“Flavors of the Philippines” Featured in Muscat, Oman

Left photo: Philippine Ambassador to Oman H.E. Narciso T. Castañeda (right), with Guest of Honor H.E. Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ali Al-Qatabi, Head of ASEAN Department, Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs (left). Right photo: Ambassador Castañeda (center) with Filipino chefs Mark Wilhelm “Von” V. Ragudos (left) and Anthony Artemio “Anton” L. Abad (right)

29 September 2017 OMAN - Philippine Ambassador to Oman Narciso T. Castañeda hosted a dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Muscat for a select group of friends and acquaintances in the diplomatic and business communities to introduce the “Flavors of the Philippines,” a three-day promotion of Filipino cuisine held at the hotel’s Tropicana Restaurant from September 24 to 26.

H.E. Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ali Al-Qatabi, Head of ASEAN Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, graced the occasion as Guest of Honor.

In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Castañeda mentioned that the varied nature of Filipino cuisine could be traced to influences brought by the waves of migration of people in Asia, particularly in the South East Asian region, as well culinary influences from Spain.  He said that the dishes to be served would be a sampling of this cuisine and hoped it would be a positive introduction to Philippine taste and culture for the guests.

The dinner featured popular Filipino dishes such as lumpiang ubod (fresh spring roll of fresh palm, shrimp and vegetables served with peanut sauce), kilawing tuna (yellow fin ceviche), crispy adobong manok (deep fried shredded marinated chicken), and crispy beef tapa (Filipino style beef jerky) for starters; chicken caldereta (roasted chicken in rich spicy tomato stew), tadyang ng baka (deep fried marinated beef ribs), inihaw na posit (stuffed grilled squid with vinegar and soy sauce dip), lapu-lapu escabeche (deep fried fish in mango tomato and ginger sauce) and pansit bihon (sautéed vermicelli in seafood and vegetables) for the main course; and turon (sweet fried banana and strips of jackfruit in spring roll wrapper), leche flan (milk custard and caramelized sugar) and champorado biko (sweet chocolate rice cake).  Also served were popular Filipino drinks sago’t gulaman (sweetened tapioca pearls and gelatin cubes) and the world-renowned San Miguel Beer, whose original brewery was established in the Philippines in 1890. Salabat (hot freshly brewed ginger) was also served to complement the taste of the desserts.

The dishes were prepared by Chefs Anthony Artemio “Anton” L. Abad and Mark Wilhelm “Von” V. Ragudos, two Filipino professional chefs flown in from Manila for the “Flavors of the Philippines” project in Muscat. These chefs have already participated in a number of Philippine food festivals in different parts of the world, with the latest taking place subsequently in Paris, France and Berlin, Germany.

“Flavors of the Philippines” is a joint project of the Philippine Embassy in Oman and the Philippines’ National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in cooperation with the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Muscat, to promote Filipino culture through gastronomy in Oman.

The festival featured favorite Filipino dishes such as lumpiang ubod, kilawing tuna, oyster sisig, baked tahong, tokwa’t kambing, chicken inasal skewers, inihaw na baka, sinigang na salmon, bulalo, ensaladang talong at manga, ampalaya at dilis, itlog na maalat at kamatis, laing, bringhe, pandan rice, pansit luglog, sotanghon guisado, fish escabeche, adobong pusit, ginataang hipon sa taba ng talangka, rellenong alimasag, adobong manok, calderatang kambing, kare-kare, crispy tadyang ng baka, pinakbet, roasted bistek tagalog and lechon manok.

Filipino desserts such as maja blanca, palitaw, turon, leche flan, halo-halo, buko pandan, champorado, dark chocolate pralines and cheesecake samplers were also showcased.   

For more information, visit www.muscatpe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinOman.END