A Gastronomic Delight from Sense’s Chef Takase

As I had mentioned a day or so earlier, the chef de cuisine of Mandarin Oriental Tokyo’s Michelin- rated Sense restaurant is in Manila from June 21- 26 to present his award- winning cooking to diners at Tin Hau, Mandarin Oriental Manila’s top rated Chinese restaurant. 

Having Michelin- star rated restaurant chefs over to our country is a rarity, so food lovers out here *hello, me included* should without a moment’s hesitation, troop over to Mandarin Oriental hotel for the special treat.

The first dish had barbequed meat, seasonal vegetables, and Sense recommended Seafood.

Let me point out my favorites in this platter:

This was melt-in-your-mouth good. Yes, it is fatty pork with that sinfully crunchy top layer of a skin, but once you sank your teeth into the meat, you don’t taste or even sense the oiliness which would’ve normally accompanied such meat. It’s out of this world!

The abalone with scallops and spinach is a dish that’s right up my alley. Abalone is not an easy dish to prepare– it can get a little rubbery. But this was prepared perfectly. It tasted very fresh, and had a nice and easy chewiness to the bite. Wouldn’t mind another serving of this one 😉 

The most unusual in the platter would have to be this. I loved how avocado was incorporated, and it gave off that fresh and light feel to the dish. Initially I had actually thought that there were fatty pork portions mixed in. Turns out it’s squid meat! What a pleasant surprise! I couldn’t get over the fact that it was squid meat– I really kept biting into it, thinking that it’s fatty pork! But nope, this is a 100% healthy dish 🙂 

 The shark’s fin soup with shredded abalone and seafood was superior in taste, as I had expected it to be :). I added a little drop of black vinegar to enhance the flavors that I’ve been familiar with, as this soup was something I’ve had while growing up. It really brought back memories with my father, whom I know would’ve enjoyed this very much had he still been alive.  Now, what made this extra special is the steamed egg tofu at the bottom of the soup. It was something that Chef Takase had prepared himself, and the consistency of the tofu is unparalleled. It was very delicate and very smooth. While others had taken the tofu in with the soup, I decided to save it for last– as it had been the best!

Next on the menu was the wok- sauteéd prawn and scallop dish with yuzu green pepper. Now this yuzu green pepper is also something Chef Takase had brought to Manila with him, so this should make the dish extra special. And truly, it did not disappoint. I ran the scallop through the yuzu pepper sauce and all I can say after that bite was, WOW! Layers of taste– a marriage of spicy and salty, together with the sweet freshness of the scallop was what excited my palate. I should also note that the prawn was prepared to perfection– I think this is why some call them crystal prawns because there is a bit of transparency to the meat. It was very fresh, and it would’ve already been excellent to have it “naked” (without any sauce), but I couldn’t resist the yuzu pepper sauce. It was really out of this world!!

Sigh. That yuzu pepper sauce is truly unforgettable and topnotch!! *drools*

Fish was also on the menu– Steamed grouper fillet and tofu with fresh leek, ginger, and black vinegar sauce. Now let me tell you that I am not normally a big fan of grouper ( Lapu Lapu in Tagalog). Why? Because I had grouper everyday for a whole month post-partum for each kid I had. My mom would always have grouper soup prepared for me and it just came to a point when I became quite the grouper expert and then later developed a distaste for it hahaha. But I have never had grouper prepared the Sense way.

There was a sliced okra tempura which was a real nice touch to this dish. I love okra, I love tofu, and I loooove wakame (I’d have wakame every chance I get when I’m in a Japanese restaurant). The strong flavors set off the opposing textures of the fish fillet with tofu extremely well.  Oh and perhaps what added to the flavor of the sauce was Chef Takase’s use of our local fish sauce (aka patis)! A fine dish this was!

 After the surf, came the turf 🙂 

Sauteed beef fillet with wasabi soy sauce, seasonal vegetables, and taro potato.  If it weren’t for the wasabi soy (and the taro potato), this could’ve easily been recognized as a continental dish served in a Michelin star- rated restaurant. But no, this is a Chinese dish! Very good choice for the beef portion– it was very tender.  The taste of the sauce came in wonderful layers that unraveled itself with every bite and chew. It was very, very good. And the mashed taro potato which was quite pasty, is also excellent. I have never had taro potato with that consistency before, and it was a revelation! 

And if we weren’t full already, we were served a traditional dish of fried rice with salmon, seasoned cod roe, plum, and lettuce. Fried rice (or noodles) is most often served as the last savory dish before moving onto the sweets department (in Chinese lauriats/ banquets). And oof, I’ve been holding off eating rice (yessss, diet), and I privately swore not to finish this, but guess what, I finished it! It was a remarkable dish worth finishing– and I have no regrets! 🙂 *pats belly*

The cod roe was also brought in by Chef Takase. It was sooo good– I think given the opportunity, I’d have been able to eat 3 cups.  You need to taste this for yourself, seriously!!

And now onto the sweets!  This is lemon jelly in water melon pureé, basil seeds and collagen with mint sauce. My fellow writers were all wondering about the collagen– because we all know collagen is used for beauty products 😉 *collagen is oft- associated with anti- aging* . So it looks like having this dessert could very well make us all look younger haha 🙂

I love the presentation of this dessert. It looks like the cross- section of a watermelon, doesn’t it? 🙂 I would actually love this as a drink as well– oooh a nice tall glass of this on a hot summer day  = perfection! 🙂  I admire Chef Takase’s decision to include basil into this concoction. Basil can be overpowering, but to have this incorporated into the water melon pureé is pure genius. The flavors came together and were very complementary.

During my Tokyo trip, I noticed sweets shops and bakeries used a lot of red bean for their dessert. I had this opportunity to ask Chef Takase about it, and he said that red bean is really traditionally used for a lot of their desserts. It’s practically a staple when it comes to Japanese confections.

Tonight’s special treat is the sakura leaf- wrapped mochi, sweet strawberry ball with red bean filling, and a green tea cookie. My favorite remains the sakura leaf- wrapped mochi. It brings back pleasant memories of my trip to Tokyo– I’ve never been able to have this dessert outside of Japan, so this was really very, very nice!!

Again, Mandarin Oriental Manila has impressed me with Chef Takase.  It’s also very interesting to note that Chef Kenichi Takase can also speak Cantonese– in fact that’s the language he had used to converse and communicate with fellow chefs of Tin Hau!

Looks like I will be back at Tin Hau in a few days with some friends again, and this time we will be trying the lunch menu 🙂  Oh and before I forget, here are the prices for lunch/ dinner menus (and they’re prepared the a la carte way, not Chinese lauriat aka banquet style :D) 

This is really a pretty good deal, considering meals in a Michelin Star- rated restaurant begin at about Php 3,000!  Do book your seat/ table as soon as possible– the restaurant gets filled up very easily especially since Michelin Star- rated restaurant chefs hardly come to town (and thanks to Mandarin Oriental for bringing another excellent chef for us food lovers). This is going to be an unforgettable meal– and though I am already full from dinner, I really cannot wait to go right back for another meal!

For reservations, call (632) 750-8888 and ask to be connected to Tin Hau (ext. 2242)  or you may email momnl-tinhau@mohg.com 

P.S. And this is super important because I know a lot of you ladies (and gents) love to cook– Chef Takase will also hold a cooking class for those interested, so do call Mandarin Oriental Manila at (632) 750-8888 for more details. 

PPS. Thank you Charisse and Erika for the unforgettable dinner by Chef Takase. Hope to bump into you both for my lunch with friends within the week  🙂 

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