Grace Park Collaborates With East Ocean Palace to Celebrate 13th Year

Grace Park is celebrating its 13th anniversary with a special collaboration with East Ocean Palace (EOP), a Cantonese restaurant and one of Chef Margarita Forés' favorites.

"We would always go there. One of my mom's favorite things is [their] salted egg," Amado Forés, founder of AF Hospitality and Esquire Philippines' Man at His Best 2024 - Restaurateur of the Year, tells us, as he continues to honor his late mother's legacy. Chef Margarita's birthday coincides with the founding of Grace Park on March 23.

Diners can enjoy two exclusive dishes crafted by the culinary teams of both restaurants from March 25 to April 30 at Grace Park Araneta City and One Rockwell. And when they say exclusive, they mean it. Only 20 servings for each collaborative dish are available daily.

The first is the Salted Egg Chicken Wings with Dalandan Zest (P595), featuring golden-crisp chicken wings coated in rich salted egg and finished with bright dalandan zest for a savory, citrusy lift.

"One of my favorite memories is always her reaction when she would have the salted egg dishes there," Amado told Esquire Philippines. And that's the specific moment that the restaurateur wanted to pay homage to for this collaboration dish.

According to Chef Gab Garcia, Culinary Innovation Head at AF Hospitality, the salted egg came from Pateros, which is famous for its duck-raising industry. "We hunt down for the ones that are nagmamantika na 'yung loob," he added. They also try to utilize the white part of the salted egg, which isn't often used in making salted egg wings.

The second collab dish is the Beef Brisket & Tendon Egg Noodles with Calamansi Oil (P888), a bowl that's good for two. It features tender beef brisket, which comes from EOP, and beef tendon, which is from Grace Park's kitchen.

"The broth is also kind of like a big collaboration. We get the brisket sauce from them and then some of the broth from us," said Chef Gab. For the calamansi oil, the technique they use is the same as when making scallion oil.

While this collaboration between the two brands was in the works for nine to 12 months, it's been "years in the making" in Amado's head. "This is an idea I've always wanted to do with my mom. It's nice that it's finally happening, in honor of her."

Edward Go, Marketing Manager of East Ocean Palace, felt that "the excitement was there from the very beginning" as he and Amado were discussing the project. He added that this fusion between Grace Park's Filipino flavors and EOP's Chinese roots was a "no-brainer."

Amado also wanted to highlight the celebratory aspect of this collaboration. "My mom is quite known for her caterings and such, and [EOP] is also known for their banquets and weddings. That's what makes this a good fit," he said.

Diners enjoying these collab dishes are also entitled to try their luck and play the traditional bo bing or Chinese dice game, where they could win delicious prizes depending on the dice combinations they roll. Lucky diners can get their collaborative dish on the house (if you roll double 4s) or a complimentary Grace Park dessert (if you roll any doubles).

The Grace Park x East Ocean Palace dishes are available all day from March 25 to April 30 at Grace Park - Araneta City (G/F Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City) and at Grace Park - One Rockwell (Rockwell Drive, Makati City).

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