Spanish Food Festival at the Diamond Hotel Philippines
Craving for Spanish food? Look no further as we will be sharing with you our EATSperience of the Spanish Food Festival at the Diamond Hotel Philippines, entitled “Exquisita Comida Española.” This one of a kind food festival features a wide variety of Spanish culinary classics from different regions of Spain. This Spanish food festival is made even more special by Diamond Hotel’s newest Executive Chef from Spain, Chef Francisco Coque. Well, well, well, a Spanish Executive Chef leading this Spanish food festival? It can’t get any more special and authentic than that, right? Join us as we eat our way through the sumptuous line-up of Spanish dishes together with their delicious spread of international cuisines from appetizers down to desserts. Before we starve ourselves out, let’s get going!
Spanish Food Festival at the Diamond Hotel!
Upon seeing the entrance of Corniche, we already saw how festive this EATSperience will be. It was dressed with black and red from the decorations to the garments. The staff who welcomed us were wearing familiar Spanish costumes which made us feel that we were in for an amazing Spanish feast. Elegant table set-up and the ambiance was cozy and extremely intimate.
Diamond Hotel’s Executive Chef Francisco Coque has worked for various restaurants, four of which are Michelin-starred, and hotels in Spain, England, and the USA until he found his way to Manila. With him at the helm, this Spanish food festival is surely in good hands. He and his awesome staff have prepared all kinds of tasty Spanish delights. Are you ready to EATSperience it? Let’s EAT!
Appetizers
Spanish Cheese Chorizo Iberico Iberico Ham carved on the spot (just for the opening night)We tried several Spanish delights and each had its own liking factor. However, not all that we have tried has a photo because we were too excited to devour into each. The Iberico Ham was one of the stars of this EATSperience! Every slice was melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Paired with high quality Spanish cheese. Most of the appetizers like the cocktail shrimp with salsa, bread with tomato and ensaladilla were all tasty and refreshing.
Mains
Fideua de Marisco
(seafood and squid ink noodle paella) Cazuela de Arroz Caldoso con Mariscos
(rice and seafood casserole) Lapu Lapu con Salsa Verde Almejas y Esparragos
(grouper fish in green sauce with white asparagus and clams) Gambas al Ajillo
(Spanish-style garlic shrimp) Pollo al Ajillo con Patatas Panaderas
(chicken with garlic and baked potatoes)After warming up with several Spanish appetizers, the mains made us even more excited. All mains were well-crafted but our favorites were the seafood and squid ink noodle paella and the rice and seafood casserole. The noodle paella was really flavorful. It had a naturally sweet flavor from the squid ink and it had a generous amount of tender seafood slices. For the seafood casserole, it was fragrant and it was light in flavor but the seafood made it really tasty. As for the rest of the mains, they were all equally delicious. Lots of fresh ingredients made even better by its Spanish seasoning. Well done, Chef Coque and staff!
Carving and Grill
Cochinillo Asado
(roasted suckling pig stuffed with truffle rice) Assortment of Skewered Spanish ChorizosWe always look forward to the grill and carving station of a buffet. And last night’s grill and carving station did not disappoint. The cochinillo asado was really tender and the skin still had that crisp. The sauce gave a strong liver flavor which complemented the truffle stuffed cochinillo. The truffle rice stuffing was really tasty. The selection of Spanish chorizos and grilled meat was good enough that made us come back for what we liked.
Desserts
Churros con Chocolate Arroz con Leche
(rice pudding) Salted Caramel, Chocolate, and Mocha Ice CreamAll the Spanish desserts that we tried were creamy and rich. The arroz con leche was definitely for anyone with a sweet tooth. For something familiar, the churros con chocolate was indeed very delicious. After sampling the Spanish desserts, we tried Corniche’s ice cream and it didn’t disappoint. The salted caramel ice cream was our favorite. Its strong caramel flavor was perfectly complemented by a touch of saltiness. It’s the perfect end to an awesome EATSperience!
Other offerings
Assorted Seafood
(just tell the serves or the chefs how want them prepared) Lechon Macau Roasted Chicken and Duck Seafood Bicol Express
(seafood in spicy coconut milk sauce) Pork Sisig Ebi TempuraAside from all the sumptuous Spanish delights, Corniche still has a great line-up of Filipino, Asian, Japanese, and Halal dishes. Among our favorites were the Seafood Bicol Express (perfect with lots of rice!), Lechon Macau (super crispy and meaty), Made-to-order Garlic Butter Prawns and Baked Mussels. The choices were endless so just be ready to EAT and be merry.
The Ladies of EATSplorations had a great time sampling the featured dishes of the night!This was one amazing EATSperience! Yes, it was really really special. Technically, it was our first full on Spanish food EATSperience. From the appetizers down to dessert, everything was simply amazing. Thanks to Chef Francisco Coque for coming up with a great line of Spanish dishes to introduce his country’s culture to first-timers like us through food. One thing for sure, this Spanish EATSperience will definitely be not our last. Thanks to our friends from the Kain Tulog Gang and Diamond Hotel Philippines for inviting us over! That’s it for this edition of EATSplorations! We hope to hear about you very own EATSperience at the Spanish Food Festival of the Diamond Hotel Philippines. Till next time!
EATSplorations 
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