Accor Hotels Push For Sustainable Seafood in the Philippines

Sunsets at Sofitel Manila

Set at the spectacular sunset of Manila Bay, Accor Hotels which includes Sofitel Manila, Raffles and Fairmont Hotel in Ayala, Novotel in Araneta Center, Joy Nostalg and the Mercure Hotel at the Ortigas business district joined hands in promoting sustainable seafood week at the Sofitel Seawall Garden together with Meliomar, the premier supplier for seafood in the country.

The GM’s of the Accor Hotel properties in the Philippines

AccorHotels Philippines Area General Manager Mr. Adam Laker says "Welcome to Sofitel. Accor being a large chain, we have a very big responsibility to sustainable seafood. Being an island country, we know how important it is to preserve the environment."

Atty. Benjamin Tabios from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources says "Celebrating sustainable seafood is under the law and it is good that the chain of hotels are spearheading this movement. It is the right thing to do."

Vince Cinches the representative from Greenpeace adds "Greenpeace is elated that they are in the right direction for our oceans to recover. Fish and sharks, sharks in particular should not be served. It is important for our oceans to recover."

Meliomar Inc. General Manager Christian Schmidradner says "Welcome to sustainable seafood week. We started small but now look at us caring for seafood sourcing, we continue today with a large government support and even NGO’s to welcome reporting of illegal fishing, to know where your seafood comes from, thank you for being here. Although it’s a small percent right now, this is a long process, not enough yet but with your help we can get there."

The Chef’s of different Accor Hotel properties in the Philippines

During the event, Chef's from these hotels whipped up the best of the best seafood dishes so they could showcase how good it would be to only source seafood without compromising the environment from overfishing and illegal ways. We got impressed by Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila’s Master French Chef Julien Cosse, Raffles and Fairmont Makati's  Executive Chef Anne-Cecile Degenne, Raffles Makati and Fairmont Executive Sous Chef Ric Ramos, Novotel Manila Araneta Center Executive Chef Michael Schauss, Mercure Manila Ortigas Executive Chef Patricia Mesina and Joy~Nostalg Hotel and Suites Managed by Accor Executive Chef Edgar Alejandria.

Here it is on video, enjoy!

I personally like the risotto, the rolls, and the fried salmon balls which was so exquisite! But most of all, the cause they are doing which I feel should be replicated in ALL hotels in the Philippines. It's the right thing to do so we could have seafood reach the future generations, our children's children.

KUMAGCOW

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Davao's Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimps Now in Manila

Davao has been genuinely a great place to do vacations, I've been there quite a number of times now. I think it's the charm of being laid back, the charming people, the fun places to go to and FOOD that makes every visit worthwhile. Although there are tons of Manila based restaurants opening down south, I haven't really seen brands from the south opening stores here in Metro Manila. Until today that is.

Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimps just opened shop at the 5th Floor of SM North Edsa's The Block and they've brought along a throng of the finest seafood catch, much like how they make it in Davao and into one of the biggest malls in the world to start their journey in Manila. This is the first franchise and the owners made it a point that all the crew and Chefs would be trained and exposed in Davao so they could replicate the experience of how it is in their original branch. They opened the first two in Davao's JP Laurel Branch and Lanang Business Park district, but felt Manilenos could really get some seafood love if this happened. Now they're making your dreams come true with a few food offerings that will surely make your mouth water, even if you're just looking at it.

First things first, you need to be armed by Spoons, Forks, the Crab shell cracker, the Mallet, and your own Boiling Crabs and Shrips official Bib so you don't really get messy... because this will be messy!

I had this drink first. It's either Four Seasons or Guava. Tasted like it. They have a couple more choices at the center of the restaurant which comes with the meal. Yes it's unlimited, and you can choose other flavors if you want to. That's really awesome, you can have them all in one visit LOL

For starters, this is their Calamares. It tasted fresh, it was crunchy, it was soft, and not overcooked. They also sprinkled something on top that made it a little spicy. Either Paprika or barbecue powder, pretty good!

I think this is their Crab Sticks. It wasn't much a hit on our table, but I felt it was okay. This would be good for kids who are fond of fried food, it'll feel like Chicken Fingers but it's got Crab instead.

For fish lovers, they've got Crispy Garlic Tuna Belly. I'm telling you, this is a garlic lover's dream! Those bits of golden brown garlic on top was just heavenly! It was a little oily, but the good type. This is probably rich in Omega 3, so it's good for your heart.

Meet my Kryptonite. Yes, you're looking at their piece de resistance, the lovely food that made them famous, the CRABS!

And by golly, the CRABS were so good that even if I had allergies I was still tempted to taste them all! They all laid on our table the Original Cajun Boiled Bag, the new Sambal Chili Crabs and my personal favorite the Crispy Garlic Crabs.

The Original Boiled Cajun Bag Crabs was heavenly, lightly seasoned, cooked in it's own life juices. It was sweet, flavorful, and you can even put the sauce on top of your hot steamed rice.

