Life Lessons I’ve Learned from Chef Martin Yan, host of Asian Food Channel’s Taste of Asia

Chef Martin Yan with Purple Plum Fairy

“You should love your job, whatever it is. Love it so that you won’t feel pressured, so that you will always feel inspired and energetic,” says the legendary chef Martin Yan when he hopped our table at an exclusive event organized by Asian Food Channel at the New World Hotel last week. Through the invitation of a dear friend, Security Blanket was fortunate enough to be one of their guests that particular night. Chef Martin Yan was in town for a series of live cooking demonstrations as one of AFC’s popular celebrity chefs. Chef Martin’s known for his amazing knife skills and wit. He was so good at it that he even showed us how he’s able to debone an entire chicken in 18 seconds. Yes, that’s how fast he can do it!

Shangri-La Mall's Gourmet Strip: A culinary revelry

Shang welcomes foodies into gourmet haven

Shangri-La Plaza Mall's East wing was converted into a foodie haven recently where they had Shang's Gourmet Strip. A slew of participating restaurants gave free samples of their specialty dishes, from American dishes to European to Asian cuisines--name it, they all seem to have it!

Special German sausages from Brotzeit Beir and Bar Restaurant

We were delighted to have tried TWG's earl gray tea that tastes like tea but with a dash of chocolate. It was an opportunity for certified foodies like me to explore the different food offerings and give my palate some exercise. There will surely be something that you'll fancy from the numerous offerings. It's like a little village where you can taste all the exciting dishes that the world has to offer. 

There were a lot of interesting booths to try. You don't even need to make a reservation because it's all given for free. And we're not talking about small sample portions here, but really generous ones. Yes, heaps of samples dear. One will really get full just by simply wandering around and checking out as many food booths as you can accommodate. 

You'll find huge servings of Japanese specialties like maki, sashimi, sushi, sliders, bowl of noodles, something healthy like a bowl of green salad, skewers, pizza slices, pasta like the ones with delicious truffle oil. There's a lot to discover and so much to try. You'll end up really full just by visiting the Shangri-La mall's Gourmet Strip. There are also available foods for sale so that you can bring home its goodness and share with the rest of your family. 

We were able to enjoy P.F. Chang's signature Tamarind Iced Tea (I swear, they are a must-try!), Teddy's Bigger Burgers, Akira's Akira roll, chicken terriyaki, beef teppan, Arya's Koobideh, C2's sumpia, tokwa't baboy and lechon kawali, Happy Cream Puff's salad and of course, cream puffs, Kimono Ken's sushi, Watami's california maki, spicy salmon tempura, Woo Galbi's banchan, Zao Vietnamese's favorite fresh spring roll, papaya salad, satay. And sorry but with due respect to the restaurants, when you're a foodie and had so much information + foodie overload, you're bound to forget some important stuff.So please forgive me for not remembering every single item that I had eaten that night. In fact, I was supposed to write this on my food blog but because I wasn't in my best element, I ended up writing it here on my main lifestyle blog. Anyway, what matters is that I'm able to share with you my experience.

There was a lot to try. Too bad, we were so full and burping that we were not able to try all the food booths during the said Gourmet Strip fair at the Shang. Thank you Shangri-La Mall for the wonderful opportunity. You too, can experience the world-class restaurants by visiting the foodie + shopping destination--you can find everything you'll ever need at the Shang! And it saves you money because one need not travel far to experience the wonders of different cuisine because they're all the Shang.