Our good friend Carla Reyes Tengco invited us, would you believe, dahlings, to dinner in Pampanga! Despite our qualms due to the distance, Carla won us over. Our group of 14 traveled to San Fernando.
Our destination was Denlim’s Kitchen of chef Dennis Lim. His place used to be a warehouse that he converted into a rustic kitchen.
Always smiling and totally dedicated to cooking, Dennis laid out his dishes on an old wooden table and served three kinds of yummy aperitif. Then he started cooking what turned out to be an 11-course dinner.
As we ate, Dennis explained what went into the cooking of each dish.
With no formal culinary training, he said he treats his craft with passion. “It all comes from my instinct and past experiences.”
He bakes his own bread, which I wanted to buy and take home. “Sorry, Maurice,” he said, explaining that baking is done only for guests while they’re waiting for the main dishes.
Well, it was certainly worth waiting for this sumptuous fare: baked banana heart in cheese; mussels in white wine and garlic olive oil; Denlim’s Oriental cashew salad; Pasta Angelita; Mexican chicken with salsa and guacamole (excellent!); and Moroccan shank stew.
Next was the pugon liempo wrap, which we devoured like piranhas. Another divine dish was Crab Marlen.
Thanks to Carla for letting us experience Denlim’s Kitchen. Next time, we won’t mind driving all the way to San Fernando despite the heavy traffic and long distance.
Denlim’s Kitchen is open only for private dining, which means Dennis hosts only one group of diners per night. This allows him to personally attend to each guest.
Reservation is needed as he is fully booked almost throughout the year. Carla said she herself had to wait for three months to get a schedule.
Incidentally, our photos were taken by 12-year-old Xavier Tengco, except the group shot, which was by Ramon Tuazon.
Visit www.facebook.com/denlimskitchen.
35th grand procession
The Cofradia de la Inmaculada Concepcion hosted its 35th annual grand procession in observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Intramuros, Manila.
As in previous years, the Cofradia organized the procession through the leadership of philanthropist Imelda Cojuangco and dedicated businessman Danny Dolor.
Hermana mayores of the 35th grand procession were Nene Leonor, Belen Hidalgo and Malou Unson.
After the long procession, Nene hosted an excellent dinner prepared at her home kitchen.
Settled down
Congratulations are in order for Fitz Puyat and Marga Cacho, dahlings, for the birth of their handsome baby boy, Raphael Valentin, aka Finn.
Manille society is glad to see Fitz finally settled down after all these years, although we’re pretty sure there were quite a few hearts left broken in the process.
Seen everywhere
My palangga, blogger Cat Arambulo-Antonio, is seen with Princess Violago everywhere these days. Will Princess be opening up her royal life to the public soon?
