The White Asparagus Festival returns to The Peninsula Manila’s Old Manila restaurant from May 20 to June 12.
White asparagus has long been considered a delicacy. The Romans, who developed the gardening techniques to grow them, were the first to preserve them by freezing.
So familiar were the characteristics of white asparagus to them that Emperor Caesar Augustus defined “haste” as “quicker than you can cook a white asparagus.”
Emperors and kings put a high premium on white asparagus, so that it has always been referred to as the “Food of Kings.”
Old Manila’s seasonal menu has white asparagus flown in from Europe for the food festival.
“It is the most luxurious of all asparagus varieties and has a full-flavored delicious taste, not to mention being rich in vitamins and minerals,” says Old Manila chef de cuisine Bertrand Charles.
On the menu are 60°C Slow Cooked Egg (Asparagus Salad, Potato Espuma, Smoked Duck Breast), White Asparagus Soup (Flamed Organic Salmon, Asparagus Purée, Bacon), Steamed Mahi-Mahi (White and Green Asparagus Textures), Twice Cooked French Veal (Morel, Roasted Asparagus, Shiraz Jus), and Wild Mushroom Tortellini (Asparagus Meunière, Garden Peas, Iberico).
The Peninsula Manila, tel. 8872888 local 6748 and 6749 (Old Manila)