A Weekend Dinner on a Tuesday
Have your heard of “The Fat Duck,” “French Laundry” or the “Weekend”? Well, they are the name of restaurants located in U.K., U.S.A. and Cebu City, respectively. The later restaurant, Weekend recently celebrated its first anniversary and I was sent an invitation to join the party.
Weekend is owned and operated by Chef Jan Rodriguez of the Great Gastronomy Corporation. It is located at No. 8, The Greenery, Pope John Paul II Ave. Cebu City. This casual dining establishment serves American-inspired dishes. It has a very chic bar that serves cocktails.
The anniversary was last Tuesday. Opening drink was the Dark Rum Daiquiri, a refreshing brew with just three ingredients; rum, sugar or syrup, and lime juice. It was paired with an appetizer called Salmon Poke on Toast, a dish with origins in Hawaii (“poke” means the fish is cut cross wise). Traditionally, tuna is used and the taste could be salty, spicy and intensely flavored with ingredients like chili flakes, sugar, salt, furikake flakes (Japanese seasoning), soy sauce, sugar, green onions and others. It was a subtle hint on the incoming dishes with bold flavors embedded in different layers to scrutinize.
Salad was the Jupiter’s Acorn made with Romaine Lettuce, Apple, Candied Walnuts, Arugula, Blue Cheese and Maple Dressing. It was very revitalizing; this dish would easily appeal to the taste buds of millennials. It was followed by the Mushroom Pappardelle, made with Homemade Semolina Pasta, Fresh Shitake and Shimeji Mushrooms, Tarragon Cream Sauce, Parmesan and Crispy Prosciutto. It would be extremely difficult not to have a delicious dish when ingredients like cheese and mushroom are loaded with