An impressive array of Italian cured meats at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Written and photographed
By Jude Bautista
Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern are some of the stars of world cuisine due to their shows ‘No Reservations’ and ‘Bizarre Foods’ respectively. For Bourdain nothing is better than his two favorites pork and beer. Is it any surprise that both shows did their own jaunts to sections of Italy with separate features on the prosciutto? A perfect leg of pork fed with natural feed is selected, buried in salt and hung from 9 months to 2 years. The result is perhaps the best cold cut known to man.
Prosciutto sliced thin at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Served raw the thinly sliced Prosciutto is tender, salty and soft holding all the flavor of pork in a clean melt in your mouth piece. It is a taste all meat lovers should try. So when Tuesday came along at Circles café, it was like a dream come true: a whole platter of Italian meats was served beside various cheeses. Prosciutto, Beef Prosciutto, salami and even a whole porchetta were all there.
An impressive array of Italian cured meats at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
After watching Tony and Zimmern savor all the best-cured meats in Italy here they all were in one place at Makati Shangri La. There’s no need to travel. Due to their emphasis on Italian cuisine, the executive chef is also from there: Chef Franco Brodini. He is part of a friendly competition among chefs at Circles. The impressive spread is a way for him to showcase his skills.
Various Italian Cheeses at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Makati Shangri-La Superhero Chef is a competition among the chefs that also gives clientele a chance to vote for their favorite chef and win a large group buffet for free. The competition started August 6th, but is now winding down to the last week up to September 9.
Vote for Chef Franco Brodini at the official Makati Shangri-la facebook page. Click on pic for link.
The votes can be given in two ways: a drop box at Circles for the customers. And they may also ‘like’ the individual photos posted of the Superhero chef of their choice on the official Makati Shangri-La facebook page.
Tallying results from both, the chef “with the highest final score shall be chosen as the ‘Ultimate Chef’ winner and will receive a trophy “Makati Shangri-La Superhero Chef”.
Salami at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
They also have a wine buffet at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Chef Franco is only one of seven who are featured each day of the week: Monday Persian Delights – Chef Hamed Ghayedi, Tuesday Notte Italiana – Chef Franco Brodini, Wednesday Filipino Fiesta – Chef Gene Del Prado, Thursday Spice Up India- Chef Sovan Singh, Friday Seafood Market – Chef Yusuke Hino, Saturday Off the Grill – Chef Maran Mariapin and Sunday Big Brunch – Chef Anthony Collar.
Mushrooms and veggies accompany cheese and meat at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
The porchetta is similar to our own (Filipino) lechon de leche at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Chef Brodini certainly gave a very good ‘performance’ to earn the votes. The porchetta may have been the star among the Italian meats. It is very similar to our own (Filipino) lechon de leche. Both use young piglets and roast them. The porchetta however, guts the meat and is stuffed with fennel, garlic, rosemary and wild herbs. Bourdain has ranked the Philippines as no.1 in the hierarchy of pork followed by Bali and Puerto Rico in the 2nd and 3rd spots. He fell in love with Cebu Lechon. He echoed what we already knew, the crispness of the skin is truly world class. According to Wikipedia Porchetta is popular in different parts of the world introduced by Italian immigrants to Canada and the U.S.
Beef Prosciutto sliced thin at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Sea Food alla Cacciatore at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
If meat really isn’t your thing there are other dishes available like: Vegetable Caponnata and Sea Food alla Cacciatore. Accompanying the varied dishes is also a wine buffet that you could go for separate from the buffet price (not everyone can drink like Tony Soprano).
Provolone Cheese is just one of many from Italy at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Shepherd’s Pie (Torta del pastore) at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
No Italian cuisine for me is complete without pizza. In Circles they bake it upon order, which ensures that ‘hot out of the brick oven’ taste. There are two available flavors: Pepperoni and Margherita. You can also have both flavors in one pie! And according to food guru Tony Bourdain, pizzas in Naples in particular prioritize either the crust or the cheese. The quality of both is such that you don’t need much else as far as toppings or flavors go. The mozzarella just oozes from your mouth from a delightful thin crust, Chef Franco’s pizza more than lives up to this tradition.
2 flavors: Pepperoni and Margherita in one pizza at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Apple tart at Makati Shangri-la’s Circles Café. Each time you dine there you get a stub to vote for your favorite Superhero Chef and a chance to win a buffet for 30 people. You can also ‘like’ your favorite Superhero Chef’s pic at the official Makati Shangri La facebook page. Promo runs from August 6- September 9, 2012. Photo by Jude Bautista
Food for thought by Writer / photographer Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista 