'Culinary Class Wars' chef Choi Hyun Seok is serving vongole, more dishes in Manila until July

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

It’s not every day that a dish from a hit cooking show makes its way from the screen to your plate. But for Filipino fans of "Culinary Class Wars," that delicious dream is about to come true.

Chef Choi Hyun Seok, one of the top chefs from the first season of the South Korean Netflix show, is bringing his signature creations to Manila. From April 11 to July 6, foodies can indulge in his dishes at Finestra in Solaire Resort North, Quezon City and Waterside in Solaire Resort Entertainment City, Parañaque City.

Among Chef Choi's must-try dishes is his now-iconic vongole, the very dish that led to his shocking elimination in Episode 10 of "Culinary Class Wars," all because he forgot a critical ingredient: garlic.

"Because when I thought back on what I did, I realized I forgot the garlic," he said in the show.

"Leaving garlic out of a vongole is like leaving chili powder out of a tteok-bokki," he added, saying that he's been cooking the pasta dish for 29 years, and it was the first time he forgot to put the garlic.

Fortunately, diners in Manila won’t experience that same heartbreak. At Solaire, the garlic is most definitely present, and the vongole, priced at P750, is ready to impress diners.

Aside from vongole, Chef Choi also offers his other signature dishes from the show, including the seaweed soup (P680) with hairtail fish and radish from Episode 7, Jang Trio steak (P6,680) from Episodes 4 and 5, beans (P560) and donut (P1,200) with corn and caviar, and bingsu (P2,000), a Korean shaved ice dessert that he made especially for Solaire.

Speaking to GMA News Online, Chef Choi said his latest visit to the Philippines allowed him to try some Filipino dishes, including adobo and sinigang.

For adobo, the South Korean chef found it similar to a Korean dish called galbi jjim (braised short ribs).

"The taste is very similar. However, the sourness of the soup surprised me," Chef Choi said.

"There are new flavors that I've tasted with Filipino dishes as well as some familiarities with Korean cuisine," he added.

"Culinary Class Wars" is a cooking competition comprising 100 restaurant chefs and amateur hobbyists. According to Netflix, the show's second season is coming this 2025.

—CDC, GMA Integrated News