For the past 15 years, The Peninsula Manila has offered Naturally Peninsula, a collection of health-conscious and delectable menu options for guests dining at its restaurants. This year, as part of the Peninsula-wide Life Lived Best initiative, however, Naturally Peninsula has been relaunched with a new focus on plant-based cuisine.
“Supporting the health of our guests, deliciously, has always been the mission of Naturally Peninsula,” says Xavier Castello, Executive Chef of The Peninsula Manila. “But now we are setting ourselves a higher goal – to support the health of the planet, as well.”
The new plant-based dishes – which use locally sourced produce, nutritious oils, and non-refined sugars – reflect The Peninsula Manila’s (and her sister hotels in Asia, Europe, and the United States) ongoing commitment to increased sustainability. By prioritizing meat-free, organically, and naturally-produced ingredients from local producers and suppliers, the Naturally Peninsula offerings aim to simultaneously benefit the hotel’s local communities and reduce its collective environmental footprint.
START THE DAY RIGHT
The Peninsula Manila highlights breakfast as the meal where it offers most of its Naturally Peninsula dishes. “We believe that having a healthy and nutrition-packed meal is a great way to start the day,” says Executive Chef Castello. “These healthy breakfast items can be paired with our healthy green smoothies which change from day-to-day and are known as ‘Our Daily Greens’”.
Breakfast at The Lobby includes an excellent selection of both sweet and savory plant-based dishes including Tofu Scramble Burrito (spinach, kale and brussels sprouts), Avocado Toast (avocado mash, mesclun, shaved radish, cucumber roll on homemade sourdough bread) and a Poached Pear Salad (cherry tomato, basil, olive, mesclun, and sprouts topped with Mandarin orange vinaigrette), and Zambales Mangoes and Oats Pancake (with blueberry compote), to name just a handful.
EAT RIGHT THE REST OF THE DAY
All-day dining at The Lobby, In-Room Dining and the à la carte menu at The Pool Snack Bar offers a cornucopia of dishes predominantly prepared using local ingredients, including Beetroot Carpaccio (grapefruit, candied walnuts, and radish), Soba Noodle Salad (edamame, carrots, cucumber, radish, Mandarin oranges, sesame-ginger dressing), Kimchi Brown Rice Bowl (malunggay or moringa, nori and scallions), Mushrooms al Ajillo (cauliflower purée, garlic confit, and chili oil), Oven-roasted Bukidnon Pineapple (served with compote, locally-grown lacatan banana-passion sorbet, pineapple chips), Citrus Carpaccio (mango sorbet, lime granité, and a lemon curd cigar), and an Orange Polenta Cake (topped with honey syrup).
The Peninsula Manila’s Spices restaurant has long been known for its Southeast Asian cuisine, most especially for its vegetarian and plant-based options which cater to guests who have strict dietary restrictions and who love savoury yet nutritious meals. But with the Naturally Peninsula iteration, all dishes are MSG-free and only low-sodium soy sauce is used in recipes that call for its inclusion. Purely plant-based selections include Pak Boong Fai deng (Thai wok-fried water spinach with yellow beans, chili, and light soy), Cauliflower Tikka Masala (roasted cauliflower with tomato, garam masala, coriander, and paprika), and Tempe Goreng (pan-seared tempeh, garlic, coriander, turmeric, and sambal). At the hotel’s popular all-day buffet restaurant Escolta, a salad bar offers a selection of fresh vegetables with healthy dressings. For those with a sweet tooth, homemade dairy-free ice cream made with raw sugar will soon be made available at the restaurant.
When it comes to the famed Peninsula Afternoon Tea at The Lobby, Watermelon Gazpacho with Grilled Cucumber Tofu Skewers, Ratatouille Parcels with Onion Chutney, Calamansi Bar, Baked Cream with Exotic Fruit Caramel, and their homemade Cranberry Scones with Lemon Curd and sugar-free Lichi-Strawberry jam are just some of the healthy and tasty goodies on offer.
In the pipeline at The Peninsula Boutique are a selection of egg-and dairy-free pastries and cakes, as well as homemade kombucha.
PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Promoting health and wellness is a core principle of The Peninsula Manila. Now, more than ever, with the ongoing global crisis, sustainable health and wellness has become increasingly important, and so relaunching Naturally Peninsula is even more relevant.
“With this new wellness program, we hope to break new ground in helping our guests to maximize their health and well-being while also helping to contribute to the local farming economy,” Executive Chef Castello says in closing. “We want to do our part to support local farms by partnering and sharing with them our Naturally Peninsula philosophy and purchase fresh, local, and quality produce that my team and I can use for cooking and seasoning.”
The Peninsula Manila’s Naturally Peninsula offerings are an invitation and opportunity for guests to take time to take care of themselves, their communities, and the environment – concerns which are of paramount importance, especially today.
For reservations and inquiries, please call +63 (2) 8887 2888 (extensions 6691 or 6694 for Restaurant Reservations), email DiningPMN@peninsula.com, or visit www.peninsula.com. For updates, like The Peninsula Manila on Facebook and follow @thepeninsulamanila on Instagram.