September 17, 2018
I asked my daughter if she wanted to have dinner with me at Gallery by Chele. They have a guest chef from Madrid, Chef Oscar Calleja, whose restaurant Annua has earned dos estrellas Michelin.
The dinner, called 8 Hands, was a collaboration of Chef Oscar Calleja with Chef Margarita Fores and Chefs Chele Gonzales and Carlos Villaflor of Gallery by Chele.
Oyen said yes. She booked for two people. I didn’t ask Edmund to come with us because for sure he would not enjoy that kind of thing. Baka antukin lang sya dun.
We thought we would be late for the 7 pm dinner at Gallery Chele because of the heavy traffic from our office to BGC. We got there at 7:14 pm and no, we were not late. We were right on time for the pre-dinner cocktails. I thought dinner would be at 7. Yun pala at 8 pm. Had we known beforehand then we would have arrived at the Gallery at 7:45 pm. I got tired from the traffic kaya when we got there, I laid down for a while and did some stretching.
Here are some photos.
Cocktails
I was starving but I tried to control myself from eating too much ham.
View from the balcony of the restaurant
Cute tables by Kenneth Cobonpue
I couldn’t get my eyes off this tables.
A few minutes before 8, we were led to the restaurant area where the sous chefs were busy preparing for our dinner.
I am Julienne
The 8 hands dinner started at exactly 8 o’clock with speeches from
Chefs Chele Gonzalez & Carlos Villaflor of Gallery by Chele, along with Margarita Fores and Oscar Calleja, the multi-awarded Spanish chef.
Menu
It was a 9 course feast. Actually it was not a feast but more of tasting menu because the servings were minuscule. Tikim-tikim lang.
First was a few super tiny bites. This tasted similar to kinilaw and was delicious except that the crust was makunat. Oyen’s crust was not makunat daw. I wish I could order 6 more of this, ang sarap.
This is 10 / 10.
The chefs come to the tables to explain what the dish is about or what the inspiration is.
My rating is based on taste and not on plating. Substance before beauty.
This is a 7/10.
The dishes come with wine pairings but I don’t drink so they prepared non-alcoholic drinks for me.
This is a one of a kind drink. Basil, pipino, it’s intense.
The looks didn’t appeal to me but since I love oysters I ate it anyway.
I just had several slices of prosciutto ham during the cocktails hour.
This one has puso ng saging and peanut sauce.
Actually I wasn’t sure if the saltiness of the ham blended well with the peanut sauce. Parang lasang kare-kare. Naku baka magalit sa akin yung chef.
to be continued…
Gallery by Chele
5/F Clipp Center, 11th Ave cr 39th St, Fort Bonifacio,
Taguig, Metro Manila
www.annuagastro.com
