A Yuletide feast fit for a king at Guevarra’s

by Penny Angeles-Tan | Oct 15, 2016 | Food & Beverage, Yummy Reviews

‘Tis the season to be eating and Guevarra’s serves up a Yuletide feast fit for a king starting today! You read it right, TODAY, October 15!

A feast fit for a king! #guevarrasyuletidemenu thank you @chefjaclaudico and @cheflau

A photo posted by Penny Tan (@slvrdlphn) on Sep 29, 2016 at 1:25am PDT

Christmas comes early at Guevarra’s. For those who have sampled Chef Lau’s popular buffet you already know that a regular 3-hour reservation for lunch, merienda, or dinner is not enough to taste all 80 dishes they regularly serve. For the Yuletide season, they’ve added 11 new dishes.

This means we can enjoy 99. OMG, NINETY-NINE DISHES! How can we taste/eat them all?

When bloggers were asked what their favorite dish was most mentioned the Angus beef. Having tried it myself, I would have to agree but, personally, I found it difficult to single out one dish specifically. 😀

Appetizer, salad, rice, fish, fowl, red meat, vegetable, dessert, beverages — so much to choose from, how can I pick just one, right? My answer, don’t limit yourself. With so much to choose from (and all of them delicious) each one deserves a trip on your tongue and down to your belly. 😀

The Yuletide offerings at Guevarra’s

Chef Lau and Chef Jac sat down one day and thought about what dishes are traditionally served at Filipino get togethers like Christmas gatherings and reunions. In a previous post I featured the eleven Yuletide dishes they added to the menu.

For Starters

Guevarra’s Christmas Chicken Liver Parfait

I’m not a big fan of liver but I did try this pate and it was good. Smooth and creamy. The name, though, was a tad confusing. It’s a pate but it’s called a parfait? Like the ice cream?

Guevarra’s Christmas Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad is so simple to make that we usually ask the kids to make it. 🙂 All we need are cooked macaroni, cream or mayonnaise, cheese, raisins, and gelatin. The kids like to cut the gelatin into different shapes but cubes will suffice. The red and green gelatin cubes makes this favorite holiday salad colorfully beautiful.

The Main Course

Guevarra’s Christmas Embotido Lasagna Roll

Two dishes in one! Lasagna noodles are just perfect for this dish as it acts as both the wrapper and the pasta dish. 😀 During the blogger event Chef Lau shows us how they made this dish. Lucky us! Watch the video as he demonstrates how to make it step by step.

And for those of us who like to cook this means I could try to make this myself for noche buena. Actually, I definitely will make this for noche buena. 🙂 I hope I can do it justice.

Guevarra’s Christmas Beef Morcon

Beef morcon is also a staple fiesta dish at home. Our Yuletide festivities is just not complete if there is no beef morcon on the table.

I’m glad they made it because this dish takes too long to cook and oftentimes I’m too tired after to even appreciate the dish. Since they serve it at Guevarra’s I now have another reason to bring my family here for a meal. 🙂

Guevarra’s Christmas Fish Mayonesa

I remember my mom making this when we were kids … but she called it fish en blanco. Not to diss my mom but I prefer this version because Guevarra’s uses fish fillet. No fishbones to deal with. Yey! It gave me an idea, though, on how to serve fish en blanco next time. 🙂

Guevarra’s Christmas Paella

It almost isn’t a good idea to eat paella at a buffet. Why? because paella is a mix of rice and viand all cooked at the same time — meaning, it is already a buffet in itself!

Having said that, you should still try it anyway. It is really, really good! I placed a spoonful or two on my plate just to taste it and ended up finishing it before the white rice. 😀

The stuffed turkey is so good! Moist and flavorful. Great with the cranberry sauce. #guevarrasyuletidemenu @chefjaclaudico @cheflau

A photo posted by Penny Tan (@slvrdlphn) on Sep 29, 2016 at 1:57am PDT

Guevarra’s Christmas Roasted Stuffed Turkey

Some people say that turkey is just a big chicken but one taste will prove otherwise. Paired with gravy or cranberry sauce, my favorite part is the thigh. Cooked improperly turkey could become dry and tasteless. But never at Guevarra’s. This stuffed turkey is just delicious!

