An All-American Feast at Corniche! -RinaZ.

          
            Diamond Hotel’s Corniche is at it again with another themed buffet! This time going for an All-American Feast! For only Php 1,780 nett per head, you can enjoy good ol’ American dishes in this 5 star hotel along Roxas Blvd in Manila for lunch or dinner! This feast started last August 22 and will end on the 29^th ! 

     BREAKING NEWS: Due to insistent public demand, Diamond Hotel has extended the buffet until September 1, 2013!!!





             Also, you can get free flow of Beringer wines only for an additional Php 495 nett per person! 

          They will be offering a 30% discount on Lunch and Dinner for all American Nationals, US Embassy Employees, and Diamond Indulgence members!

           All the American dishes are whipped up by featured international Chef Christopher Gallaga and his team. Chef Gallaga (a Corporate Executive Chef at Fat Angelo's Italian Restaurants) has been in the food and beverage business for 30 years and so one can only imagine the long list of experiences, awards and recognition he has scooped up in all those years. Go ahead! Google :-)

           I think all of us who were there last night could agree that he’s one of the nicest chefs we’ve met. Especially when he said that he welcomes criticism  and that if it’s a good review, it’s because of their team effort. And if it’s something bad, he’s the one to blame and not the whole team. Awww~

            Upon entering Corniche, you will be greeted by the staff wearing old American diner costumes in pink bubblegum color.

Even the guys are in costume!

The place is decorated too with red white and blues

Anyway let's get to the grub!

           You can start the meal with a good Seafood Chowder. The taste is good and I hardly really noticed the seafood taste.  Nothing like a good hot soup to warm the tummy! It's like stretching before a run hehe.

              This is one of my favorites. Russet Skin. At first I thought it looked dry but I was proven wrong once I got a bite. It was apparently creamy and crunchy. These are potato skins with bacon (yum!), cheese, and sour cream n chive.

The Shrimp and Grits was okay as well. Fun to eat with the corn grits being soft and buttery.

          When you say USA, or New York for that matter, the first food that comes to my mind is PIZZA! And that wasn’t missing in this All American spread.

             These New York Style Pizza though was a bit small compared to the huge pizzas I see when I watch my favorite sitcom, Friends. Then again I maybe wrong. 

             As I predicted just upon looking at it, I liked the Mac and Cheese! A perfect comfort cheesy pasta dish that hits you right on the spot.

           The Country Cured Ham on Biscuit was good as well. I love ham! I love the simplicity of the sweet and salty taste of this soft piece of meat.

              The biscuit though I found a bit dry. I just took out the ham from the biscuit and ate all the ham to my heart’s desire. Their ham by the way is dry-cured and peanut fed, from the US)

          The Chipotle Smoked Hot Wings wasn’t that spicy but I liked the taste. Correction... I really liked the taste. It was more on the salty and sweet side. If I wasn’t so full at that point I would have eaten more of this. But I had made a pact with myself that when in a buffet, I will just get a small piece of everything just to be able to taste everythingl. But even with that tactic, I still wasn’t able to taste it all because I got so full I was already having meat sweats.

The Pot Roast Sous Vide Short Ribs were very soft and tender. There was also a good ratio of fat that Richie would have loved. (So sorry he had to work until late ) The Pear Cranberry and Raisin sauce that these ribs were smothered in was superb!

The Roast US Prime Rib is really soft (why wouldn't it be when it's slow roasted for hours?)
and well seasoned! 

What Richie would have liked about this, again, is the good percentage of fat hehe.

Take a peek inside this beautify meat!

...And I believe everyone had their eyes on this Turducken Turkey! What is a Turducken anyway? Well, obviously it’s this big TURkey...

...and inside you will see that it’s stuffed with boneless DUCK and ChickEN. TUR-DUCK-EN! Plus they dumped in a whole lotta mashed potatoes as well! Oh my! I loved how moist all the bird meat was. It was like there was a touch of sweetness in the potatoes too. It’s good along with cranberry sauce if you want a hint of fruity taste but I personally liked it with that other  sweet sauce. Not sure if it was maple or honey?

Here are some other stuff I was not able to try due to an almost exploding tummy (I'm a loser, baby haha!):

Minature Chicago Sliders

Southern Fried Chicken

Codfish Fingers

Maryland Crab Cakes

Mini Fajitas

US Lamb with Chili Orange and Mint

Roast US Prime Cut Steak

Okay moving on to desserts!

          The Apple and Raisin Pie looked really cute but I’m sorry to say was dry. But check maybe they’ve adjusted it when you visit!

           I would have enjoyed the Smores more if the mallows were melted. Nonetheless you can never go wrong with chocolate coated mallows!

          I love how they placed huge chunks of fresh strawberries on top of this fine Strawberry Cheesecake!

          And last but not the least is the Chocolate Pudding was my favorite from them all because it was darkish and you might know how I love dark chocolate more than anything!

          Oh and they have the Sun Kissed Sherbet too! A lot of them  liked it and I think it was only me who wasn't such a fan. I don't usually like citrus flavors. It’s not bad, though. I’m just not a fan. No offense to citrus lovers!

               So, this ends our American Feast. But you can start yours now! Bring the whole family! Only until August 29! Thank you to Ms. Melanie and Ms. Twinkle of Diamond Hotel for inviting us to this joyous feast!

               This All-American Feast U.S. Food and Wine Festival is brought to you by the partnership of U.S. Meat Export Federation, USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, California Raisins, Beriger Wines and Happy Living Fine Wines.

For reservations at Corniche, please call (632) 528-3000 ext 1121. Again, only until August 29!