Last week, I experienced two of the best meals I have had this entire year. One was in a dinner birthday party, while the other was dinner at the most well-equipped culinary School in Asia.

A group of food enthusiasts were in Baguio judging the Chef Wars cooking competitions. Conversation naturally revolved around food and wine topics. A group of us were visiting the beautiful home of chef Vicky Tinio, where she opens her kitchen for meals that she cooks for foodies visiting the City of Pines. We enjoyed her delicious finger foods with two bottles of red wine brought by wine connoisseur Tita Trillo.

I loved listening to Tita’s stories about her experience visiting various chateaus and tasting the reserve wines of the vineyard owners. We were having a red Camelot wine made by the Jackson Family wines of California. Excellent!

Three weeks later, I was at Paparazzi at the Shangri-La Hotel, celebrating Tita’s birthday dinner. What a memorable meal. We started with a duck salad with marinated beets, pears, green beans, toasted hazelnuts and honey-citrus vinaigrette. These were thin strips of delicious duck breast with all the veggies.

The next course was a pacific cod chowder with clams and leeks. Then came the main course, a perfectly cooked USDA tenderloin with potato foie gras custard, forest mushroom and beef jus. Finally, we ended with warm apple pie with pecan ice cream.

All the courses were accompanied with the appropriate bottles of red and white wine. It was a complete evening with exceptional food and nice company.

Roasted rack of lamb

Exactly four days later, I was at another dinner which I had almost skipped—something I would certainly have regretted. It was a dinner by La Cuisine d’Alain Ducasse by Nicolas Cantrel, held at restaurant 101 of Enderun Colleges at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

We started with a light foamy soup of cauliflower velote and curry-flavored oil—a perfect entree to awaken the palate for the surprises that were coming. Then came a dish made with seasonal vegetables cooked and raw with tomato truffle marmalade. This was a first for me. Warm and chilled, there was a play of textures, temperatures and flavors in the fresh veggies. Loved it.

The red snapper with citrus and scallions followed next. The main was a roasted rack of lamb with artichokes and melting potatoes, the lamb cooked medium rare. I could never have imagined that I would ever appreciate it cooked this way. Perfection! So tender.

And when I thought we had hit the highlight, out came the most delicious dessert any chocoholic would ever experience. It’s crisp milky chocolate bar with a hint of calamansi. There were three kinds of flavors and textures—crispy, creamy, chewy, warm and frozen. This chocolate is the type that would make you close your eyes in satisfaction. I also talked to myself like someone possessed. That good.

I knew chef Tomas and Ian Ma were doing their magic in the back kitchen. All dishes had the proper wine accompaniments.

I will never forget these meals. I requested the chef to duplicate the meal and offer to the public, since this is a to-die-for meal that has to be experienced.

I have been asked many times what culinary school I can recommend for a child’s education. My response always is, look at the credentials of the faculty. And, if they have a restaurant outlet, try the food. If you like it or if it impresses you, enroll there. Enderun is the most well-equipped culinary school in the country today, if not in Asia. Impressive!

Happy eating!