06 January 2014 - The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong ended 2013 with a food diplomacy project featuring banker cum home-cook hobbyist Antonio “Tonet” Santana in his Lutong Bahay (Home Cooking) series at Plantation Restaurant in Sheung Wan on 15 and 17 December 2013. 

Guests of members from the academe, media, business community, diplomatic corps and travel writers were served dishes such as Lumpiang Hubad (naked spring roll), Lechon Kawali (crispy pork nuggets), Sinigang na Bangus Belly (tamarind soup with boneless milkfish), Chicken Adobo (chicken stewed in vinegar, garlic, and peppercorns), Pochero (beef stew with vegetables), Adobo Prawns (stewed prawns in vinegar and ginger), Suman (sticky rice cake) and Halo-Halo.

In line with the Christmas holidays, Mr. Santana welcomed the guests with mugs of tsokolate de batirol (native hot chocolate), and pandesal (traditional bread roll) and queso de bola (traditional Filipino Christmas cheese ball).

Kapeng Barako was also served after the meals.  Copies of the cookbook Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine, were also given out to the guests as souvenirs.

This Lutong Bahay event is part of the Consulate’s efforts to promote Philippine cuisine in Hong Kong. Guests raved about the dishes:

“Three Cheers to the (Lutong Bahay) Team for a fantastic meal…….We look forward to more invites…..”

“It was a truly fantastic meal, and I can’t wait to try making Chicken Adobo myself!”

Thank you Tonet and the Philippines (sic) Consulate for a marvelous dinner and very useful gift of a cookbook. Really appreciate the effort that went into this- the food had a lot of heart.”

The Lutong Bahay series with home-book hobbyist Antonio Santana is part of the activities under the 2012-2013 Philippines-China Years of Friendly Exchanges which aims to strengthen cultural exchange through arts, music and cuisine. END