Cecile Licad came to Cebu to perform in a piano recital at the ballroom of the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. It was a well-attended event sponsored by the Ateneo and Sacred Heart School alumni which raised funds for the victims of typhoon “Sendong” in northern Mindanao, and the earthquake in Negros Oriental.

The enthusiastic audience was so appreciative their applause merited four encores. Many of the prominent people present had the opportunity to meet the artist at the pre-recital party hosted by general manager Hans Hauri.

Some of them recalled Cecile’s first recital in Cebu when she was just a 13-year-old prodigy. It was held at the auditorium of Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion. Cebu was then famous for its grapes and the nuns had placed a basket of them backstage for Cecile to munch on between pieces.

The Arts Council was involved in that presentation, as it was when as an adult of international fame Cecile returned to Cebu on two occasions. At this recital the Arts Council was represented by founder Fe Sala Villarica, president Petite Garcia, VP Maxwell Espina, plus trustees Angelina Escaño, Annie Aboitiz, Teresin Mendezona and Elena Young.

Ingrid Sala Santamaria concert

Another piano concert of the first magnitude is coming up at the ballroom of the Marco Polo on Sept. 7, 8 p.m. That will be the 50th anniversary celebration of Ingrid Sala Santamaria as a concert pianist, a topic we took up in our previous issue.

Ingrid has already chosen her repertoire: Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E minor, and Mendelssohn’s Concerto No. 1 in G minor. The orchestral accompaniment will be by the Peace Philharmonic of the Philippines chamber quintet. Members are Mark Hamlet Mercado and Reynaldo Abellana (violins), Christian Abaiz (clarinet), Ariel Perez (bassoon) and Kit Mañus (bass).

Bicol food fest at Marco Polo

In progress at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel is a food festival featuring the cuisine of the Bicol region. The opening ceremony took place at the hotel lobby on April 18 at noon time. General manager Hans Hauri warmly welcomed Nini Ravanilla, the Department of Tourism’s director in the Bicol area.

She greeted everyone in Bicolano and Cebuano, and expressed how happy she was to be here for this promo event. She said there are now 10 flights a week from Cebu to Legazpi which should entice visitors to Bicolandia.

Later in the day, during dinner, she meet Cebu’s top travel agents who were happy to obtain firsthand info about the rich cultural, industrial and gastronomic attractions of Bicol. Quite a number of people in Cebu admit they never have been there to see Mayon volcano, at least.

Asked to say a few words was Bicol’s celebrity chef Leandro Santo Domingo, who at 34 has an impressive record. He just happened to settle in Naga City and there he has remained, raising Bicol’s gastronomy to gourmet levels.

“We went to Bicol to search for the best and found chef Doy,” said Jessica Avila, Marco Polo’s indefatigable consultant for Filipino cuisine. She is part of the hotel’s team which periodically visits key areas of the Philippines to feature their food in the Marco Polo’s “culinary journeys.”

“Let’s eat,” said Hans, Nini, chef Doy and Jessica as they led the crowd toward the entrance of Café Marco. Instead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the day’s protagonists would prepare a typical Bicol dish—Pinangat, with all ingredients arrayed on a special table.

“The spice is up,” said Mr. Hauri, leading everyone to a special table where the guests were plied with authentic Bicol specialties. Some of them, like the Bicol Express and the chili-filled fried lumpia, were hot, yes, but not all that was served.

Everyone’s favorite was chef Doy’s version of Laing. The shredded taro leaves were rightly condimented and the coconut milk was temptingly creamy. And it had just a tinge of spice. Perfect with the Paella Bicolana, laced with squid ink.

At this point of the meal came Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, for whom a seat was immediately readied beside Dr. Nestor Alonso. Greeting the mayor were Hans Hauri, resident manager Julie Najar and other top Marco Polo execs like F/B director Stephan Wieprich, Lara Constantino Scarrow, Kyra Cabaero, Menie Toledo, Tess Catipay, Jude Pangan and more.

Food fest in June

“What’s next, as a culinary journey?” Jessica was asked by Dawn Roa, formerly the DOT director for the Cebu region, and Charles Lim who had made the arrangements for the Marco Polo team to visit Bicol on Cebu Pacific.

Her quick response was, “We’re staying put, in Cebu.” There’s already a title to the food fest that has been planned for June in celebration of Philippine Independence Day. That will be “Treasured Recipes,” from four exponents, namely:

Hazel Gonzalez of The Beehive, established back in 1953; Tina Ebrada who put up her Golden Cowrie restaurant of native food in 1982; Winglip Chang of Grand Majestic whose “Peking Duck” is unmatched; and Teresin Mendezona, undisputed icon of epicurean excellence and style.