妈私房菜馆,如今,海景皇冠假日酒店也正力推自创的私房菜. 看来,私房菜将成为2004年鹭岛餐饮界一支壮大的新生力量.

If you have seen The Magic Kitchen, a famous Hong Kong comedy which debuted early this year, you would have fallen in love with the private room dish.

The private room dish, as its name implies, cannot be found alike in any two restaurants. The private room dish originated in the Qing Dynasty and is getting more and more popular with its unique and creative tastes.

With 30 years cooking for star-level hotels, Chef Sam of Loong Yuen at the Crowne Plaza is a cookery expert rich in imagination. Some private room dishes he has recently created have won many food connoisseurs' appetites.

One delicate favorite is deep-fried pork ribs with coffee sauce. Most people might find it a little strange to see the two very contrasting ingredients combined. But I couldn't help raising my thumbs when I tried it. The dish won Chef Sam the championship of the Fujian Tour and Cooking Competition last October.

Another dish I recommend is fried beef fillet with plum and spicy sauce, which allows you to enjoy the different tastes of three countries in one bite. American plum, Thai sauce plus delicate cuisine seasoning, no wonder the Consul General of The Philippines Consulate General in Xiamen praised it as the most delicious food he had ever tasted.

Chef Sam also managed to quell many ladies' worries about gaining weight by making fruits a major ingredient in most of his private room dishes.


Chef Sam makes deep－fried pork ribs with coffee sauce on stage.


木瓜炖翅
Double－boiled shark's fin with papaya


西梅牛柳条
Fried beef fillet with plum and spicy sauce


如意素鲍玉扇
Braised winter melon rolls with flavored dough