Senior chef de cuisine Yohan da Costa of The Peninsula Tokyo joined Manila’s executive chef Remy Carmignani for a two-night event at The Peninsula Manila’s fine dining restaurant.
They say the only thing that is constant in life is change, but this is not always true. While the hospitality industry always keeps its ears to the ground for what is fresh and trending, some well-loved establishments are so embedded in the local culture that change would be a crime. The Peninsula Manila is celebrating its 50th year and it fittingly did so with a two-night dinner event in its iconic fine dining restaurant, Old Manila.
Director of Public Relations Mariano Garchitorena pointed out that while the other food and beverage establishments in the hotel have been renamed or re-conceptualized over the years, Old Manila has been around since the beginning.
“The all-day dining was originally La Bodega, then NIelsen’s, and is currently called Escolta,” Garchitorena narrates. “Where Salon de Ning is now used to be the Italian restaurant, Mi Piace, and before that it was Swiss restaurant Chesa which replaced the supper club, Quimbaya. The only constant is Old Manila, who turns fifty with the hotel.” It truly was the fitting venue for a celebration which we assume would be the first of many throughout the year.
It was a two-night culinary collaboration at Old Manila, where Executive Chef Rémy Carmignani welcomed Senior Chef de Cuisine Yohan Da Costa of The Peninsula Tokyo’s Peter restaurant for an exclusive four-hands dinner that featured fine French cuisine enhanced by both chefs’ creative leanings and high levels of expertise.
Chef Carmignani continues to refine Old Manila’s French-inspired culinary identity through expressive cooking grounded in premium local sourcing, while Chef Da Costa’s Modern French cuisine at Peter has earned acclaim for its elegant interplay between classical French technique and the precision and sensibility of Japanese ingredients. Over the course of a career spanning Michelin-starred kitchens in France as well as leadership roles in Japan and Australia, Chef Da Costa has become recognized not only for his creativity, but also for his mentorship, most notably leading team Japan to a gold medal victory at the Bocuse d’Or Asia 2024.
Created exclusively for Manila, the multi-course menu moved in dialogue between the two chefs’ culinary perspectives, with courses alternating between Old Manila and Peter. Highlights included Chef Carmignani’s L’Asperge Blanche, featuring seasonal white asparagus from France with osmanthus, pomelo, hollandaise, and Oscietra caviar, alongside Chef Da Costa’s L’Œuf de Poule, a poached chicken egg with seasonal truffle, mushroom duxelles, yellow wine sauce, and kinome. Other signatures included a refined bouillabaisse of Atlantic turbot, Hokkaido scallop, and octopus from Old Manila, and roasted Japanese beef with white asparagus, carrot mousseline, yuzu-kosho, and beef jus from Peter.
The author Jaclyn Clemente-Koppe (second from right, seated) flanked by Pepper Teehankee and Troy Barrios, and (from left) Jerome Gomez, Mariano Gartichorena, and Matt Koppe
A fine meal will not be complete without wine, and Artisan Wine Cellar provided vibrant and highly drinkable ones that are crisp, fruity, and perfect for the balmy Manila summer. The canapés were paired with Champagne E Duval- Brut d’Eulalie, while Northern Rhone’s Ferraton Pere & Fils showcased exquisite blends such as a memorable Vermentino and Viognier, as well as a juicy red that combined syrah and grenache. A digestif of framboise sauvage was the perfect way to end a refined French meal with some excellent espresso and petit fours from The Peninisula Manila’s highly skilled pastry kitchen.
While we were treated to a preview at lunch, it was easy to imagine the elegant meal that awaited guests on both evenings. The Peninsula Manila is famously nicknamed the “grand dame” of hotels, but there is nothing uptight or stuffy about the service here. There is an easiness and warmth that comes with their white-gloved service, and I believe this comes with the decades of sincere hospitality and its adherence to excellence.
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