Recently, I joined a group of media people and bloggers to taste the Continental Flavors that one can find at the SM City Bacolod Food Court. I never got to ask but I wondered what makes a food to have a continental flavor. I consulted with my friend Google on continental flavors and cooking and found this from the web page of Chef Home:
“We call the style continental cooking.
- Preparation can be tedious, frequently requiring a number of intermediate products; and a single recipe makes enough food for a crowd.
- Expense is not an object, so ingredients such as truffles, foie gras, and caviar are commonly used – sometimes more for color or drama or just because they are rare than for flavor.
- Sauces are often prepared externally to the dishes, and their preparation can be elaborate – usually involving one or more ‘reductions’ to boil off water and concentrate flavor. The regular making of a sauce for a household can make enough waste to feed a small barnful of swine with the wastes.
- Presentation is intricate and artful. The most successful continental chefs, however, recognize that people do not eat carved food.”
My source may be describing the French Continental cooking. I later found that “continental flavor” may be used in different contexts, so I just relished on how we enjoyed whatever food was set in front of us.
[UPDATE 2023: Some of these establishments are no longer serving in SM City Bacolod’s Food Court and more brands are also found in the Food Court area.]
Tokyo Joe
Originated in Cebu, Philippines, Tokyo Joe offers Japanese cuisine with a fast food concept. It hopes to cater to a market of young professionals and students who are on the lookout of quality and affordable food. For this media day, we were given the Gyudon Teishoku, California Maki, Miso Ramen, and Sumo Loaded Bento to enjoy.
Sizzling Plate
Sizzling Plate offers a wide array of food, mostly Filipino cuisine, served on a hot plate. They prepared Pork Steak, T-Bone, and Stuffed Squid for us to taste.
Sbarro
Sbarro is known for its delicious Italian food. It first opened in 1956 as an Italian salumeria in New York. Now, it has over 800 eateries in 33 countries, including the Philippines. We had the Chicago Deep Dish, Chicago White, Baked Ziti, Garden Salad, and Chicken Macaroni Salad during the media day.
Mr. Kimbob
Mr. Kimbob started in 1996, serving Korean meals. Now, it focuses on offering healthy Korean food at very affordable prices. Examples of food in its menu are the Rice Cake, Bibimbob, and Kimbob.
Lechon H
Lechon H is a food outlet that will be opening in the food court of SM City Bacolod. They prepared a whole pig lechon with crispy lechon skin that we gobbled down for this event.
