MANILA, Philippines – It may sound like a stretch to say that sustainably sourced seafood tastes better, but it actually does – at least as far as Discovery Suites’ 22 Prime is concerned. The restaurant recently launched its sustainable seafood menu featuring only ethically-sourced seafood paired with both red and white wine, and every dish was glorious.

Of course, this may be owed to many other factors – including the chef’s skills as well as the quality of all the other ingredients – but if you pay close attention to the seafood itself, you will taste the difference, which may just be your conscience being relieved that your meal hasn’t done more damage than necessary.

The meal started off with a mackerel carpaccio served with spanner crab fritters and a compressed fennel salad, paired with an Anakena Sauvignon Blanc. The crisp, light wine was the perfect contrast to the soft, buttery mackerel and the fried goodness of the crab fritters.

With the freshness of the seafood jumping off the plate, it was the perfect dish to set the tone of the dinner, which carried on with a seafood volute with saffron foam and parmesan herbs, a dish featuring a sizeable prawn and slices of seared tuna, brought alive by the rich cream sauce. It’s served with a Renmano Chairman’s Selection Chardonnay, a slightly heavier white that pairs well with the velvety cream and meaty tuna and prawns.

The main course is a surf and turf: a sous vide filet mignon and a grilled prawn served on top of a cauliflower puree with baby carrots, mushroom dust, and a hint of truffle and garlic. The prawn used in this dish is a Selva Shrimp – a brand of black tiger prawns that are raised naturally in the mangroves of Vietnam. So while your mouth may be watering at the beautifully pink steak, it’s prawn’s sweetness – brought out by the smoky grilled flavor – and perfectly bouncy texture that is the true highlight of this dish. The surf and turf is paired with a Renmano Chairman’s Selection Cabernet Sauvignon – a hearty red that brings out the smoky, meaty flavors of the dish while managing to temper it as well.

Rounding out the dinner is a fresh strawberry soup with grilled peaches and a white chocolate mousse. At this point we were already full to almost bursting with all the food, but this is a dessert you need to make room for. The very subtle tangy taste of the soup anchors the fruity sweetness of the grilled peaches – and the mousse brings it all together nicely.

The new menu is part of Discovery Suites’ efforts towards serving 100% sustainable seafood by 2020. By the end of the meal, we all understood that whether or not the difference in taste was real or imagined, sustainable seafood definitely leaves a wonderful taste in our mouths – if only because you know that the food is better for marine life as well as the local fishing industry.

22 Prime’s sustainable seafood specials and wine pairing promotion will run until October 30. The seafood dinner is at P2,280+, with an additional P500+ per person for the wine pairing. – Rappler.com