My personal favorite when it comes to sauces is the cranberry sauce. Somehow gravy just seems so ordinary but the cranberry sauce screams Christmas. 😀

Happy Endings and Great Coffee Pairings

Guevarra’s Christmas Pudding

Pudding is HEAVY. I mean physically heavy, not just heavy in the stomach. It is a very English treat. If I am not mistaken this baked goodie is infused with rum and smothered in honey. Perfect to pair with black coffee. Also great to have as a late night snack.

Christmas Suman Fruitcake

Suman is a traditional Filipino rice cake usually wrapped in a leaf and then steamed until cooked. We then eat it by dunking it in sugar. I personally like it paired with mango and topped with tablea chocolate.

Guevarra’s combined the traditional suman with the a fruitcake by topping the suman with candied fruits. The end product is a sweet confection. Diabetics beware! As with the pudding this goes well with coffee.

Guevarra’s Bibingka

Bibingka is served in so many ways now — topped with cheese, egg, cheese and egg, filled with chocolate or any syrup. Seriously, the skies the limit! I personally like eating bibingka while drinking hot chocolate or coffee.

Guevarra’s Puto Bumbong

Simbang Gabi is not complete without buying puto bumbong after hearing mass. But at Guevarra’s we don’t have to wait until December. We can have it now! Puto bumbong is served in single serve (big bite size) soup spoons.

Not only is it delicious, it is also very beautifully presented it is almost a sin to eat!

Should you go to Guevarra’s and sample their buffet?

If I haven’t convinced you yet, I don’t know what will. Lol! But maybe you have a few more questions. Let me see if I can come up with some of the answers a they were given to us during the Q&A.

Are there desserts made that are safe for diabetics?

Chef Jac says they don’t have any at the moment but they’ve been discussing it and they intend to bring out dishes safe for diabetics soon. Those dishes will, of course, be specially labelled so that customers who suffer from it know that they could safely consume it.

Is it necessary to call ahead for reservations?

Yes, absolutely! Reservations are necessary. Guevarra’s does not like turning people away and the only way to ensure that is if reservations are made ahead of time.

Do they accept walk-ins?

Like I mentioned, they don’t like turning people away. However, in the event that a party with no reservation arrives, they will be informed that they will have to wait in case someone who made a reservation (for the same number of people) fails to arrive within 30 minutes of their booking, then the walk-in party will be accommodated.

What meals do they serve?

No ala carte. It’s all buffet, buffet, buffet — lunch, “maagang salu-salo”, and dinner.

Meals are prepared by world famous Chef Lau, it must be expensive.

Au contraire, mon ami! It is anything but! Check out this price list:

	LUNCH	MAAGANG SALU-SALO	DINNER
MON	P399+12%VAT	P499+12% VAT	P499+12% VAT
TUE	P399+12%VAT	P499+12% VAT	P499+12% VAT
WED	P399+12%VAT	P499+12% VAT	P499+12% VAT
THU	P399+12%VAT	P499+12% VAT	P499+12% VAT
FRI	P399+12%VAT	P549+12% VAT	P599+12% VAT
SAT	P599+12% VAT	P549+12% VAT	P599+12% VAT
SUN	P599+12% VAT	P549+12% VAT	P599+12% VAT
HOL	P599+12% VAT	P549+12% VAT	P599+12% VAT

What time should we be there?

Meals are served at the timeframes below. Make sure to come early.

Lunch is from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Maagang Salu-Salo 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Dinner is from 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM.

Can we make reservations for private functions like company parties?

Since they encourage reservations it is safe to say that customers will not be surprised to arrive to find the venue closed for private functions. Guevarra’s will just inform us whether or not the day and time we stated is available or not.

A photo posted by Penny Tan (@slvrdlphn) on Sep 29, 2016 at 3:19am PDT

For Inquiries and reservations you may contact: 705 1811; 705 1874; 0917 311 2222. Follow them on Facebook: Guevarra’s ; Instagram: @Guevarras_ ; Twitter: @Guevarras_ .

See you at Guevarra’s!

For the Love of Food and Heritage, Guevarra’s

by Penny Angeles-Tan | Sep 30, 2016 | Food & Beverage

Guevarra’s is rich in heritage splendor and reminiscent of a house built in the 1920’s. The picturesque garden surrounded with rich greeneries have so far been the foreground of several weddings, with each one of them forever etched together in history.

