Oriental Brushstrokes by Caesar Cheng At Chef Jessie Rockwell Club

Chef Jessie Rockwell Club presents Oriental Brushstrokes, a one-man exhibit of Caesar Cheng from July 1-31 at Chef Jessie Rockwell Club, Amorsolo Square, Rockwell Center, Makati City.

Realistic with fluid, bold expressions; elegant and dynamic – the brushstrokes of Teacher Caesar Cheng echoes the essence of the Lingnan School Tradition of Chinese Painting.

A Lingnan School painting is more realistic than traditional Chinese painting, which sometimes looks flat and two-dimensional, non living, not true to nature, cartoonish, too simplified and even awkward. The opposing diagonal lines in animal drawings highly suggest life, strength and movement. Birds appear alert, shifty, moving, about to fly. With their open beaks, you can almost hear them.
Lingnan style dramatically depicts silence, serenity and stillness—in a lotus pond, in moonlit scenes, early spring mornings and misty mountains.

Teacher/Laoshi Caesar started painting in the late 1960s, when he was in high school. He enrolled in Chinese painting classes at the Liberty Hall in Chinatown during summer breaks for four consecutive years. His teachers were all from Taiwan, Masters Liang Chung Ming, Liang Siu Chung and Wen Bi Ing who taught him traditional Chinese painting.

In the early 1970s, he studied the Lingnan tradition of Chinese painting under Master Hau Chiok. His painting started as a hobby and did not know that he would end up being an art teacher. Painting was his passion, but he ended up taking Commerce at the University of Santo Tomas.

In the early 1990s, before he started to teach Chinese painting, Teacher Caesar had a pet store business and also worked at a pet-related company as a senior aquarist from mid 2003 to 2005. It is, therefore, no cause of wonder why his animal and fish paintings look so real.
Teacher Caesar is a founding member of the International Studies for Chinese Art, Inc. He is currently teaching Chinese Painting at the Confucius Institute at the Ateneo de Manila University and he conducts workshops at Fully Booked in Fort Bonifacio.

For more information, call Chef Jessie Rockwell Club at 890-6543 or 890-7630.

*** Jenn ***

The Best of Lolo Dad's at The Maya Kitchen

June is not just a month for weddings, it is also a month for the fathers, and one Saturday morning at The Maya Kitchen, Chef Ariel Manuel of Lolo Dad's graced the kitchen to share some of the best dishes served at his restaurant. The theme was about "Simplicity of Flavors," but if you are familiar with Chef Ariel Manuel and / or Lolo Dad's, you know there is nothing simple about the flavors they serve. It was unfortunate, though, that I wasn't able to attend the event, but The Maya Kitchen did send me images from the event, as well as the recipe for each of the dishes.

Before I share one recipe, let me just share to you the other dishes Chef Ariel Manuel prepared for the event:

Mediterranean Duck Rice

Mixed Fruits with Vanilla Ice Cream, Rock Salt, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Romaine Caesar Salad

Salmon Sardine with Fresh Garlic Crouton

Shellfish Open Lasagne

and the White Onion Soup, with the recipe below... simply because it's been raining most days and it is just comforting to slurp piping hot soup during bed weather days.

White Onion Soup

Ingredients:
Butter (unsalted) 200 g.
White onions (sliced) 2 big pcs.
Garlic cloves (chopped) 2 cloves
Bay leaves 2 pcs.
Fresh thyme 2 sprigs
Salt and pepper to taste
Beef stock 1 liter
Bread sticks 4 pcs.
Gruyere cheese (sliced) 300 g.
Red wine 300 ml.

Method:
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized for about 25 minutes. Deglaze it with wine and reduce until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a boil, and cook for another 10 minutes. Using a hand blender, blend the soup just until you get a rough and thick texture. Adjust to taste, with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, preheat the broiler. Arrange the bread sticks on a baking sheet and put the Gruyere cheese on top, then broil until it bubbly melts.

Ladle the soup in bowls and put a Gruyere crouton on top of each soup.

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

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For more information about this event and past events at The Maya Kitchen, please check their website - www.themayakitchen.com or message them thru e-mail (contactus@themayakitchen.com).

Thank you The Maya Kitchen for the images and recipes.


*** Jenn ***