Category Archives: Hail to the Chef

Timplang PROBINSYANO

21 Friday Jul 2017

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I am such a huge fan of Chef Poch Jorolan‘s authentic sukang paombong (aslam sasâ to Pampangueños) or nipa palm vinegar that I order at least 4 big bottles regularly. I even blogged about it a couple of years ago when he first came out with it — https://aboucheamused.com/2015/04/23/getting-a-kick-o…r-sukang-bulacan/ ‎

Now, Poch has given it proper branding and added a Spiced variant. To date, Poch Jorolan has purveyed, not just his vinegars, but also selections of his family kitchen’s favorite Kapampangan food, aside from delicacies from other provinces, under the brand PROBINSYANO.

And what partners well with sukang paombong? Pork Barbecue, of course! Specifically, the famous Benito’s Barbecue, from the heritage recipe of the founding father of Everybody’s Cafe —Benito M. Santos. He happens to be Poch Jorolan’s maternal grandfather. His barbecue boasts of beautifully tender pork cuts, — not tough at all or maganit, unlike other bbq brands I’ve tried — marinated in a special blend of spices and other secret ingredients. Every bite presents you with a perfectly balanced blend of sweet, savory, and smoky flavors. Just the way I like it. And the Santoses’ culinary legacy is faithfully carried on by Poch, his mother Pette Santos Jorolan, and his sister Namee.

In a way, Benito’s Barbecue brings me back to my happy childhood, reminding me so much of my own beloved grandfather, who himself was Kapampangan and a terrific and talented cook to boot. With or without the sukang paombong to dip in, Benito’s Barbecue is simply awesome! Manyaman talaga! This…  this is the timplang Kapampangan… timplang Probinsyano!

You can find these and other Probinsyano food and delicacies at the Everybody’s Café stall at the Saturday Market in Salcedo Village, Makati. Or if you happen to be in Pampanga, drop by Everybody’s Café. You can also check out their facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/probinsyano.ph/ or email your orders through probinsyano.food@gmail.com. There are many other delicious food products offered by Probinsyano — from traditional Ube Halaya to bottled Gourmet Tuyô in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Go try them all. Although I’m hoping that one of these days, Poch will also sell his delicious morcon. (hint, hint).

 

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Uniquely Un Cuenca

22 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Hail to the Chef, Noshes in my Neighborhood, Restaurants

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Who does not love lechon? But just imagine this — Spain’s cochinillo asado meets Philippine lechon kawali, then put them together and kick it up a notch. That’s Chef Ariel Manuel‘s famous Pugon Lechon, only at Un Cuenca in Molito at Ayala Alabang. Pork belly perfectly roasted in a pugon or charcoal-fired oven, with the skin super crisp and crackling and the meat beautifully juicy, tender, and succulent. Served with a flavor-heightening liver and mustard sauce (or orange jam, if you prefer) and a side of atchara to cut the porky richness. It’s simply a gastronomic orgasm!

But the lechon love fest does not stop there. Chef Ariel’s brilliant inventiveness transforms his other dishes, too. There’s Lechon Carbonara pasta, with the diced-up lechon replacing the usual bacon, to give it that distinct salty, smoky taste. And the Pugon Lechon Sisig or the Tokwa’t Lechon or the Lechon Garlic Arroz — all are a definite must-try! And, of course, when there is Lechon, there has to be its classic sequent — the Lechon Paksiw.

Nevertheless, Un Cuenca is not just all about pork. It’s really all about great food created playfully and geniusly by Chef Ariel who has had years of experience overseeing the kitchens of Lolo Dad’s and was inspired by his travels through Spain. Like who would think up of Lamb Kalderetta with Dried Mangoes? Or Duck Adobo topped with a perfectly fried duck egg. Or Deep-fried Chicken Wings Adobo with… can you believe it?… Chocolate Sauce! Oh my!

Most people like to call this a Spanish restaurant, but not Chef Ariel. Consider its fabulous fare as the creatively conscious coupling of favorite delicious Filipino dishes with the exciting flavors of Spain. Un Cuenca is unique.

