To have the same, try the Heritage Hotel’s Mediterranean Culinary Cruise which runs for the whole month of October. At Php960++, you can also sample the other Heritage buffet staples like the rotisserie chicken (Chef Chua Yew Hocks’s own recipe), fruit station, suckling pig, dimsum, Japanese and pasta stations.
Starting with my favorite Seafood Salad with Fennel and Beef Carpaccio topped on some greens, I had a very appetizing beginning. The Seafood Salad is a must-try! The freshness of the prawns mixed so well with the fennel. The beef complemented the fennel and prawns adding some spike with the vinaigrette to the salad. Yummy! I could’ve gone on and on mixing my own appetizer cum salad but I had some work to do.
I looked around only to find a few other dishes from the line up. The Dolmades was really not my type. Not that I have anything against the grape leaves but the combination of the long grain rice and toasted pine nuts was not to my liking. I’m not a nut person really. This exotic appetizer is best tried with a beef dish like the Moussaka.
Moussaka is an eggplant casserole usually with beef or lamb slices or shreds. Since I love the parmigiana, I do love Moussaka! It was baked to perfection! With the cheese melted and the beef and eggplant combined like twins in a dish. The beef here was shredded, thus the perfect synthesis with the eggplant and cheese. Delicioso!
I went another round but couldn’t find any other dish that caught my fancy, Meditterranean that is. I had a Puttanesca and Sinigang. Funny!
It drove out the Meditterranean spirit away but it kinda placed my Med taste buds on hold.
Good thing in Heritage is that they can whip up any dish that you like. As in, any! Chef’s Laksa is also the best that I’ve tried. So, I also ordered it. No, I’m not pregnant. My appetite changes from one continent to the next in a jiffy. Yes, that’s me. And I don’t think that you should smirk at that. That’s called food adventure! So, I had the Laksa and it spurred me on to try the other dishes.
I had the Kotopoulo Me Kookia, chicken with broad beans. I like the sweet taste of the sauce. The beans too. It’s rare how you can find any food to go with beans that I will like. Save for the classic bean pot of my grandma that goes well with pork or chicken. Sad thing was when
I opened the chafing dish that was supposed to house the Paella, one of my favorites too. There was none so I guess it was good.
Having any dish at any time is quite a skill. The whole point in this cruise is that you always try. Don’t forget their Meditteranean dessert: Tiramisu, Baklava, Tarte Tartan. Yes, they have it. I was looking for a shisha though. It could’ve completed their theme. Shisha is synonymous with Hookah. Also, this term is sometimes used to refer to the special tobacco smoked with a hookah. A hookah is an oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water. This I feel will make the buffet more authentic. Ambience can make a lot of difference!
To tempt your taste buds for Meditteranean food, here’s a free receipe of Moussaka.
Version Recipe: Moussaka
Ingredients3 large eggplants
1/2 cup olive oil, additional 1 Tbsp for oiling the pan and the aluminum foil
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 cup sweet vermouth or port
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 pounds baking potatoes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
*Cut the eggplant in half. Don’t remove or damage skin.
*Heat a large skillet over high heat. Put in 2 tablespoons of the oil, then add two eggplant halves, cut side down. Sear for 1 minute without disturbing, then add 3 tablespoons water. Cover and reduce the heat to low.
*Steam the eggplant halves for 10 minutes. Set the halves aside to cool on a large platter and repeat with the remaining halves.
*Scrape the eggplant pulp using a teaspoon. Again, don’t break the skin. You will have around 4 cups eggplant pulp. Reserve the skins.
*Saute onions and garlic in oil. Add the lamb or beef and cook until browned.
*Add the reserved eggplant pulp and sweet vermouth. Mix well while stirring in the cinnamon, salt, cumin, and pepper. Set aside.
*Peel the potatoes and cut off thin slices. Reserve in bowl of water.
*Boil potato slices in a pot of salted water. Set aside.
*Mix the eggs and the eggplant mixture.
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while oiling baking dish.
*The eggplant skins should be placed at the bottom of the dish. They will be the skin of the moussaka.
*Layer the potato slices on top of the eggplant skins then top with eggplant mixture. Do this layering until you reach the top of the baking dish. On top, place the extra eggplant skin.
*Seal the moussaka with an oiled aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
