Absolutely overjoyed by our Manila Meets Michoacan dinner with award-winning Filipino restaurant, Magna Kusina in Portland, Oregon. We celebrated history, culture, and community with a five-course dinner with Filipino and Mexican influences by Chef Dante Fernandez, paired with MOCEL’s small-batch mezcales.
Our award-winning mezcal MOCEL is distilled the traditional Michoacán way, in a Filipino-style still: a pine wooden still with a copper pan that cools the vapor and captures the mezcal drop by drop. The design arrived in western Mexico in the late 1500s with Filipino sailors, who used it to distill coconut wine. Local indigenous communities in Mexico then adapted it for agave, and families in Michoacán have kept it alive for more than 400 years.
Here’s a sneak peek into the amazing meal we shared:
First Course: Scallop Kinilaw Aguachile.
Coconut water aguachile, radish, cucumber and coconut vinaigrette.
As part of this dinner, we discussed the Manila Galleon, a Spanish sailing vessel and route between the Philippines and Mexico from 1565–1815. During this time there was exchange in food and language. Coconuts were brought to Mexico through the Manila Galleon.
Second Course: Filipino Tamal.
Rice flour and coconut milk masa filled with queso Oaxaca, grilled oyster mushrooms, pea tips, salsa matcha
Tamales were brought to the Philippines from Mexico. Fun Fact: There’s an actual town in the Philippines named Mexico! The town of Mexico, Pampanga is known for their tamales. Traditionally, Filipino tamales are wrapped in banana leaves, and filled with rice dough, and typically with egg.
Third Course: Duck Dinaguan.
Spiced seared duck breast, duck leg carnitas style, picked shallots, cilantro, radish, dinaguan sauce with Three Sisters tortillas. Paired with Mocel’s Cupreata Expression.
Fourth Course: Bistek Tagalog.
Grilled onions, fu-man chu pipian, served with garlic rice, paired with Mocel’s Ensamble Expression.
Fifth Course: Champorado Two Ways.
Pandesal ice cream, rice porridge, condensed milk ice cream.
Champorado (known as Champurrado in Mexico) was introduced to the Philippines from Mexico. In the Philippines, Champorado is a rice porridge made with sticky rice, whereas in Mexico, Champurrado is a hot chocolate drink made with masa. In this course, we served Champorado Two Ways! Guests enjoyed both Filipino Champorado and Mexican Champurrado alongside pandesal ice cream.
The dining room was buzzing with energy, thanks to our incredible guests. THANK YOU to everyone who came to hear our stories and experience this beautiful overlap of culture and community.
We can’t wait to continue to do more wonderful collaborations!