Un Cuenca is at the Molito Commercial Complex (facing the garden) in Ayala Alabang. Call 8154811 for reservations.

p.s. And make sure to order the Sangría! It’s served after brandy has been flambéed and poured into the carafe. Trust me, it’s the best!

BAMBA – A Streetcorner Charmer

08 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by in Food Glorious Food, Hail to the Chef, Restaurants

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What softened the blow of a bye-bye dinner with family and friends was saying hello to an unexpectedly delightful little bistro that serves delicious, hearty food right in our neighborhood in the South.

Bamba Bistro by Chef Tina Legarda. She had worked at Billy King’s (now-defunct) French Corner under Chef Jessie Sincioco at the Westgate in Alabang and recently at Mario Batali’s Osteria Mozza at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. She had also opened Tina’s Table, located in her own family home also in BF Parañaque, which one can book for private dining affairs, good for a minimum of 10 people and a maximum of 20.

Why “Bamba”, I wondered? I read in one blog that “La Bamba” is Chef Tina’s comfort song. Her father used to sing it to her as a child whenever she felt sad or down. And it makes sense to call her charming little brasserie that serves comforting soul food “Bamba”. The place is cozy, tight, but extremely delightful, with a semi-al fresco area for diners who wish to smoke, a small air-conditioned non-smoking section that can seat 21 diners with a sort-of view of the energetic chef at work on her masterpieces, and a bakery in one corner. Chef Tina bakes her own breads and pastries, too.

Chef Tina calls her bistro’s cuisine “international soul food”. Her cuisine covers the range of what different cultures would regard as their own psyche-soothing, comfort food that brings back happy memories of family, friendship, and good conversation (especially as the bistro refuses to offer WiFi to encourage talk). I enjoyed the food very much and tried to taste (and photograph) as many as I could before my dining companions could tuck in. Definitely worth a return visit to try the many other dishes we did not get to order, especially the burgers and the steaks.

Bamba Bistro is on Aguirre Avenue corner Arsenio Luz St. in BF Homes Parañaque. For reservations, you may call 519-7097. Or check their facebook page.

No one can SPREAD THE LOVE like Butch Garcia can!

07 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by in Food Glorious Food, Hail to the Chef, The Grub Club

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Butchay spreads spreadcrackers SpreadTheLove@CHub

When Butch Garcia first created his Alugbati Spread to share with friends, I was skeptical. Alugbati? Really? That obsequious and ordinary plant that grows wild in gardens and empty lots? The spread looked extremely green! But the moment I tasted it, it blew away all prejudices. It was an extraordinarily delicious surprise to the palate — rich and luscious and flavorful! Not at all as grassy as I imagined alugbati would taste. In fact, it reminded me of Cibo’s Spinaci Zola dip, but fuller-flavored.

Butch’s Alugbati Spread came about one day when he wanted to do a pesto sauce. However, that day, he could not find any basil anywhere with which to make it. Not in the supermarkets, not in the delis, not even in anyone’s garden. Ever the inventive mind and impeccable palate, Butch decided to use alugbati instead. Makes sense — it is, in many ways, our local equivalent of basil.

The instant acceptance and exuberant appreciation of his Alugbati Spread inspired Butch to develop other delectable spread ideas. His next product was his Quezo de Bola Pimiento Spread, which was his grandmother’s recipe, tweaked and perfected according to his supremely fine-tuned taste. That, too, was an immediate success. Salty, cheesy, but with umami depth. From then on, Butch’s concoctions have expanded to other spread creations — Smoked Round Scad Spread (or Tinapang Galunggong), Longganiza, Pineapple-Cashew, and “Bicol Express”.

The “Bicol Express” is one of my pinaka-favorites! The heat is subtle, tempered by the cream and dissembled by the bread or cracker. But the combined piquancy of Hungarian sausages and the jalapeño and cayenne peppers soon unfurls gradually in the mouth with every flavorsome bite. It goes absolutely perfectly with ice-cold beer or very chilled wine.

