Celebrating the Swiss National Day last August 1, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu commemorated this event with its annual Swiss Alpine Festival buffet dubbed as Swissness from A-Z. Now on its 8th year, this gastronomic gathering at Cafe Marco coincided with the hotel's Culinary Journeys - a 10-day showcase of different world cuisines every month. And Swiss it was from August 1-10.
I started the month of August in Cebu to attend the inauguration of the Kool Adventure Camp of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. in Balamban town. After the event, it was another few days of cool adventure in and around Cebu. And as always, a gastronomic visit to Marco Polo Plaza Cebu is among the top of my list just like my Cebu visit last May.
Just as I entered the always welcoming grand lobby, there was another Swiss welcome that became selfiest portion of its lobby.
As I made my way to Cafe Marco, I can't help but notice the place (lobby and restaurant) donned for the festival. It was as if the whole place was red and white (colors of the Swiss flag) and every icon that represents Switzerland seem to be present.
And none could be better than cheese! All sorts of Swiss cheeses like Emmentaler, Appenzeller, Gruyere and Raclette plus other cheese like Gouda and more greeted patrons entering Cafe Marco. A very Swiss gastronomic welcome indeed! And so my gastronomic (lunch) journey begins with all these dishes representing the best of the Alpine country.
Ofcourse, I filled my plate with all the cheeses I saw to compare their respective taste, texture and other qualities. To compliment, them I also drop by the sausages, hams and assorted cold cuts station. It was a mix and match gastronomic game of which cheese goes well with the which ham or sausage, you get the idea...
Then there's Rosti - a Swiss dish consisting mainly of potatoes. Many Swiss consider rosti the national dish for, originally it was a common breakfast eaten by farmers. but now is eaten all over Switzerland. Today, rather than a complete breakfast, it is more commonly served with fried eggs and cervelat (sausage).
The name doesn't translate perfectly into English. Magrone is of course macaroni, but Älpler doesn't only refer to the mountains and the people who live there, but more specifically to the men who would go up into the high pastures with the cows every summer. They stayed there for months at a time and lived on either what they had brought up with them on the upward journey, or what they got from the cows they were tending.
What they obviously had lots of was milk, butter and cheese (because they also made cheese every day from the fresh milk). The way this dish is prepared emphasizes how much milk they had: enough to boil the macaroni in, instead of water. And this treatment produces a surprisingly rich and tasty base for a dish that would really stick to the ribs at the end of a hard day's work in the open air.
The cheese of preference for this very exalted version of mac-and-cheese would naturally be Bergkaese, one of the hundreds of matchless mountain cheeses made by small dairies and smallholders in all the great Alpine regions. The Swiss cheese Sbrinz also works well. But if you can't get these, Emmental, Gruyere or (if you can get it) Appenzeller cheeses will all still produce a really nice result.
What started with cheese ends with cheese as I tried the Raclette. Its not only a name of type of Swiss cheese but also of a dish indigenous to parts of Switzerland. The Raclette cheese round is heated, either in front of a fire or by a special machine called coupelles, then scraped onto diners' plates. The term raclette derives from the French word racler, meaning "to scrape," a reference to the fact that the melted cheese must be scraped from the unmelted part of the cheese onto the plate (Wikipedia)
The melted cheese then embraces assorted breads, boiled potatoes and baby onions for an authentic Swiss dish. But better consume the dish as soon as the cheese tends to harden, the experience may well be different,
And dessert it is with this St. Galler Kloster Torte. Its the Swiss version of the the Austrian Linzer Torte - said to be the oldest cake in the world. It has a very short, crumbly pastry made of flour, unsalted butter, egg yolks, lemon zest, cinnamon and lemon juice, and ground nuts this one had almonds. It is a holiday classic in Swiss and other European traditions.
Another tongue twister, this time it's a delicious dessert is the cremeschnitte, its like the Swiss/European version of napoleones; and just as delicious is the alpine chocolate roll.
The monthly Culinary Journeys at Marco Polo Plaza Hotel Cebu focuses on regional Filipino and international dishes and varies in theme. Basically, the featured themed "sits on top" of the already established International Lunch/Dinner Buffet. So aside from the special-themed buffet, you get the standard buffet Cafe Marco has to offer.
Craving for sushi, maki, tempura and sashimi? There's always plenty on their Japanese Station - with appetizers and dishes too!
There's also a Noodle Station where you can concoct your own soup (or dry) noodle dish with all the ingedients you want!
Desserts? There's a lot to choose from - cakes, cookies, fresh fruits, salads, crepes, halo-halo station, and a whole lot more! You can also "play" in the chocolate fountain!
All good and even delicious things do come to an end. This enjoyable lunch "in Switzerland" will just only be but a memory to live by and great tastes to remember. But the nonetheless it was unforgettable gastronomic adventure at Cafe Marco at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu. 'Til we eat again...
Cafe Marco
Marco Polo Plaza Hotel Cebu
Cebu Veterans Drive, Nivel Hills, Apas
Cebu City, 6000, Philippines
Breakfast 0600–1030AM | Lunch 1200NN – 0230PM | Dinner 0630PM – 1000PM
For inquiries and reservations:
Cebu: (63 32) 253 1111 | Manila: (63 2) 887 1263
Website: Marco Polo Plaza Cebu | Facebook: MarcoPolo Cebu