Group Executive Chef Panky Lopez and Melbourne-based chef Fhred Batalano. Jeeves de Veyra
Megaworld Global Hotel and Resorts (MGHR) kicks off its Salo-Salo series of collaborations with Filipino chefs based abroad by bringing in Melbourne-based chef Fhred Batalano of the Filipino restaurant Palay.
According to Group Executive Chef Panky Lopez, the series is the natural progression of the food and culinary program of the MGHR group.
Its food and beverage program has traditionally looked inward, with La Meza as the culminating activity of its annual F&B Council meeting, bringing together chefs from across its hotels to showcase their skills and exchange ideas.
Salo-Salo is the logical expansion of that approach, with the group looking outward to Filipino chefs around the world and bringing their interpretations of Filipino cuisine into a cross-cultural exchange.
Melbourne-based chef Fhred Batalano. Jeeves de Veyra
Batalona is no stranger to the group having met MGHR managing director Sonny Alvaro back in 2024 who then recommended he visit Iloilo, the Philippine creative city of gastronomy. The chef was toured around the city by then-Richmonde Iloilo general manager Nat Lim and executive chef Ariel Castañeda Jr., making sure to have him taste what the city had to offer.
A year later, Batalano hosted Lim and Castañeda at his Melbourne restaurant for a La Meza Ilonggo collaboration where they brought a taste of Iloilo to Australia.
For the Palay+ dinner, Batalona will cook two dishes and will curate the 10-course menu. Under his direction, chefs from the MGHR Greater Manila Area hotels will execute the rest of the entrees. Their aim is for diners to feel surprised, curious, knowledgeable, and proud of how Filipino food has evolved.
While there were no dishes from the Palay+ dinner served at the preview, they gave a taste of what to expect, mixing up Australian ingredients and techniques with Filipino recipes. The best examples were Australian appetizer Oyster Kilpatrick made with local talabang tsinelas with fried pork belly, prosciutto and bone marrow, and the the dessert which combined polvoron tamales on a bed of sikwate with Lamington Crumble on sikwate.
Oyster Kilpatrick. Jeeves de Veyra
Polvoron. Jeeves de Veyra
After dinner, Batalona will also talk about Kalma through a moderated discussion on positive work culture, mental health, leadership, and accountability in hospitality, building on his ongoing advocacy for mental health in the professional kitchens.
Food and beverage are integral parts of MGHRs grand ambition to open 12,000 rooms across all their brands by 2032. The expansion of their culinary program from just their internal La Meza initiatives to a more expansive view of the Filipino table provided by Salo-Salo will make sure that their guests will not only be comfortable, but very well fed.
The Salo-Salo: Palay+ 10-course collaboration with Chef Fhred Batalona will be held on Saturday, September 26, at the Eastwood Café and Bar inside Eastwood Richmonde Hotel.