Multi-Sensory Experience

With a new look and the savoir faire of its new chef de cuisine, Frederic Thevenet, The Tasting Room has made a bold comeback. Indulgent and inventive, the sensory experience is certainly something to be stricken off one’s dining bucket list, writes Shauna Jay Popple Williams

- Shauna Jay Popple Williams

Of all the chefs that Frederic Thevenet has had the honour of working with—including gastronomic icons Alain Ducasse and Pierre Gagnaire—Chef Bruno Cirino has yielded the biggest influence on him. Thevenet was most notably the chef de cuisine at Cirino’s eponymous restaurant in Provence when it earnt its Michelin star and subsequent acclaim as one of the best truffle restaurants in the world. “From Chef Bruno I learnt that the produce always has to be fresh; and that the better the produce, the less I have to ‘hide’ its flavours,” he recalls.

Thevenet’s culinary philosophy now stamps its signature on The Tasting Room, a restaurant in the City of Dreams Manila’s 5-Star Nüwa Hotel, being its newly-appointed chef de cuisine.

Recently reintroduced to Manila’s discerning diners, The Tasting Room now inhabits a bigger high-ceilinged space and boasts a brand-new look to boot. Moving to its new location just across its previous one, City of Dreams Manila’s modern European restaurant now offers a 56-seat capacity: the main dining area for 40, a semi-private area, and a sophisticated bar that boasts of several signature cocktails including the popular Smoked Whisky Sour, which can each accommodate eight.

It is here where Thevenet surprises and tantalises the senses—from sight, to scent, and taste—with a mastery of the variance of textures and temperatures.

Thevenet’s bill of fare mirrors his learnings from Cirino and a back-to-basics way of thinking—quite deliciously so. “My obsession for quality and use of modern French culinary techniques is the foundation of my culinary philosophy in creating each dish. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of capturing the essence and flavours of each herb, spice, grain, meat, or liquid,” he says with undeniable passion and intense conviction.