To promote Taiwan Premium Pork in the Philippines, Taiwan’s Commerce Development Research Institute and our own Hightower (quality F&B importers), mounted a three-day campaign that involved awareness for their products at BGC, and culminated with a special dinner at Flame, Discovery Primea.
At Flame, Chefs Luis Chikiamco and Carlo Miguel made use of the diverse premium pork products that the CDRI has flown in specifically for this campaign. Inspired by their culinary adventures in Taiwan, the two chefs enjoyed utilizing the premium pork products, and creatively coming up with a 5-course dinner.
As for homemakers who’ll be excited by what follows, stay tuned for news about when these products will be officially distributed by Hightower— and especially look out for the Odiva Black Pork Belly and the Black Bridge sausages. These were the brands that impressed me the most.
The first course we had was a Crispy Odiva Black Pork Belly, with a sambal matti, soft egg, crispy shallots, cilantro, and baby greens. This was one great introduction to the Odiva pork products, as the consistency and tenderness of the pork belly cuts were very impressive. In terms of flavor, this one hit the spot as well.
Second course was a Pork Ravioli "Danzai." It was a dish served as a broth/soup; with the Du Hsiao Yuen minced pork raviolis the star of the preparation. The pork neck Chashu, the prawn, bean sprouts and trotter broth all came together wonderfully - a meal unto itself for someone like me, who avoids heavy dinners!
A fish course, the Lapu Lapu followed, and it was topped by Black Bridge dried sausages with XO sauce, Brussels sprouts and celeriac. This was the concession to offering a course where the pork wasn’t the primary focus, but adding to the overall taste and texture.
An Odiva Roasted Char Siu treatment of their black pork belly followed, accompanied by matchang, chestnuts, salted egg, and pork floss. If you enjoy sweetness in savory dishes, this course would have been your favorite.
A pineapple-based dessert was the fifth and final course of the night. It featured caramel, vanilla ice cream, chicharrón dust, and a pork fat puff pastry to stay thematically consistent with pork.
All in all, the dinner was a great showcase of possibility, and how the Taiwan Premium Pork Products are great ingredients to keep in the house, and use regularly. From Pork Belly cuts, to sausages and minced meat, there’s so much quality and taste on offer.