Filipinos and other expats in the United Arab Emirates enjoyed a fiesta of flavours of the Philippines at Halo-Halo Restaurant’s Pistang Pinoy inaugural opening.
The three-day event was held at the upscale four-star Edge Creekside Hotel in Deira it is part of the Asian Food Festival that will have diners embracing the diversity of Asia’s most delicious dishes.
Many Filipinos, Emiratis and expats from Lebanon, Syria, Mexico, US, Italy, France, Sweden, Costa Rica, India and more chimed in to experience the delicious taste of Filipino food.
“Halo Halo Restaurant was conceptualised with the idea of bringing Asia’s signature food under one roof, hence its name – Halo-Halo.
“True to the restaurant’s origins of its name in the Philippines, we kicked off the Asian Food Festival for the 2020-2021 campaign that celebrates the Philippines’ finest food,” said Richard Haddad, chief executive of Jannah Hotels & Resorts, which manages Edge Creekside Hotel.
The excitement of the six sessions of Halo Halo Restaurant’s Asian Food Festival reverberated among the UAE community with a sold out, fully-booked spaces across all sessions when the management launched the program.
Halo Halo Restaurant also flew in Filipino celebrity chef and Instagram influencer JP Anglo from the Philippines to Dubai for the special event.
Chef Anglo prepared mouth-watering dishes from the Philippines with a modern twist during the three-day event.
Menu items for the event included lechon manok lumpia, grilled shrimp with talangka butter, chicken sisig with chicken skin on top, palabok, kare-kare and beef ribs sinigang to name a few.
“Filipinos may be familiar with the taste, but the combination of these menu items is new.
“That’s our new approach for creating Filipino food and bringing it to the next level.
“It needs to be out of the box but at the same time, the touch of home is still there,” said chef Anglo.
The chef furthered that he was really hyped and honoured to have served the overseas Filipino community in Dubai especially those who have not been home for many years.
He shared that witnessing their excitement of tasting authentic Filipino food challenged him to fulfil the cravings of Filipinos who are now living here in the UAE.
“I had a goal to bring them back home and make them proud of Filipino food.
“When you eat something good, it hits the spot.
“I just wanted to do the job first, and now I am overwhelmed by the positive response, by their excitement.
“I am overwhelmed, I’m flattered,” added chef Anglo.
“Of course, we extend our gratitude to the entire Emirati and expat community who have joined us in our Pistang Pinoy event.
“Rest assured that our next Food Festival Asian chefs from different country will continue to serve a taste of Asia’s delicious with a twist on traditional cuisines,” added Haddad.
The Halo Halo Restaurant team invites more expats to get to experience the flavours of Asia and hopes to engage with them for more upcoming events for everyone to enjoy.