With Flavors of the Orient, chef Jereme Leung gives a taste of summer in China

WHILE Conrad Manila is welcoming chef Jereme Leung as part of its Legendary Chefs series, he is no stranger to the country.

He has been part of the Conrad since it opened in 2016. His China Blue by Jereme Leung restaurant at the hotel ranked ninth in Tripadvisor’s list of Top 10 Fine Dining Restaurants in Asia.

Mr. Leung will have a set menu called Flavors of the Orient as part of the Legendary Chefs promotion at China Blue until July 23 (Sunday).

His menu gives diners as taste of a summer in China, as the dishes included ingredients fit for the season.

The meal starts with two chunks of marinated lobster with coriander-lime jelly nuzzled between sheets of crispy bean curd, strewn with edible flowers. This tasted light, refreshing, and luxurious; a contrast to its more aggressive companion. The lobster shared space with deep-fried seafood kataifi (a Greek pastry resembling threads) with otak-otak (a Southeast Asian fish cake) and a lemongrass skewer. This was definitely more flamboyant with the contrast in textures between the crispy kataifi and the soft fish cake, accompanied by the strong aroma of the lemongrass.

The soup was definitely calmer: it was made of double-boiled merry fruit, peach gum, sea cucumber, dry moon clam and matsusake mushroom, with a single black chicken dumpling. Light and restorative, it was almost medicinal and mystical in taste, while the black chicken dumpling acted like a grounding influence that kept the soup firmly on earth.

Next came a steamed garoupa fish with sun-dried ginger, a sweetish red chili jam, black bean paste, swimming in superior chicken stock (the adjective “superior” comes from its Chinese origins, being made as well with Chinese ham). The fish, with its mild, white, and sweetish flesh, was a willing canvas for the rest of the ingredients, and media guests at the table quietly savored the rich but clean superior stock.

After that, we were served boneless short ribs (slow cooked for 2.5 hours) flavored with green pepper and barbecue sauce, accompanied by a radish marinated in the same sauce. The beef in its tenderness seemed almost liquid as it yielded to the slightest touch of the fork, in contrast to its very powerful beef flavor.

Finally, the main courses were punctuated with black sesame fried rice with dried scallop, seafood, and spring onion egg white “pearls.” This dish had a lovely toasted flavor, and the shrimps and scallops scattered within the rice added a punch.

The meal ended with hawthorn berry ice cream drizzled with Chinese sweet vinegar caramel, with an onion pancake at the side. The ice cream was topped off with a hawthorn syrup disc, made by reducing and cooling the syrup until it was quite solid and sliced into translucent discs. Strangely enough, the ice cream and its syrup disc tasted like its more common sibling, the Chinese candy haw flakes, and it was an experience to nibble at what tastes like a childhood treat in such a luxurious variation.

“Essentially, we still take inspiration from the traditional recipes, and it’s not something out of the blue,” said Mr. Leung when asked how his modern and luxurious interpretations of Chinese cuisine are approached by those more familiar with traditional Chinese food.

Many of the ingredients used in the set menu, such as merry fruit, were not as familiar. This prompted China Blue to show off the fruit in its raw form, resembling a nut.

“Our objective is really to introduce some of the less common ingredients. But while they are less common here, they are not unseen in China,” he said.

While the Legendary Chefs series kicked off last month with Thai chef Juthakorn “Mink” Suraksa and Mr. Leung for July, the series will be rounded out with Italian chef Valerio Pierantonelli from the Conrad Singapore Orchard in August.

Zeny Iglesias, public relations consultant for Conrad Manila, said that the promotion is due to market demand. “People are looking for new things,” she said.

Mr. Leung’s inclusion in the Legendary Chefs series is more than a bit of flattery. He has a Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Science, placing him among the ranks of Paul Bocuse and and Wolfgang Puck.

In an interview with BusinessWorld, he said that he’s about to open five new restaurants this year: two in China; and one each in Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Macau.

“If you ask me if I want to retire tomorrow, I don’t. Literally, it’s too late to become a car salesman now. For me, personally, my development and the continuation of opening new restaurants and developing new dishes is not about myself anymore. It’s really about all those people, good people, who have worked with me over the years,” he said.

The Flavors of the Orient set menu is available from July 18 to 23 at China Blue by Jereme Leung at Conrad Manila. The set menu costs P6,588 nett per person. — Joseph L. Garcia