Confused. That’s what I was when I first experienced her dinner. I was floored when I tried her tasting menu. I didn’t know if I could tell my readers about it. She is not a chef (she says), but she is far better than one. I’ve been to maybe four or five of her private dinners for friends. There was not one dish that was not outstanding. I love the way she chooses the dishes to serve—unusual, delicious, and new to everyone. I also like to do that. Surprise the diner. Who doesn’t like a surprise? Panalo! Bela Yuchengco’s invite-only dinner has guests that can intimidate any cook, ranging from hotel executives to superstar chefs
Last Monday we were about 12 foodies gathered at her home. It was another dinner of fun, laughter and food experiences. Present were Glenda Barretto, Myrna Segismundo, Mikey Fenix, Beth Romualdez, Ces Drilon, Sylvia Reynoso, Charisse Chiudian, Jill Sandique, Pepper Teehankee, and Marivic Segismundo. Just looking at those in front of me at the table, if I were the host, I would faint. Each one is an authority in great food and most in cooking. Just to show you how confident our hostess was, she served us a tasting menu of dishes none of us had tasted before. You could see it was a very well planned menu, each dish served in tiny portions. Crab leg vermicelli and scallop XO dumpling
We started with filet mignon on rice crackers. Masarap. Then came tomato taro, a dish with sliced cherry tomatoes, crispy taro strips, and flakes with a mildly sweet-sour dressing. There were oohs and aahs all over. Two-way dumplings were next, then the fried milk with an apricot dip. This is like a tiny tempura stuffed with kani, with a sweet sauce at the bottom. Oh my! Sarap! Then came the giant crab claw sotanghon, steamed claws on a base of sotanghon. As the crab cooked, the drippings combined with the sauce, absorbed by the noodles. Fantastic! Then it was the scallop XO dumplings. This was crispy wrapped giant scallops topped with homemade XO sauce (XO sauce are dried spicy scallops). I also loved the play of flavors and textures. Chicken bao were crispy chicken strips with cucumber slices, red onion rings, a dark sauce on the side. We stuffed this in a homemade steamed bun. Penk Ching couldn’t make it so there were extra dishes. But I’ve learned from the past. They were all so good, I’d get extra. Ayun, I was already seated sideways.  Chinese spaghetti and two way dumpling
Last was Chinese spaghetti, boiled dry noodles topped with salted beans and ground meat sauce. This you have to top with cucumber strips. Desserts were a crepe samurai type of ender but made with coconut. When Bela told us it was made by her daughter, Chef Sunshine Puey, I was sure it would be up there. It’s always a no-fail when she has something from her kitchen. Of course I was right. We were all so stuffed but all of us finished the two scoops of pineapple sorbet with extra virgin olive oil and flour de sel.  When I heard Pepper was going to feature the meal—boom! I’d been dying to do that since my first experience.  The creator is Bela Yuchengco. We first met when she and her daughter Sunshine joined my Japan food tour. She is the perfect description of a foodie! Bela has great taste and when she finds anything super delicious her mind starts imagining what ideas she can come up with. I can boldly say, no one can beat Bela’s tasting menu. No one. Problem is, it’s only by invitation. So an invite is a jackpot at the lottery.  What an unforgettable dining experience!