Sunday Fiesta Starts Tomorrow at S Kitchen in Sheraton Manila
When I was a little girl, I remember being so excited to attend our town festivals and fiesta. There was so much food everywhere, with games, pageants, and activities happening the entire week! People would go door to door and all the houses would be sharing their feasts with everyone, including all the delicious lechon! Sadly, we don’t have those kinds of fiestas here in Manila, and it’s not easy traveling during the festival season. Thankfully, Sheraton Manila Hotel is bringing the fiesta experience right to us as it launches its Sunday Fiesta lunch buffet starting June 9, 2019 at S Kitchen.
The Sunday Fiesta is an elevated buffet experience highlighting our local Filipino cuisine. Sundays are usually reserved for special gatherings with family and friends, so this new type of Sunday Brunch buffet is definitely a welcome addition. Sunday Fiesta is available from 12:00nn to 3:00pm every Sunday for only P2,500 nett per person. The Hungry Kat was invited last Thursday to a sneak preview of what diners and foodies can expect at Sheraton Manila starting tomorrow.
S Kitchen is the all-day dining restaurant of Sheraton Manila Hotel which officially opened its doors earlier this year in January. With sleek interiors, high ceilings, and full-length glass windows facing the NAIA Terminal 3, S Kitchen makes casual dining a luxury in this busy and hectic part of the city. Here you can savour all-time favorite global dishes and elevated Filipino cuisine using the finest local produce and traditional techniques.
S Kitchen also has two private dining rooms which can be combined for bigger groups. The Sunday Fiesta is set up like your typical town festival where diners can roam around and partake of all the sumptuous offerings in each buffet station. Sheraton Manila Executive Chef Kiko Santiago is one of the only Filipinos to head an iconic hotel brand, so he is highlighting our local cuisine to the global community.
Refreshments are included in the buffet price so start with some local thirst quenchers like the Buko Pandan, Melon Juice, Pineapple Lychee, or Coffee Jelly. Soda, coffee and tea are also included.
The Bread Station offers a wide array of breads and pastries for those who want to fill up on carbs. I suggest taking it slow in this section and focusing on the other more interesting areas of the fiesta.
Cheese lovers have a good selection of cheeses to choose from including Comte Cheese, Blue Cheese, Brie, and Manchego as well as an assortment of hams like Beef Pastrami, Mortadella, and Bayonne Ham. I also saw some Salmon Gravlax and Tanigue Gravlax here.
The main highlights at the Sunday Fiesta are of course, the Filipino delicacies. You can find familiar local appetizers such as Chicharon Bulaklak and Crispy Tadyang which you can dip in lots of vinegar. They also have Itlog na Maalat, Adobo Dilis, Crispy Pusit, and Ensaladang Mangga.
Go around the different stations and you will discover some colorful dishes such as the Adobo sa Gata Suso, Binalot na Laing, Miki Batchoy, and Crispy Pancit Canton. There’s soup that you can customize like the Seafood Pachero and the Kansi, an Illongo specialty from Bacolod which is made from beef bone marrow and vegetables.
The Kare-Kare is always a popular dish in every household so you will also find this at the Sunday Fiesta. There’s a Spicy Kalderetang Kambing dish for those who want something a bit more exotic.
Aside from Filipino favorites, S Kitchen also has other international stations to satisfy all types of diners. The Sashimi station comes with delectable slices of salmon and tuna sashimi as well as some maki and rolls.
Chinese dimsum baskets with Hakao, Siomai, Siopao, Pork Spareribs and more can be found on this side of the buffet.
Then there’s the Italian station offering pizzas with a local twist. S Kitchen likes to incorporate local flavors on international dishes so you can find items like the Vegetable Adobo Lasagna and other fusion dishes.
There is a Pasta Station as well where guests can choose their own type of pasta which will be prepared a la minute. The Bicol Express Pasta by Chef Kiko is one of their signature creations with its familiar coconut cream flavors combined with fresh seafood ingredients.
The Indian Station has the Braised Beef in Marsala and Mushroom and other interesting dishes like the Baked Mahi Mahi with cajun dill sauce, Chicken Makhanwala, and Dhingri Makai Palak.
The Thai Green Curry Chicken comes with authentic Thai flavors and spices. This would go really well with some steamed rice.
What I really like at the S Kitchen Sunday Fiesta is their seafood selection. The cold seafood station has prawns, mussels, and crabs ready to be eaten as is or to be sent back to the kitchen to be cooked as you like it. I had mine prepared as Prawns and Mussels in Butter Garlic.
But I was more surprised when I saw all these live Mud Crabs just waiting to be picked! The Sunday Fiesta has a “paluto” wet market section where you can choose your seafood and have it fried, steamed, grilled, or whatever you fancy. They also have squid, seabass, clams, and these big Red Grouper which are quite expensive so you can really get your money’s worth at this buffet.
I asked the server to cook the Mud Crabs in Lemon Butter and the Red Garoupa in Sweet and Sour Sauce. These will then be prepared and delivered straight to your table. Sweet and Sour Lapu Lapu is a favorite of mine even during my childhood days so this really feels like a big fiesta to me.
For steak lovers, you must try the Coffee Rub Australian Beef Rump at the carving station. Get a slice or two and have it seared on the grill for a juicier and smokier steak.
But the highlight of any festive Filipino gathering is always the Lechon. You can find the Lechon de Leche and all these delicious meat being smoked at the “pit”. There’s pork liempo, roasted chicken, pork barbecue, and even sticks of isaw, a popular street food made from chicken and pig intentines.
We even got to try a special lechon variety that afternoon, the Lechon Stuffed with Paella. This complete dish comes with crispy lechon skin and delectable meat plus fragrant paella rice inside the pig. Grab some liver sauce and you have an entire fiesta right here.
A Filipino festival also comes with lots and lots of sweets for dessert. S Kitchen has an entire section filled with yummy treats for kids and adults alike. There’s ube pastillas, truffles, chocolate cookies, and macarons on this side.
Some of the cakes on display that afternoon included the Strawberry Roll, Sheraton’s Chocolate Cake, Egg Tart, and Mango Pili Sans Rival.
On the other side you can find the Ube Keso Maja, Biko with latik, and Sapin-Sapin. There’s also a live Palitaw station where these flat sweet rice cakes are freshly made.
The Ice Cream station is quite a delight with its emphasis on local flavors like Calamansi Sorbet, Melon Sorbet, and Strawberry Watermelon Sorbet. My favorite flavor was the Roasted Marshmallow Ice Cream which comes with gooey pieces of roasted marshmallows inside.
The Sunday Fiesta at S Kitchen is truly a special kind of Sunday Brunch that the entire family with enjoy. There’s no need to travel all the way to the provinces to experience a Filipino fiesta, because Sheraton Manila Hotel brings the fiesta to Manila every Sunday. For only P2,500 nett, this is a festive experience everyone will surely remember.
S Kitchen
G/F Sheraton Manila, 80 Andrews Ave, Newport City, Pasay
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