BAGUIO CITY – Residents and visitors will have a chance to partake of more than ten flavors of fried rice that will be presented by eight participating business establishments during the ‘Rice and Shine 3.0’ which will highlight the 17th edition of the Hotel and Restaurant Tourism (HRT) Weekend on October 3 at the SM City Baguio.
Anthony Leon, general manager of the Baguio Country Club (BCC) and president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB), said that this year’s offering will serve as a tribute to the country’s rice farmers who are actually doing their best to ensure food on the table for the Filipinos and to provide people with the chance to partake of the best sellers of the participating establishments, especially in terms of fried rice.
The participating food establishments with their corresponding fried rice offerings are the Baguio Country Club and Fairways and Greens Bed and Breakfast – Hainanese and adobo rice, Mario’s and Hill Station – Cajun jambalaya and paella rice, Hotel Supreme – beef pares and binagoongan rice, Alabanza – pork recado and hamonado rice, The Camp Johyn Hay Manor – toyo and lechon kawali rice, Orchard – paella and yang chow rice and City Lights – kiniing and pinuneg rice.
BCC executive chef Art Nukaza said that the assorted fired rice will be placed in a pizza-like pan with a diameter of 28 feet and a height of one meter where each of the participating establishments will be placing their flavors of fried rice within a space having a dimension of 8.5 feet by 14 feet within the said pan.
He added that each of the participating food establishments will be needing three up to three and one-half sacks of rice to be able to present their designated flavors of fried rice.
According to him, HRAB will be providing pre-heating gadgets that will be placed under the pan to ensure that the fried rice will brenian warm while being served to the public during the said activity at the SM City Baguio.
For his part, HRAB chairman Jefferson Ng of Hotel Supreme urged the public to support the presentation and serving of the assorted flavors of fried rice for them to have a first hand experience on the quality of services and food being served by the hospitality industry stakeholders in the city.
Last year, the HRAB used as a centerpiece the Largest Wedding Cake which was on its fourth edition that coincided with the conduct of a mass wedding to spice up the said activity.
Organizers disclosed that the various flavors of fried rice that will be served and presented by the participating food establishments will be capable of catering to the needs of some 15,000 to 16,000 people.
The annual staging of the HRT Weekend is a purely private sector initiative that is geared towards enticing visitors to consider spending their vacation in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital.
From the week-long festivities in the previous years, HRAB decided to extend the activities every weekend of October to ensure that there will be influx of participants and visitors to join and witness the competitors who will be showcasing their skills and talents in the more than 60 events subject to competition of the said gathering.
HRAB is composed of representatives from the various hospitality industry stakeholders in the city who bonded together to help boost the growth of the local tourism industry. By Dexter A. See
