Chef Shawin Tee Showcases Filipino-Chinese Heirloom Dishes at Marriott Manila's Sinagtala Famsgiving at Marriott Cafe
Marriott Manila Hotel is giving Chinoy cuisine the spotlight as Marriott Cafe holds a special culinary collaboration and kitchen takeover with celebrity Chef Sharwin Tee. The Sinagtala Famsgiving: Filipino-Heirloom Chinoy Cuisine Edition is a special dinner buffet held every Wednesday and Thursday evening at Marriott Cafe which features Filipino-Chinese heritage and heirloom recipes.
As a part of the two-month Moonfest celebration, Michelin-Guide-Listed Manila Marriott Hotel launched a new edition of the Sinagtala Famsgiving at Marriott Cafe last August 5, 2026, this time featuring the traditional Chinoy food that have become part of Filipino culture. The Hungry Kat was invited to join the media launch for this culinary event with Miss Valerie Tan hosting the evening's festivities.
Media guests were welcomed at Marriott Cafe with two unique beverages courtesy of Dilmah Tea. I really loved the Sinagtala Bloom, a delicate floral fusion of premium Dilmah Jasmine Green Tea and Andros Chunky Lychee and Rose. The drink was fragrant, lightly textured, and finished with a bright yuzu lift. Another beverage offered was the Mandarin at Dusk with its vibrant citrus blend of premium Dilmah Sencha Green Tea and Andros Chunky Mandarin and Jasmine.
Celebrity Chef Sharwin Tee is a television host, restaurateur, newspaper columnist, and author, but he is known mainly for sharing his Filipino-Chinese cuisine and history with the rest of the foodie community. He is the chef owner of Little Grace Dining which served nostalgic Chinoy cuisine through popups and collaborations. With this initiative, the collaboration between Manila Marriott Hotel and Chef Sharwin hopefully will pave the way for a better appreciation of the "Chinoy" Cuisine as a Filipino culinary heritage, similar to how the world has celebrated heirloom cuisines of countries like Singapore with Peranakan, and Peru with Nikkei to name a few.
Marriott Manila Executive Chef Meik Brammer presented Chef Sharwin with a token of appreciation for his participationin the two-month food event. The Sinagtala Famsgiving is a spin-off project of the Sinagtala Philippine Culinary Arts Cup a pioneering competition organized by Marriott International in the Philippines which was launch in 2025. The main thrust is to bring together Marriott International property chefs nationwide to showcase Filipino heritage dishes with the ultimate goal of institutionalizing standardized core local recipes into the global Marriott property database accessible to 10,000 Marriott International properties present in 146 countries and territories worldwide.
The evening was highlighted by a special "Wok the Toque" Cook-Off Challenge featuring guest Chef Sharwin Tee and Marriott Manila Man Ho Executive Chinese Chef Chan Chi Fai. They will both be cooking virtually the same dish but presented in two different ways. Chef Sharwin will be cooking the Filipino-Chinese style Diok Pit He or stuffed deep fried shrimp with pork while Chef Chan will be cooking the Cantonese style Bi Feng Tang or deep fried shrimp. Both chefs were given ten minutes to complete their dishes.
After the ten minutes was up, both chefs proudly presented their dishes. Chef Sharwin uses a seasoned meat ball mixture to cover the prawns for his Diok Pit He which is usually served with banana catsup. This is a very familiar dish for Chinoy households but it's the first time for me to see it.
On the other hand, Chef Chan used ground shrimp to stuff his Bi Feng Tang. These are two different but very delicious ways to cook prawns and I couldn't wait to try it for myself.
Thankfully, all the media guests were actually going to be the first to try it! We were also given a score card to rate both dishes to see who would be declared the winner of the cook-off challenge.
After counting the scores, Chef Chan was declared the winner! I also voted for the Cantonese style of the deep fried stuffed prawns because it had a double dose of prawns which I really love.
After that activity, the Marriott Cafe dinner buffet was now open for us to enjoy. I have dined here so many times before but it's great that Marriott Manila keeps adding new themes and collaborations to the buffet which makes every visit different from the rest. This time, they have transformed the Paborito ni Lola station to include Chinoy heirloom recipes courtesy of Chef Sharwin.
The Tsinoy Lumpia is Chef Sharwin's version of the classic fresh spring roll that has become a part of Filipino cuisine. This was introduced to the Philippines by Fujian immigrants and is made with soft rice paper and filled with braised vegetables, tofu, toasted seaweed, egg ribbons, and crushed peanuts.
The Kiam Peng is a Chinoy fried rice that is already a meal by itself. This glutinous rice casserole or "salty rice" is a common dish at Chinese Filipino households and is cooked with soy braised pork and mustard leaves.
Chef Sharwin also presents two soup dishes to the Marriott Cafe buffet. The Si Dit Misua is a birthday noodle dish usually during birthdays and celebrations. This is a wheat vermicelli soup with chicken, vegetables, and served with boiled marinated egg.
On the other hand, the Tao Meng Tsai with Seafood in one of Chef Sharwin's specialties. The name literally translates to hair vegetables and this is what Tsinoy children usually call this dish. These are actually black moss which resembles long dried hair strands then cooked and served with braised abalone, shrimp, and clams to complete the dish.
Filipinos are very familiar with the Pata Tim which also has its roots in Fujian cuisine. These adobo-style braised pork trotters are always the star of any party and gathering. They are cooked is sweet soy sauce glaze with black peppercorns, garlic, bay leaves.
Lastly, the Spicy Taro Sago is a very unique dessert than is not really that common even with Chinoy families. It gives the sweet taro sago a spicy kick with this version cooked in a spicy sweet coconut milk broth with sweetened jackfruit.
Chinoy drinks are also included in the special Famsgiving buffet. Guests can have the Black Gulaman and the Oolong Tea for their beverages.
All that is actually only one part of the Marriott Cafe dinner buffet. There are so many more stations to explore for guests so you can have all of this together with the Chinoy station. Start at the appetizers station with a selection of cheeses, hams, fruits, breads, donuts and jams.
Beside it is the Sustainable Seafood on Ice station with its cold selection of prawns, mussels, and clams.
I was surprised at the new Smash Burger area which replaced the teppanyaki station. Marriott Manila chefs won several awards for their burgers at the recent Philippine Culinary Cup so this is a welcome addition to the buffet. Their Smash Burger was really juicy and tasty, especially with the melted cheese oozing all over the patty.
The Famsgiving Dinner Buffet at Marriott Cafe features the heirloom recipes of the hotel's resident chefs and these are all included at the buffet every Wednesday and Thursday evening.
Together with this, the Western Comfort Food Station also features several dishes which were presented during the previous Sinagtala editions.
These include the Pork Adobo which was so good with its crunchy skin. Other dishes on the table were the Chicken Inasal, Sisig, and Vegetable Kare Kare.
The Carving Station had this very beautiful Roast Beef on display. Guests can ask for a slice or two and have it seared on the grill.
For dessert, Marriott Cafe offers a wide variety of sweets and treats that will surely satisfy those with a sweet tooth. This includes cakes, crepes, and unlimited specialty gelatos.
The Sinagtala Famsgiving: Filipino-Heirloom Chinoy Cuisine dinner buffet is available every Wednesday and Thursday evening from August to September for ₱3,399 nett per person. I would like to thank Archie Nicasio, Marriott Manila Cluster Director of Marketing Communications for inviting us to the launch of this Chinoy collaboration at Marriott Cafe. Make sure to visit them while these dishes are being featured!
