How We Brought The Philippine Lechon Diva, Pepita’s Kitchen, To Singapore (November 2017)
One of our 2017 highlights was bringing our Filipino cuisine– specifically, lechon (suckling pig) to Singapore, with Cross Cultures, along with the Philippines’ Lechon Diva, Pepita’s Kitchen(headed by Dedet dela Fuente), and our partner in the Lion City, Horse’s Mouth(headed by Russell Yu) last November.
It was so awesome showcasing our Philippine lechon to Singapore with Cross Cultures by Cheryl Tiu and our partner The Horse’s Mouth!💕 PS my beaded scarf is by Tribe Dreamweavers in Lake Seibu, Mindanao– an underrepresented but culturally abundant region in the Philippines. Gorgeous, right?! 💙 (Photo credits: T Dining Singapore)
Cross Cultures has a two-fold-mission:to introduce the Philippines to cuisines from overseas; and to introduce our Filipino cuisine to the world— both founded on the vision that food is one of the most accessible ways of exchanging and learning about cultures, in order to build a more global community. This was our second overseas event, and our first one in Singapore— so it was all very exciting! (*For our Hong Kong event, also with Lechon Diva, click here.)
Ate Cristy of Pepita’s Kitchen piling on the Filipino chocnut on thekalesa.. one of the decors we had at the venueCrossing cultures right here! Japanese, Singaporean and Filipino chefs from Horse’s Mouth, Kaiseki Yoshiyuki and Pepita’s Kitchen prepping for the eventAssembly line of pica-pica ready! Crostini Topped with Balut Salpicao, Crab Gulong Gulong on Crispy Kiping, Chicharon, Adobo Flakes
We did 150 covers, closing down The Horse’s Mouth AND their sister Japanese restaurant,Kaiseki Yoshiyuki, for two nights! Apart from the six-course menu, guests enjoyed wines from Vintage Fine Wines(which paired great with our Filipino food btw!) and chocolates from Philippine-based Auro.
We have donated part of the proceeds to Project Wheelchair, which Dedet started to provide wheelchairs for those who cannot afford them in the Philippines– to give them the gift of mobility, a gift of hope.
I’m going to let the photos do the talking, but I wanted to thank everyone who came, supported and partnered with us for embracing and loving our Philippine cuisine and culture!!! xxx
Ready!!! With our official chocolate partner, Auro Chocolate from Davao, PhilippinesHorse’s Mouth cocktail bar on Orchard Road was packed on the brim for the two-night affair… we weren’t just sold out, we were overbooked!So overbooked that we had to close down adjacent sister restaurant fine dining Kaiseki Yoshiyuki as well! Yay!!Food personality Leonard Yeong (aka Lennardy), Cebu Pacific’s Smile Magazine EIC Trra Sering Dennis Hipolito and Philippines Airlines’ Mabuhay Magazine’s James OngNATA DE COCO SALAD: It might sound unorthodox when you hear the ingredients but this new dish from Pepita’s Kitchen won over a lot of foodies at our recent pop-up in Singapore. It’s greens, carrots, jicama, radish, pickled nata de coco, Boy Bawang (!!) and cashews and it was so delicious!HIPLOG: Shrimp Cooked in Salted Egg Yolk Sauce is one of Pepita’s Kitchen’s all-time most popular dishesLUCKY YOU NOODLES: Noodles with Bicol Express Sauce, Mild Philippine Chillies Stewed in Coconut Milk with PorkIce candy, a popular childhood Filipino snack, was turned into a palate cleanser by Pepita’s Kitchen at our recent pop-up in Singapore! How clever right?! Guests enjoyed biting off the plastic with their teeth to enjoy the ginger & calamansi flavors. (In photo: Joseph Haywood and Paco Alcor) Photo credits: Vivian PeiRussell bringing out the piece de resistance!Lechon action!A closer look!LECHON DE LECHE: Philippine Suckling Pig with Crab Fat Rice and Chorizo Stuffing with Philippine Chilli Labuyo SauceHappy campers Vivian Pei, Simone Soledad, Joseph Haywood, Paco AlcorDedet and I with Lesley Tan (who’s now director of comms at Shangri-La Singapore!), Bino Chua (also known as Iwanderrr) and Paolo of Random RepublikaPHILIPPINE DESSERTS: An assortment of 7 desserts from the Philippines Super Suman (included in The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Best Desserts List), Buko Pandan, Polvoron, Choc Nut, Ube Jam, Pili Nuts, Bulacan PastillasAURO CHOCOLATE YEMA: 64% Auro Dark Chocolate (from Davao, Philippines) and Cashews. This was SO good!With sisters-in-law Sae Takagi and Rebecca EuJean Coson is one of our Cross Cultures regulars in Manila, happy to see him here in Singapore with Jo 🙂Beauties Nikki Muller, Celina Tan, Dedet dela Fuente, Krissy JesudasonSingaporean chefs represent! Russell and I with Woo Wei Leong (Masterchef Asia winner, who will be opening a restaurant in Singapore soon!), Drew Nocente (Salted and Hung), Chanks KS, Han Liguang (Labyrinth)What a thrill to have been able to bring our Filipino cuisine overseas.. to Singapore!✨🌟⭐️ Thank you so much to the Philippines’ lechon diva Pepita’s Kitchen and Singapore’s Horse’s Mouth and Kaiseki Yoshiyuki. 💞🙏💞🇵🇭🇸🇬 Likewise to our official chocolate partner, Auro (🇵🇭) and wine partner, Vintage Fine Wines Asia (🇸🇬).. and of course to ALL OF OUR GUESTS who came and joined us. We love you!!!
