We had a fun Thanksgiving Dinner with our foodie blogger friends at Chef Bambi Sy Gobio‘s private dining place. Eating turkey has somehow become a symbol of appreciating our relationships with family and friends, and a celebration of thanksgiving for all our blessings.
It was inspired by the Thanksgiving dinner in the US celebrated every last Thursday of November.
In Manila, the dinners are usually held on a Thursday and not necessarily in conjunction with a special occasion. You can hold it at your own house or organize a private dinner.
Life is short, so it’s best to celebrate your relationships now with your friends and family.
Here’s our Private Thanksgiving Dinner at Chef Bambi Sy Gobio’s beautiful Swiss Chalet home…
Chef Bambi Sy Gobio is the lady behind Restaurante Pia Y Damaso, and the genius behind the “Subversive Filipino Cuisine” theme.
She opened her “Damaso Residencia” home for intimate private dinners with friends of friends.
Thanks to our foodie host Spanx for organizing a get-together of the food bloggers we love in Manila.
While waiting for everyone to arrive, a serving of corn muffins and chicharon balat ng manok entertained our tummies.
I liked the unique twist to the water flavored with cucumber, ginger and lemon interestingly called “Tubig ni Maria Clara” — a refreshing and healthy alternative to juice.
Split Pea Soup with Bacon
We started the meal with soup that resembled monggo soup. The chicharon balat ng manok paired nicely with it.
Chef Bambi attended to every detail of the meal and entertained us in between.
The main dishes were arranged on a round buffet table in the middle of the room.
★ Baked Fish with lemon, wine, caramelized onions, garlic and tomatoes.
I enjoyed the home-cooked goodness of the Baked Fish. It was quite easy to tell that it was prepared with love.
Beef Stew with mushrooms in red wine.
The beef stew was a meat alternative (although most of us were reserving our stomachs for the turkey).
Maybe if you organize your own meal, you could have a serving of vegetables instead of beef.
★ Candied Sweet Potatoes
To conform to the Thanksgiving theme, sweet yam (Manila version) was included in the menu. This was like non-fried camote cue with sweet sauce. Sarap!
★ Brown Rice Pilaf
We appreciated this healthy serving of brown rice.
★ Roasted Turkey with Chorizo Stuffing
Chef Bambi is known for her Roasted Turkey with her signature chorizo stuffing, which is based on her family’s heirloom recipe. 🙂
What’s remarkable about the turkey was that even the white meat itself was very tasty and…
…the yummy chorizo stuffing added a wonderful flavor to the entire turkey.
It’s served with a side dish of sweet corn, vegetables, gravy from the turkey drippings and cranberry.
It was fun seeing our fellow foodies closing their eyes as they savored each bite of the yummy turkey. It certainly got Spanx’s approval. 🙂
Chef Bambi loves to end any private dinner with a buffet of her best cakes and sweet creations.
★ Bread Pudding with Nutella and Dates
My personal favorite! It’s like eating baked raisin bread with hazelnut flavor. I was tempted to order it ala mode (vanilla ice cream, in particular). 🙂
This looked really good but seemed a bit too rich.
Chocolate Ganache with truffled balls and candied orange.
I loved the truffled balls and candied orange toppings but I just thought the ganache was too much already.
And, of course, a Thanksgiving dinner would not be complete without its signature dessert…
Pumpkin Pie!
You’ve got to have this to complete the Thanksgiving theme. (I’m not much of a fan of pumpkin pies, though.)
Thanks to Chef Bambi for the awesome Thanksgiving Dinner!
We loved the Turkey with Chorizo Stuffing, the classic private dining home ambiance, the buffet of cakes to end the dinner, and especially Chef Bambi’s hospitality. It was great experiencing all that in the company of food blogger friends. 🙂
(Tip: You can organize your own private Thanksgiving dinner for P1,250-P1,500/head for a group of 10 to 20 people. There’s really no fixed set menu but Chef Bambi would be happy to customize the private dinner for you. She only accepts one group per night and the schedule depends on her availability.)
Chef Bambi Sy Gobio’s Damaso Residencia Private Dining
311 Ortigas Avenue, Swiss Chalet House
Second to the last house before Connecticut.
Red Roof, Green Shutters, Brown Gate, Parking Inside.
Mobile: +63 917 848-0620
Telephone: +632 502-0106
Email: damaso@skybroadband.com.ph
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Follow @antondiaz on Twitter for the latest update on food and travel secrets. 🙂
Like our Official Facebook Page: Our Awesome Planet 🙂
Follow antondiaz on Pinterest for the latest awesome food and travel photos! 🙂
If you have tips on awesome food and travel destinations, please email me at anton@diaz.ph.
Thank you for following and supporting Our Awesome Planet!
Full Disclosure: Our Thanksgiving Dinner was courtesy of Chef Bambi Sy Gobio.
P.S. Chef Bambi only opens Damaso Residencia to friends of friends. Feel free to tell her that you are friends of Our Awesome Planet.
now why did I miss this succulent meal? Attention Spanx…haha
Food looks great but what’s disturbing was how the turkey was presented. The plastic “thermometer” wasn’t removed at all. It is supposed to pop-up once the turkey’s internal temperature reaches the “cooked” stage and this one wasn’t popped at all. Also noticed the plastic “strings” hanging out from the legs. Additional finesse would have made a better presentation 🙂
I would say that pumpkin pie isn’t necessarily a “signature” thanksgiving dessert, rather, one of the pies usually served during that holiday along with apple and pecan pie – all of which are autumn flavors.
I also agree with Belle about the thermometer and the strings tying up the legs. For private dining where the small number of guests can easily notice the flaws in the details, this should have been taken care of.
Just my two cents.
It’s a common mistake even among Americans to think that Thanksgiving is on the last Thursday of November because it usually is, but officially US Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. The turkey and stuffing doesn’t look appealing to me … too pale I think (plus what Belle pointed out). I like my turkey and stuffing a few shades darker (golden brown). Cranberry sauce looks like from a can … not what I’d expect for the price. Setting doesn’t evoke Thanksgiving/Fall … need more autumn colors. I’m not trying to be a mean critic … I’m actually hopeful they would improve so I can try it sometime.
Agree, eating turkey is not just for a pleasure of heavenly taste but also a bond giver and a way of thanking for all the blessings you’ve got, that is why having a turkey in a thanksgiving dinner is much better.