HOT WEATHER MENU NOTES FROM THE TROPICS
Is it tropically hotter anywhere than in Manila’s summer? Here are some Stars Manila menu items from 1999.

The entire staff with the chef Buddy Trinidad (third from left) previously pastry and dessert chef from Stars S.F
The menu in Manila was, as always, inspired by local and regional fresh and perfect ingredients.
Normal to Buddy and me, but at that time for most of the Manila moneyed class of clients and investors, the regions of the Philippines were considered colorful and meant for beach vacations only.
As usual we were ahead of the times there, and I ignored the calls for Duck à l'Orange. Knowing they meant marmalade and not fresh Seville oranges for sauce Bigarade.
So, we charged ahead with regional ingredients. In effect quite similar to the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade 146 years before.
SIX ICED ROXAS CITY OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL, PINEAPPLE WINE SAUCE
Roxas is on an island of Western Visayas to the south of Manila and is the “Seafood Capital of the Philippines.”
I did not take into account that the waters off Roxas were warm. So therefore, were the oysters. What I thought was a great visual marketing move turned deadly when the warm water oysters hit the ice display. We dumped the ice and used sea weed instead.
This is the original text: Oysters are scrubbed in cold water, then put in containers and labeled and dated. These oysters are brought to the station up front and put on the ice and in the drawers. The ice is for storage of the oysters to be opened, not just for display. Some boxes or baskets to hold the oysters would be good for display, and we need signs to show the names and origin of the oysters. Oysters are opened to order as trained and never put under running water once open, and are stored on ice on the serving plate. Should be three little ramekins of sauces - pineapple/coconut wine, salsa fresca and chopped, salted, seeded, fermented kalamansi.
Pineapple wine sauce
¼ pineapple wine
¾ dry white wine
Sea salt
Shallots, peeled, finely minced
Cracked black pepper
To one cup of liquid add 4 large shallots and 1 tsp. of pepper. This sauce is made once for lunch and once for dinner-late night. Do NOT make it in large batches, but for back-up have peeled shallots on hand enough for one day only, and chop those to order for another batch.
BROILED ROXAS CITY OYSTERS WITH BARBECUE SAUCE AND CHICHARONES
The oysters are opened to order, the oyster liquid poured off - saved and poured into the wine sauce - the oysters topped with a little chopped lechon meat, then with a teaspoon of the barbecue sauce, set on a bed of coarse salt in a small paella pan or other? And put under the salamander. Add the chopped up lechon cracklings and put back under the salamander for 20 seconds or whatever it takes to crisp the cracklings - Do not leave them. Stand there until ready to remove.
Try the oysters also with crab fat.
SUGAR & DILL CURED SALMON WITH SALTED EGGS, BLACK FUNGUS MUSHROOM & HEART OF PALM SALAD
Very thinly sliced gravlax in the center of a cold large oval plate. Leave a gap for the other food. Do not put wet food on top of the fish. Mushroom salad in the center, then the wedge of eggs on top and then the salad on top of the eggs.
Heart of palm, cleaned, sliced thinly
Soaked black fungus mushrooms
Salt, white pepper
Kalamansi juice
Chopped fresh chives
BACALOD FRESH PRAWN COCKTAIL SERVICE ON ICE
Bacolod is a city on the northwest coast of Negros Island in the Philippines.
Prawns cooked shell on in salted water and iced down in a drain pan. When cold remove shells - do not shell all the prawns at once, do it for each service and only just under what is expected to be used. It does not take long to peel a few prawns. DO NOT overcook the prawns.
To order - toss the prawns in a very little lemon juice & salt. Then place around the center bowl of sauce, this bowl in a larger bowl of shaved ice. Add three lemon wedges, and some fresh wet seaweed.
KINILAW CEVICHE ON A PEARL SHELL, GREEN MANGO, PAPAYA & CHILI SALAD
Lapu-Lapu are groupers.