The Sambal Chili Crab was stuff for legends. The hot chili really complemented the crab flavor. It made the sauce thick, plus it was really good with the corn they mixed in the bag. It was like smoky, spicy, hot and really good with a cup of rice, unless of course you would have seconds, thirds or 4 more. I wouldn't be surprised. It is good, you'll forget your name a couple of times. You'll be prim and proper when you arrive, then find yourself in a total mess eating with your bare hands. Don't worry though as they have gloves for that. Don't forget the Crispy Garlic Crab too, my personal favorite. You could imagine, you would want to eat the whole crab (if it wasn't for the hard shell) plus the tons of garlic and light batter they used to cook this in. Honestly, the best Crab I've had in years.

For spice lovers, if you want to have that deep creole cooking done to a T, you've got that represented with their Gumbo. It's spicy, has that rich, deep and smoky flavor all mixed into one delectable soup that's super good to have while it's hot. It's like Aunt Jemima finally made this in Manila. Pretty authentic in my books, and it's made fresh everyday I think, must have been a chore to do for hours. I'd like to have a whole pot for my birthday!

For a more Davao feel, they also brought in Sinuglaw. A dish made of grilled Pork pieces, fresh Tuna, herbs and spices. It was good especially if you have it with beer. People settled with rice as beer probably ain't available in stores inside the mall.

This one wreaks of lemon grass and char grilled flavor. This is their Grilled Native Chicken, said to be the favorite of our current President Rodrigo Duterte. It was actually good, not that pretty to look at but if you ask the locals, they wouldn't trade this for the world. Best eaten when hot!

This I guess is just the tip of the iceberg. We still have a LOT of things to discover about this really good restaurant from Davao and why they have gambled to open a branch in Manila. For Davaoenos who miss home, this would probably be the best thing next to Mom's cooking. For Manileno's, this is just the start. There are hundreds of food establishments in the country that are waiting to be discovered. Soon, it's going to be easy to have them all because they'll probably be putting up branches like these around the country. This was a dream, look at them now! That just means it's not impossible, we just need more people to believe that the Filipino cuisine is ready for the local market... soon even the world!

Congratulations Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimps! Can't wait to go back there soon!

For more information about their food:

Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimps

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

https://www.facebook.com/BluePostsBoiling

Order Fresh Seafood Everyday at FreshOnline.PH

Jed Marcaida of Jump Digital PH and Ms. Eleen Kee of FreshOnline.PH

Well not yet that is, but real soon. A few days ago, I was invited to a small luncheon and launch of a new website called FreshOnline.PH. Honestly, I didn't really know what it was about - but I figured the word fresh and the logo itself (which I saw during the event) was pretty much self explanatory. The business is a startup owned and operated by Ms. Eleen Kee, a Malaysian national who told us about how she grew up in a small fishing village where everyone (albeit having average income) had food on the table - all fresh as it's caught the same day from the sea. She lived in Manila and the Philippines for quite a while now and she was taken aback to see most of Manila's seafood supply either come from far flung provinces, imported frozen and not kept quite well. The quality is also a bit questionable which was surprising as we are an archipelago. There's no existing entity that would even dare to deliver fresh seafood to every home and we all depend on what's in the morning spread of the local wet market or several groceries who have them on the fridge. They want to change all that, create a new scene with FreshOnline.PH.

FreshOnline.ph is going to offer premium seafood items that is hard to find in regular stores in the Philippines and offer them fresh, without concern that much on the price. They'll make this affordable, easy to order online, delivered to your doorstep the next day. They've built a facility in Navotas to house all these products and have them kept in refrigeration units that would ultimately make the products as good as the day they caught it.

This is Smoked Norwegian Salmon, same thing they use in hotels for those hors d'oeuvres you love with sour cream and capers. These would be sliced thinly, rolled up on top of a canape and be served elegantly on your table. This is the concept they want you to have when it's available online. Something that you almost don't have to do so much processing of, just have it sliced and served.

This is the same quality Mackarel found in Japanese restaurants, now imagine how you can have this too in your own home. Put it on top of a Japanese rice, put it into a roll and have it for lunch or dinner. FreshOnline.PH eventually also wants you to bring the habit of having only the freshest seafood and might in the future even teach you how to cook it, as fresh as it is.

Our Southeast Asian neighbors usually just steam and put a little flavor on them, a thing that would keep the flavor and original sweetness intact. They want us to experience that same feeling too. They'll include this lobster on their site, but never priced like those in Boracay.

This one's the Boston Lobster, hard to find in the Philippines but will be available through FreshOnline.PH. The sheer color of it excites me. Now think of how your lunch or dinner table would look like now that this is going to be easy to get here!

I like this one the most. This is Scallops with the Gihod still attached. They call this Sashimi scallops which is found in deeper parts of the ocean. They're bigger, which you can sear on a hot pan and serve with different sauces. It's sweet, naturally and you'll get this delivered to your doorstep, can pay for it through card, other payment systems available soon.

I had this for lunch a few days ago. It's quality was just different. I haven't had Adobo Squid that good in a long time.

You must buy this, I see this in hotels served fresh even mixed in on salads. Imagine just taking this out of the wrap and cooking it because it's prewashed and processed already. Now that's going to be a very good place to start when FreshOnline.PH comes live.

Jump Digital and FreshOnline.PH already signed off to make this online seafood e-store available for you very soon. When it gets launched I'll tell you on my social media channels. You can follow them on the channels below too. So stay tuned!

For more information about their products:

FreshOnline.Ph

Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://freshonline.ph/