The City of Dreams Manila is helping elevate Filipino food to a new audience

Henderson note: This is a guest blog by English journalist Daniel Smalling who discovered a place in Manila where Filipino food isn’t so limiting. I was intrigued as I rang in the new Millennium in the Philippines and found you could list the entire cuisine on the margins of one page in Lonely Planet. The City of Dreams Manila doesn’t sound very traditional but it does sound delicious. I’ll go and that’s why I’m running this blog.

MANILA — Filipino food is a melting pot of different influences. Authentic Filipino food is influenced heavily by the Spanish, Malay and Chinese cultures. However, more contemporary Filipino food has taken on American, German and Japanese influences over the last 20 years.

The colonial era when Spain governed the Philippines was a major reason why the country still has a connection to its previous European governors. Some even consider Filipino food to be made up 80 percent Spanish influenced ingredients and culinary flair.

But outside the country, Filipino food is rarely talked about. And because of the influx of many Western-themed restaurants, authentic Filipino food is often buried under a sea of chain and fast food restaurants.

However, since the opening of the City of Dreams Manila in December 2014
by the famous Melco Crown Group, authentic and contemporary Filipino food has been given a new platform whereby international travelers will be able to sample the best Filipino dishes in the five-star casino resort.

The casino and resort is a multi-purpose site, which has gained worldwide acclaim for its variety of live entertainment, huge gaming floors that even include Marvel-themed games like its online counterparts
and the aforementioned slew of popular high-end Filipino restaurants. The City of Dreams is also full of retail shops and purpose built concert halls.

But, for us foodies, it’s the restaurants that prick our ears. The Café at the Hyatt Hotel has a wonderful buffet
that has quickly become very popular, serving many famous Filipino dishes like the ever-popular lechon and many forms of sisig (pork, chicken, tuna, beef). Additionally, Red Ginger also has many famous Filipino dishes while serving a bevy of Asian-inspired meals. Noodl8 also brings Filipino food to the fore with their take on noodle dishes with spices and culinary styles from the country infusing them with the country’s varied cooking styles.

If anything, the City of Dreams will look to give Filipino food a new market to please. With more and more restaurants popping up inside the resort that sell diners the best contemporary food, international travelers will be able to sample dishes from the best up and coming Filipino chefs in the industry.

Author Bio:

Daniel Smalling has been a journalist for several years. After leaving the University of Manchester in 2008 he embarked on a year-long trip across Southeast Asia. He now returns to the region when he can, while contributing to many online and print publications. Daniel also enjoys golf and walking his dogs.