TRADITION REIMAGINED

In celebration of their 20 years in the culinary industry, Barcino invited five Michelin star chef Paco Perez as the great navigator of a gastronomic expedition - 12 courses that put the flavors of the sea at the forefront

- CHLARINE GIANAN

The waters of the seas and oceans are often depicted as divisions between lands, but it is also the same current that bridges one nation to another. In the 16th century, the Spain conquest into the Philippines involved ships; today, in the 21st century and in celebration of Barcino's two decades, the two countries traded their familiar stories with the sea through the plate. This exploration needed a great navigator, and we found it in Chef Paco Perez the man behind Tradition Reimagined: La Mar d'Amunt, the special 12-course dinner from October 18 to 20 at Barcino in S Maison.

SETTLING INTO SPAIN'S SEAS

"It's a menu created in Miramar," Perez explained in an exclusive interview with the press before the dinner commenced. "In order to understand it, you need to know a little bit about our tradition, our Spanish cuisine, to understand how it begins from there to our menu."

Backed by three centuries of Spanish rule in the Philippines, the Filipino tongue already knows the taste of Western flavors by heart. The first plunge into the tasting menu called the Abalón was an inviting splash of the sea, saltiness and freshness in one plate. The "sea ear" underwent 12 hours of sous vide technique, then shaved into a soft, sand-like texture with juices from five different seaweeds oozing into the taster's tongue - Codium, Mother of Pearl, Salicornia, Kombu, and Sorrel.