This is ceviche made with red snapper, grouper, or any firm white fleshed fish. Start with lapu-lapu. Cubed fish put in fresh lime juice and salt, and left for 1 hour. Then add finely-chopped red and green chilies, cilantro leaves. This has to be put together for each shift. To order add a very little peanut oil.
The Salad
Shredded green mango
Shredded Chayote
Dayap (Key Lime) juice
Sugar
Salt
Finely-chopped fresh mint leaves
Shredded lettuce
Cilantro sprigs
Put the lettuce on the shells that are cold on the ice display, then the ceviche, the salad on top of the ceviche, then the cilantro sprigs on top of the salad. Put the shell on top of shaved ice colored blue.
FRIED CRAB CAKES WITH AVOCADO-MINT SALAD, INDIAN LENTIL WAFERS, & NEW ORLEANS REMOULADE
The point of the Stars crab cakes is that they taste like crab and never do they have bell pepper in them.
For the New Orleans remoulade:
NO chopped cornichons (they turn the sauce into an off flavor after an hour)
Mayonnaise
Hot grainy mustard
Fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
Tabasco
Capers, rinsed and chopped
Coarsely-chopped hard-boiled egg
Scoop out half an avocado and slice across, then push it down to fan it out. Spoon a little dressing of lemon juice, salt, pepper and nut oil over it. Dress lightly the arugula and mint in the same dressing and put on top of the avocado. Spoon three little piles of remoulade around the avocado, and place a pappadum sticking in the avocado. Then put the hot deep-fried crab cakes around the avocado in between the piles of remoulade.
Stars Crab Cake
No real recipe, we just usually used:
Crab meat squeezed dry, dry Mashed potatoes, sour dough breadcrumbs, house-made mayonnaise.
Chives
Lemon juice
Tabasco
Salt and pepper
Mix softly, form into cakes. Then toss in flour, dredge in egg, pack lightly in either sour dough fresh breadcrumbs or Panko and deep fry in peanut oil 350 degrees.
CHILLED WHITE BEAN & UBE SOUP WITH CURRIED CRABMEAT & ORANGE-SICHUAN PEPPER SALT
Ube or Purple Yam


Put the beans in cold water and bring to the boil as quickly as possible. Then drain them out in a colander, letting all the water to drain away. Then pour cold water over them letting it also drain. Then pureed by hand and NOT the killer Bermixer, so that the puree has a light and velvety texture instead of the wallpaper glue texture that comes from high speed mechanical pureeing.
Then sieved, creamed, and brought to a light texture, seasoned and served in chilled soup plates. Drizzled with a thin puree of cooked ube, garnished with curried crabmeat and the salt. Julienne Banana flowers for garnish.
ALAN WONG’ S CHILLED SOUP & HOT SANDWICH OF FOIE GRAS & LECHON
Before the Pandemic, Alan Wong was the brilliant chef and owner of Alan Wong’s in Honolulu, Hawaii.
This is a dish of chilled various colored and flavored tomatoes, pureed and layered like a pousse-café in a tall thin glass. Served on a plate with a little fried sandwich of lechon meat and foie gras.
SANDWICHES
OPEN-FACED DEVILLED EGG SALAD WITH ONION RINGS
OPEN-FACED CRABMEAT SANDWICH WITH STARS FRESH POTATO CHIPS
ROAST BEEF & ROAST PORK SANDWICH WITH SWEET PICKLE RUSSIAN DRESSING
JEREMIAH’S FAVORITE ANCHO CHILI CHICKEN SALAD SANDWICH WITH CILANTRO & TEXAN SALSA
This is poached chicken breast that is shredded by hand, very lightly tossed in chopped rosemary, lemon juice and light olive oil and kept on the station, dressed in ancho chili puree mixed into 30% mayonnaise, 60% sour cream, lime juice and salt. The sandwich has cilantro salad on top.
