Serie Kulynarya
Chef Chele Gonzalez, who is at the helm of Gallery by Chele (formerly called Vask and Gallery by Vask), continues to amaze me with his cooking, using primarily local ingredients.
Recently, Chele launched “Serie Kulynaria,” a series of collaborative dinners to share the best of the Philippines to the world. With this concept, Chele aims to bring the world’s brightest culinary talents into his kitchen.
Featured first in the series is no less than chef Richard Ekkebus of Amber, ranked No. 56 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018 and was awarded two Michelin stars by the Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macau 2018 for the 10th consecutive year. Richard is also the culinary director of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. He is a chef I truly admire.
Richard and Chele cooked their four-hands dinner for two consecutive nights but a very special lunch was held for a select few, myself fortunately included.
The two chefs whipped up four “bites” for us before lunch. I was thrilled when I saw Richard’s famous “Chupa Chup” appetizer (foie gras covered in raspberry with beet root chips and gingerbread oxalis). I thoroughly enjoyed this appetizer in Amber Hong Kong and was very happy to have it again.
Richard then prepared his signature dish, the Hokkaido sea urchin in lobster gelatin and cauliflower cream topped with caviar, which is undoubtedly my favorite dish in Amber. He mentioned that when this was removed from the Amber menu in 2016, there was a petition to bring it back. Several people even threatened to boycott the restaurant if it was not put back on the menu. Of course, the dish is now back on the menu. It was heaven to have eaten this dish again. Another new dish I tried by Richard was the delectable black abalone with bean, tomato and pork chin.
Chele was also at par with his famous grilled octopus with chicken jus, and the melt-in-your-mouth grilled sustainable yellowfin tuna belly with green chili peppers. The lunch was everything I had expected and more. Before they prepared for the dinner that night, Richard and Chele took time to talk to us. I am certain everyone who partook in the two dinners had a happy tummy like mine during that unbelievably delicious lunch!