Cold Storage is a food solutions retail brand that takes pride in its provenance as a family business. It’s now run by the second generation, by Marco and Morris Qua, and they vividly recall how the first Cold Storage stand-alone was a community store for the neighborhood, way before the brand evolved to be the recognized powerhouse it is today. In its present format, it retains the stand-alone locations, but has also become the trusted brand for frozen seafood as found in your leading supermarkets and groceries. The Cold Storage of today has also diversified so that beyond the variety of frozen seafood, they offer high quality beef and pork, and can provide you with the best in ready-to-go sashimi and sushi.
So when Cold Storage decided to do a launch of its new “Lokal by Cold Storage” line, the Qua brothers looked to Chef Myke Tatung and Lore at One Bonifacio Mall as the ideal collaboration partner. Chef Myke is renowned for his exploration of Filipino cuisine and flavors, and his restaurants and cookbooks are testimonials to this culinary passion and dedication. Recognizing the parallel attention to quality and standards that are ingrained in the DNA of how Cold Storage is run, Chef Myke was eager to create a special menu that would highlight the very same products that Cold Storage makes available to the Filipino consumer.
The first special dish was a Tuna Ceviche - chunks of high grade tuna, with red radish, sweet pomelo, and spiced sukang tuba. The mix of textures, the tender cuts of tuna and pomelo bits, along with the crunch of the radish were accentuated by the sukang tuba.
The second course was Shrimps with Latik, juicy local white shrimps with fermented mustard leaves, and topped with shrimp-infused toasted coconut curds. Marco Qua dropped by our table at this point, explaining how this was the top shelf shrimps that are typically reserved for export, and local consumers don’t even get the chance to avail of this quality. That’s one thing that Lokal by Cold Storage is hoping to correct. Check out their pre-packed Suahe.
The Tilapia Fillet with homemade Tinapa and Bernaise sauce, accompanied by seasonal buttered vegetables and served with Kalkag rice, was the main course. Kalkag, which is Ilonggo-style sticky rice, with tiny dried shrimps and garlic, was the pleasant discovery of the night, a unique variant that should really be more popular.
Inutak, a classic sticky white rice combined with Ube sticky rice has a distinct flavor, thanks to the brûlées salted egg crème and dilis. It’s a dessert that produced a sweet ending to the night.
All the seafood used in the tasting menu were locally sourced from different regions across the country. All leading to sustainability and championing the local fishing industry - whether deep sea fishing or via aquaculture ponds.