A wide staircase that leads to the veranda gives you the feel of aristocratic elegance of the forgone era. As you enter the dining area, get ready to be enthralled with art-deco pieces transforming your senses to a magnificent old-world charm.

Since its inception, Guevarra’s has shared its domicile to numerous occasions from Baptism, Birthdays and weddings to corporate gatherings and reunions. The interior of the establishment can comfortably accommodate 200 persons with each area of the entire establishment has a story to tell.

Art aficionados will get to enjoy the walls that houses several awe-inspiring paintings and hanged plates with praises and dedications of celebrities who visited the establishment. Complementing the art of food and visual arts. Go ahead and shoot those selfies on any of the picture worthy angles.

Born by fondness for food, Guevarra’s have continuously raised the bar of epicurean palate for buffet lovers with its unparalleled buffet line-up. Their passion for food and flavor inspires Seven Plates Inc. partners, Warren Sy, Patrick King, Felix Yu, Timothy Go, Victor Go, Raymond Co and Jeffrey Siy together with Chefs Roland and Jackie Laudico to produce a celebratory feast that will make this season more remarkable. From appetizer to dessert, each lovingly created with love and inspiration.

Guevarra’s Yuletide Menu

What better way to celebrate the yuletide season than sharing good food and great ambiance with your family and friends. This season the Celebrity chefs has prepared several dishes on top of their year-round favorites to enthrall your visuals and taste buds.

Guevarra's Christmas Chicken Liver Partfait

Whet your appetite as you munch on crostini with Christmas Chicken Liver Parfait; flavorful and rich Liver pate with infusion of moscato to open up your taste buds.

You will definitely roll your tongue as you taste their Beef Morcon with it melt-in-your mouth goodness of rolled Top round with Bacon, Spanish chorizo, carrots and hard-boiled eggs.

Guevarra's Christmas Embotido Lasagna Roll

Fusion precision with Embotido Lasagna Roll – Classic Filipino meat loaf covered with Lasagna sheet and baked to perfection.

Bask in the marriage of flavor and color of the Fish Mayonesa – Baked whole fish with Tartar dressing topped diced red and green bell pepper, carrots and egg.

Guevarra's Christmas Roasted Stuffed Turkey

A western favorite that proved to be as sought after here in the country, Roast Turkey with cornmeal stuffing paired with two kinds of sauces – Cranberry and Gravy.

Enjoy the creamy goodness of their Christmas Macaroni Salad, a rich blend of macaroni, gelatin cubes, raisins and dressing.

Filipinos love their rice, hence the Christmas Paella, Flavored rice dish with morsels of Liempo, Chicken and Chorizo.

Craving for dessert will never be the same as you sensitize your palate with these yummy sweets:

Classic Christmas pudding, baked bread cut-ups with generous spread of glazed fruit preserves.

Christmas Suman Fruitcake, Christmas twist on Filipino specialty suman served with fruit preserves

Now let’s move on to the obvious signs that we are in the Christmas season and welcome Puto Bumbong and Bibingka.

These 2 glutinous rice creations will surely make you feel the warmth of the season in a classic manner.

We give back to the community

In the spirit of the season, let’s give back to the community. Each buffet head will automatically contribute a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Children’s Joy Foundation, a center that houses disadvantaged children in the country which Guevarra’s have been supporting for the past four years.

Where is Guevarra’s?

Guevarra’s is located at 387 P. Guevarra cor. Argonnes St. Addition Hills, San Juan.

Buffet rates at Guevarra’s are as follows:

Weekday meals (Monday to Thursday)

lunch (Monday to Friday) – P399 +12% VAT
maagang salu-salo – P499+12% VAT
dinner – P499+12% VAT

Weekend Meals (Friday to Sunday)

lunch (Sat. and Sun.) – P599+12% VAT
maagang salu-salo (weekends and holidays) – P549+12% VAT
dinner – P599+12% VAT

What time should we be there?

Lunch is from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Maagang Salu-Salo 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Dinner is from 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM.

For Inquiries and reservations you may contact: 705 1811; 705 1874; 0917 311 2222. Follow them on Facebook: Guevarra’s ; Instagram: @Guevarras_ ; Twitter: @Guevarras_ .