PARMESAN TANDOOR BREAD WITH ANCHO CHILI CHICKEN & ORANGE-CILANTRO SALAD
TANDOOR-BAKED GAROUPA WITH BLACK & SICHUAN PEPPER TANDOOR GARLIC BREAD
ROAST LECHON WITH BASIL, GARLIC & LEMON ON TANDOOR MILD CHILI BREAD
MAIN COURSES
CRABMEAT RAVIOLI WTH FRESH TARRAGON, TOMATO AND SHELLFISH SAUCE
These raviolis filled with fresh crabmeat are made with wonton wrappers so that the ravioli will cook very quickly. The sauce is white wine-fish and shellfish essence that is mounted with French butter. JT to train cooks on this technique and all sous-chefs have to learn how to do it. The tomato concasse is tossed over heat with coarsely chopped tarragon leaves, lemon zest, crushed toasted fennel seeds, and some of the sauce. Garnish with crab claw or legs and a little salad of greens.
GRILLED SEA BASS WITH CARDAMOM SCENTED LENTILS, SESAME-RADISH SALAD & LOBSTER SAUCE
Cubes of Chilean sea bass, brined for 30 minutes and then lightly smoked. Put on the grill to cook barely through. The cooked lentils warmed in vegetable broth and cardamom butter and put in the center of the hot plate.
The fish on top, and garnished on top of the fish with a salad of very thin large watermelon or other red radish with curly endive or other greens. The radishes dressed in lime juice, sesame oil, salt & pepper. The sauce around the fish is the same as the shellfish sauce but with lobster essence from the shells. May have to be prawn sauce, with a little of the prawn meat on top of the fish and the shells make up the essence for the sauce.
GRILLED PAILLARD OF SALMON WITH FRESH PASTA & SUMMER VEGETABLES, PRAWN VINAIGRETTE
This is basically a salmon minute steak or a large piece of salmon that is only 1/4-inch-thick, that will grill in 2 minutes. The secret is to get it off the grill before it falls apart - that would be when it is overcooked. The fish is marinated in a little light olive oil with basil and other herb stems, seasoned to order and grilled. In the center of the salmon with be an angel hair pasta primavera, the pasta cooked and tossed in extra virgin olive oil and shellfish essence, a little minced garlic and chopped basil. Coarse black pepper. The vegetables cooked in salted water to order, tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper. Prawn essence with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, chopped black and green olives, lemon zest, orange zest, fennel tops, chopped white bocarones, and concasse.
STEAMED CHICKEN BREAST, WHITE & YELLOW HOMINY, ANCHO CHILI SAUCE & WATERCRESS & CASHEW NUT SALAD
The chicken breast with the wing first bone on, Frenched, and the breast slightly pounded out, skin on. Cooked skin on, then the skin removed for service. Steamed (that means covered) in vegetable broth, herb stems, and extra virgin olive oil.
Chicken taken out and put on hot plate, the hominy thrown in the pan, heated, finished with ancho chili-lime juice butter.
GRILLED DUCK LEG CONFIT WITH SQUASH, WITH A PEA SHOOT, FRESH WATER CHESTNUT, GARLIC WHITE BEAN SALAD, DALANDAN SAUCE
Dalandans are sour oranges.
We save all the chicken fat rendered from the first hour of cooking chicken stock. The legs are marinated in coarse salt, bay leaf, allspice, dried thyme for a day, wiped off and then cooked in the oven in the fat until tender, then cooled on racks on sheet pans in the walk-in. The squash is cubed, cooked in salted water and tossed to order in sesame oil, chopped basil, salt and freshly ground pepper mix. The salad is white beans cooked until tender but not mushy, very finely chopped garlic, thinly sliced fresh water chestnut, fresh pea shoots, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Warmed and the shoots slightly wilted in a bowl. The sauce is duck broth and dalandan juice mixed with olive oil drizzled around the plate. Sprinkle with the Sichuan-orange salt made by grinding dried dalandan peel with sea salt and dried chilies.
Pepper mix – white, black, rose, allspice (the allspice only 5% of the mix).
