3 families share heirloom dishes at Manila Hotel’s Café Ilang-Ilang

The Manila Hotel draws inspiration from family, food, and reunions this December, as it serves a number of heirloom dishes shared by three Filipino families at Café Ilang-Ilang.

As part of its holiday treat to guests, especially families as well as balikbayan diners, the Manila Hotel, through Executive Chef Conrad Walter, has collaborated with members of Guiyab-Camcam, Llamas-Romulo, and Perez-De Venecia families.

Through representatives such as Edna Camcam, Sandie Romulo-Squillantini, and Gina de Venecia, these families were gracious to

share their respective recipes such as binagoongang baboy at pritong talong, pinakbet with bagnet, kalderetang baka, ginataang sugpo sa kamias. kare-kareng baka, fruit salad with cheese, and paksiw na tiyan ng bangus at ampalaya, among others.

In the case of Camcam, for instance,she met twice with the hotel’s culinary team, once in her home and once at The Manila Hotel’s kitchen, to discuss and teach them how to cook each dish. These dishes, depending on the schedule, are now served at Café IlangIlang’s Filipino section, one of nine sections the leading buffet restaurant in Metro Manila is famous for, until Dec. 27.

Apart from their love for good food, these families also have their culinary traditions. Squillantini, great granddaughter of the late Foreign Secretary Carlos P. Romulo, in fact, parlayed this tradition by opening a string of cafés serving classic and updated Filipino dishes.

Scan the QR Code to see the sumptuous heirloom dishes and turn to page D1 to read the full story.