A day before the country celebrated its 116th Independence Day, I sang with the Koro Madrigal, the alumni of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, for an event at F1 Hotel in BGC. All we knew back when the gig was announced was that we will be singing Filipino songs, and that it was a food festival.
Food and music. These two things are most loved by the Madz. Any member leaves the semicircle as a certified foodie. With all the international cuisines we’ve tasted during our travel, who would not become one? And so, we’re even happier to know that we will get to taste the food in this event.
The event is aptly called Luzviminda, a wordplay of the three major islands of the Philippines–Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. And as we further found out, the event featured three invited Filipino chefs dishing out the best of the islands. Plus, an art exhibit was inaugurated that same day, proceeds of its sales will go to Kythe Foundation.
We were asked to come early in the morning, and had breakfast. Buffet breakfast! Was not able to take photos of it though.
Here are some photos of the day:
For the Luzviminda event, three guest chefs were featured in their regional creations. Chef Tristan Encarnacion of Epicurious for Luzon, Chef Editha Singian of Pino Hotel Cebu for Visayas, and Chef Victor Barangan of Marco Polo Davao for Mindanao. Each chef brought authentic regional ingredients and recipes to Manila.
Of course, I did not miss my chance to take photos with them!
To complement the yummy food, we rendered songs from the three major islands as guests entered in, before the program started, and as the buffet was opened to the guests. We sang some favourites like Paru-parong Bukid, Pasigin, Zamboanga Hermosa, and Tagumpay Nating Lahat. We got our chance to eat after our set.
So, what’s on the menu? Here you go. I was not able to take decent photos of the food, because we had to prepare to sing already! But here are the few that I took:
Want to try it for yourself, too? You still have a few more days left! The special buffet runs until June 26 for P1,700 per person. It’s truly a feast for your senses. Check out F1 Hotel Manila on Facebook.
~ Touringkitty