Nobody Does it Like BELLA!

A dinner for me and Dennis? But why? What did I do to deserve this? I am trying to recall if I offered a lamb to the gods lately or if I saved someone's life recently or if I just donated my kidney to someone who needs it. I MUST have done something really good to be invited, much more, honored, with a dinner by none other than Ms. Bella Yuchengco and her daughter, Sunshine Puey at their home last May 1.

Let me just say.....to Steffie, Lucille, Anne and Markus, who couldn't/didn't accept my invitation to join me and Dennis, you are now officially a LOSER! You may add this missed opportunity as one of your TOP TEN list of

THINGS I REGRET NOT GOING TO IN THIS LIFETIME. 

I have been to a dinner hosted by Madame Bella before when she cooked Chinese cuisine because it is my dad's favorite. I was supposed to blog about that but if you remember, my computer died on me and I lost all the photos. (sniff sniff). Boy, that dinner was something else as well!

But this dinner was something I would drop everything for. PQ picked Marivi and I up and with the day being a holiday, the traffic was flowing and we were able to reach the gate of Ayala Alabang at exactly 7 pm. We were so proud that we were on time. Hard thing to do if you know me and PQ. Anyway, perhaps because we were so hungry....we lost our way. Left, right, reverse and U-turn, we did it all the road signs for a good 38 minutes.

The distance, the getting lost and the hunger was worth every second once we entered the home of the Yuchengco's.

THE MENU


THE GUESTS


James Reyes, Jojie Lloren and Puey Quinones.


Boboy and Kiek and Sunshine Puey.


Marivi Abueg, Srdjan Mendoza, Madame Bella Yuchengco, your bloggerina and Dennis Lustico.

THE SET UP


Kaiseki is the height of Japanese cuisine combining an appreciation for the changing seasons with true artistry.

One meal can consist of as many as 15 different courses, featuring sashimi, tempura, fish and meat dishes and tofu prepared in diverse traditional styles and designed to please all the senses.

Miss Belle prepared for us a six-course menu that consisted only of top quality meats and seafood. She even printed out a menu card! You can really see how much time and effort she and her staff prepared for this dinner. Add 10 interesting people with all their own stories to tell on the table and you get one truly memorable evening.

It was a bit noisy with all the chit chat but when the first course was laid to the table, ALL FELL SILENT. It was as if God pressed the mute button on us. It was like, the food commanded our full concentration. Every bite was not rushed. Each flavor exploding in our mouths. It was so much better than any 5 star restaurant that I have ever been to.

To Bella and Sunshine, my utmost gratitude for your hospitality, generosity and most importantly, thank you for the most valued gift that I got from you, your friendship.

To my readers, start envying....

Course 1





Course 2


Course 3, my ultimate favorite!!!!



Course 4


Course 5


Course 6, dessert and tea.



The beautiful and soon to be wife, Sunshine Puey giving us the story about how her mom became such a great cook. Apparently, Ms. Bella did not even know how to boil water as a young woman. Boy, after that dinner, she just proves to us all that it is never too late to learn how to do something and how to do it real well. Come to think about it, I believe that she perfected the art of fine dining in terms of preparation, presentation and sensation.