06/09/2025
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HRAB’s Pasta Mania serves 150 kilos of creativity at SM Baguio
By Mia Magdalena Fokno
Baguio City – September 5, 2025 – Pasta is going local, and it’s going big. On October 2, 2025, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) kicks off the 18th Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism (HRT) Month with Pasta Mania: An HRAB Pasta Festival, a culinary showcase where 150 kilos of raw pasta will be transformed into dishes that celebrate both flavor and culture.
The event unfolds at 10:30 a.m. at the SM Atrium, with 11 participating hotels and restaurants bringing their own twist to the table—from the Baguio Country Club, Crown Legacy Hotel, and El Cielito Hotel, to Hillstation, John Hay Hotels, Lafayette Suites, Le Monet Hotel, MV Alabanza, Sotogrande Hotel, The Orchard Hotel, and The Other Office.
Flavors with a Cordilleran soul
While pasta may be Italian at its roots, this festival highlights how it can be reimagined with Filipino and Cordilleran sensibilities. Expect inventive versions like longganisa garlic-hamonado pasta, spicy sardines tossed with local heat, and a pesto brightened by mountain herbs. Even the classics—aglio olio, tuna pasta, and good old spaghetti—will be prepared with homegrown accents.
Chef Rodin Raoul Florendino and Chef Arthur Nucaza, the chefs-in-charge of Pasta Mania, shared at the September 5 HRT Kapihan at Baguio Country Club that the spotlight goes beyond flavor. It’s also about showcasing how Cordillerans cook: slow cooking, layering flavors patiently, and using local ingredients in ways that honor both tradition and innovation.
A community table
The pasta festival is more than a feast. It’s an invitation. “We want the public to see that local hotels and restaurants are not just about serving food; they are about telling stories through what they plate,” said the organizers.
With dishes designed to feed not just appetites but imaginations, HRAB’s Pasta Mania promises to be a hearty prelude to the bigger 18th HRT Month celebration set for October 9 to 11, 2025 at the Baguio Country Club.
So, come hungry on October 2 and leave with a taste of how the Cordillera can make pasta its own.