GRILLED CONFIT RABBIT LEG WITH WATERCRESS & GREEN BEANS
The sauce of onions, fig, black olive sauce – onions are the large rings of the Walla Walla onions sweated with fresh thyme sprigs, orange peel, basil stems. Take out the herbs when the onions are soft but still have crunch. To one up of coarsely chopped the onions, mix 4 coarsely-chopped mild black olives,6 toasted and skinned almonds, 1finely-chopped stemmed dried fig and 2 coarsely-chopped grilled fresh figs,1 tsp grated orange zest,1/2 tsp lemon zest,1/4 cup XVOO, ½ cup chicken stock, 1 tbs chopped fennel tops, 1 tbs tomato concasse, 1/2 tsp black pepper.
Serve with a salad of curly endive, watercress, walnut oil, sherry vinegar, cooked haricots verts, thinly shaved fennel, salt, pepper.
GRILLED PORK LOIN CHOP WITH OVEN-DRIED PEAR
The whole loin of is brined whole for 24 hours. Then it is rubbed with pepper and roasted whole at 400 degrees, to 75% or still pink but not red inside, at which point the roasting has to be stopped by cooling whole in the walk-in. When cold, the chops are cut in double or 4 inches thick, then the chops put in with fresh herb stems and sprigs – thyme, basil stems, picked stems of any herbs. When brought to the station, they are put in the drawer each one rubbed with a LITTLE olive oil and stored with more fresh herb stems, and then seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled to order. Ideally, they rest 5 minutes before serving.
Oven-dried pears are cut in half with the skin on, cooked at 250 degrees on paper on a sheet pan, the paper with a very thin layer of sugar and 1 tbs black pepper each pan. When tender scoop out the center stem and seed. The pear halves are heated to order in the oven, then filled with chopped salted kumquat and chopped basil, the two halves put together and held together with a thin sugar-cane skewer on which is impaled a whole kumquat cooked in sugar syrup and pepper.
The sauce is to one cup pork stock, 2 tbs coarse black pepper without any dust, ½ cup XVOO, 2 tbs raspberry vinegar (we make by 1 cup of fresh raspberries per liter of champagne vinegar and leave for a week and strain.) Use the same salad as on the rabbit leg.
GRILLED STEAK WITH FRENCH FRIES, SICHUAN PEPPER SAUCE, & WATERCRESS SALAD
Sirloin strip aged on the bone for 28 days with no Cryovac. Then boned out as needed, and a few of the steaks cut just before each service. Do NOT have cut steaks lying around overnight. The steaks marinated in fresh thyme,
salt and pepper for a couple of hours. The sauce is toasted Sichuan pepper coarsely ground, beef-veal reduced juices, olive oil. The salad is watercress, haricots verts cooked to order and mixed with the watercress with salt, lemon zest, walnut oil.
DESSERTS
PASSION FRUIT SOUFFLE WITH PINEAPPLE & FRESH JASMINE FLOWER ICE
CRYSTALLIXED GINGER- MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE WITH MANGO SAUCE
JEREMIAH’S DARK & WHITE CHOCOLATE AND SUGAR CANE SPICED SHAKE
RASPBERRY CREAM FILLED MERINGUE WITH A TROPICAL FRUIT SALAD
WARM PILI NUT MACAROON WITH ROSE AND HIBISCUS FLOWERS CUSTARD
RAMBUTAN, FRESH GREEN COCONUT & TAMARIND ICES WITH THEIR SAUCES, WARM GINGER COOKIES
WARM DOUBLE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE CAKE WITH ESPRESSO ICE CREAM
CHOCOLATE PARADISE WITH CHAMPAGNE SABAYON AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE
ICE CREAM SUNDAES WITH CHOCOLATE & CARAMEL SAUCES
WITH PILI NUTS & PECANS
WITH WARM MARSHMELLOW
SELECTION OF PHILIPPINE CHEESES AND YOHGURTS
SALTED CHICHARONES WITH A GLASS OF PORT
PRIVATE ESTATE KONA (Hawaii) OR BLUE MOUNTAIN (Jamaica) ‘FRENCH PRESSE’ COFFEE


Absolutely!
My greatest fan, Mao, and thank you again.