A Date With Three Michelin-Star Chefs At Solaire

Twelve years. Three chefs with eight Michelin stars among them. Nine-course meals in three fine dining restaurants. Solaire Resort in Entertainment City is celebrating its dozen-year anniversary in grand gastronomic style.

- NORMA O. CHIKIAMCO

Chef Jun Yukimura, three Michelin Star chef/owner of Azabi Yukimura in Tokyo; Sun Kim, two Michelin Star chef/owner of Meta Restaurant in Singapore; and Heinz Beck, three Michelin Star executive chef of La Pergola in Rome, will all showcase the best of their culinary creations at Solaire during its anniversary celebration this month.

If the nine-course lunch prepared by chef Yukimura in Yakumi was any indication, diners will be in for a memorable gastronomic experience. The amuse-bouche of uni (sea urchin) was just the beginning. Harvested from the pristine waters of Hokkaido, the uni was a vibrant, yellow-orange color. Served in its spiky shell, its velvety smooth and delicate texture whispered of the sea from whence it came, suggesting a hint of sweetness. Nonchalantly, as if it were part of its DNA, the topping of caviar beads provided a sharp contrast in texture and flavor.

As the meal unfolded, chef Yukimura's philosophy became more apparent. His was a guiding force of simplicity, freshness and harmony in contrasts. There were no bold statements, no dramatic intrusions. Instead, as in the imagery of a haiku, everything was subtle, suggestive, or inferred, leaving much left to one's interpretation.