Surreal Gourmet’s Bob Blumer visited Manila and whipped up a dinner for me.

It was a raining Friday last January 17 and most offices have allowed their employees to go home early (by 1PM, some companies have canceled work due to heavy rains and probable flash flood.  While the rest of Manila was eager to pack their stuff, I, on the other hand, was standing comfortable and dry in our boardroom in front of a panel presenting our project).  Although there was worry about the heavy rain causing flashflood and crazy Manila traffic on a weekend, many couldn’t pass up the chance to meet Bob Blumer.

The show must go on. 

In his show, Glutton for Punishment (now going on its third season), Bob goes to different cities and challenges himself to extreme gastronome adventures against the locals.  Among his attainments are living on nothing but Guinness for one whole week in Dublin, chile-pepper eating contest in Mexico, and many other daunting feats.  As they say, no guts, no glutton!

The Rockwell Tent was the venue for the Discovery Travel and Living event and Giata Fores was at the forefront of the catering service.  Joey Mead hosted the event and couldn’t go tongue fencing with the very funny Bob Blumer.  It seems like she was out of her element but despite the ho-hum hosting skills of Joey, Bob Blumer endeared himself to the enthusiastic crowd especially when he tried our local unfermented egg, “balut.”

On the Table

(Apologies for the poor photos)

Flower Pot Salad

The salad was served on a rectangular tin can representing a flowerpot.  Even if I have tasted flowers on salads (the first experience at Kinabuhayan Café) before, this salad didn’t enthuse much.  It tasted overly flowery making the greens taste a bit on the bitter side.

Beef Cheek Cupcake

Shredded beef balled into a cupcake with a raspberry or beet mashed potato as its “icing”.  It was served unpredictably cold that probably caused parts of the beef to be chewy.  They used the local vegetable “sigarilyas” as a siding that added quite the crunch and texture to the whole dish.  The side dish was more enjoyable than the cold beef.

Existential Eggs

This was the highlight of the meal for me.  The third course arrived looking like Cleopatra, lonely but gallant on top of a wanton carriage.  The fried noodle was weaved together to look like a nest while the slightly cracked egg rest on it.  It was regal in both presentation and taste.  A mélange of flavors rest on your tongue with the creamy goodness of this semi-sweet delicate dessert.  This is the dessert I’d definitely want to be punished repeatedly just to get another serving.

The food, though not as exotic as it sounds and I hoped for, was still worth trying.  All three piqued the gourmet senses despite some elements that were lacking.  The beef was probably affected by the cold weather while it was resting.  The existential egg was worth sitting through the entire course.

There’s always an extreme danger lurking in Bob’s epicurean adventures.  Catch Bob as he takes on exciting culinary challenges in the new season of Glutton for Punishment, only on Discovery Travel and Living.

For more info on how to subscribe to the channel, please call Sky Cable Customer Service Hotline at 631-0000 or visit the Sky Cable website.

Events This Weekend Album

Related Post

World Café Asia 2: Manila Repeats

Biting Nigella

Get HIGH with SKY Cable’s HD

World Café Asia Season 2 Opens with Manila Episode

—