The popularity of his spreads, well, have spread like wild fire! Simply through the power of social media and gratified friends’ word of mouth. “Spread the love!”, Butch would say, with his customary chuckle. And it was his very own words which became the brand name for his spreads, upon the suggestion of his fellow-foodie friend in advertising, Ana Perez. His daughter Belai and her best friend Andi Harn came up with the design of the label — congenial, honest, warm, and down-to-earth. Seeing it will make you smile. Tasting his spreads will make you swoon in joy. And it is with joy that I simply must share with you what Butch’s SPREAD THE LOVE spreads are all about … whilst snacking on the Bicol Express on skyflakes crackers.

People from the film and advertising industries know Butch Garcia not just as one of the country’s most prominent production designers, but also as a supreme connoisseur of good food with a big appetite and a big heart. And it’s only right that his array of delicious homemade spreads be called SPREAD THE LOVE. It is, after all, everything that Butch Garcia is all about.

Here is how to order any (or all) of the SPREAD THE LOVE spreads: ButchayMenu

Chef Reynaldo Lim reigns

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Food Glorious Food, Hail to the Chef, The Grub Club

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When you meet Chef Reynaldo Lim, he comes across as bigger than life. And I’m not talking about physical size, mind you. Although he is rather like a tall and happy Buddha with a bouncing belly to match. But I am actually referring to his large and ebullient personality — he has a childlike charm and infectious vivacity, you just want to hug him. And he is a joy to watch in the kitchen, sometimes serious and stern but most of the time laughing and having the time of his life. His Dom Deluise-ish character and the great fun he derives from cooking is deliciously expressed in the food he serves. Aside from reigning over the kitchen, he also oversees the table decor, choosing the right floral arrangements and decorative touches and even the plateware for the occasion.

The Grub Club had the privilege to have been the beneficiaries of his fabulous food. We could tell how passionate he is about his food because every time a course is served, he would come out of the kitchen and hover over us, checking to see if we were digging in, if we liked the food or not. And if he caught one of us pausing, chatting, and generally not giving due attention to the dish before us, he’d loom over that person and ask “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?” Which gets that person promptly shoveling the food in his or her mouth and nodding approvingly, mouth too full to speak. If satisfied, Chef Lim would take a generous sip of wine and smile appreciatively. Fortunately, every dish was superb and sumptuous. But the scene sorta reminded me of a Mother Superior standing guard over students during final exams and saying “No talking! Eyes on your own paper!” Hilarious!

Chef Rey’s cuisine has been described as Continental/French with a strong Asian influence. He prefers to describe it as “Western comfort food with Asian overtones”. Just imagine fresh king prawns with aligue (crab fat) and pineapple relish, served atop a hefty serving of Arroz a la Cubana. Or his dessert of Zucchini Cake with Lychee Buttercream icing. He learned his craft at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and apprenticed with David Bouley at his restaurant in Manhattan. From there, Lim was everywhere — on the Today Show, with Lufthansa as its Star Chef, and for more than a decade, in Beijing’s premium dining spot The Courtyard. In 2010, he left the Courtyard and is now part of the team of chefs of Tjioe Catering (pronounced “chew”) with his friends Edwin Tjioe Tan and Chef Jeff “Jaine” Teh. (Find out more about them at their website — http://tjioethecaterer.ph/)

No doubt, Chef Rey Lim amused my bouche no end. Chef Rey Lim reigns supreme!

Seiji by Seiji

02 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Food Glorious Food, Hail to the Chef, Restaurants

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I first met Chef Seiji Kamura way back in 2009 when he had a small and cozy Italian bistro called Don Eduardo’s at the Valuepoint Building in Legaspi Village, together with his partner Ms. Bingbing Santos. The restaurant was named after her father.

Back then, I wrote of Chef Seiji as an uncharacteristically tall and broad-shouldered Japanese who not only looks Pinoy, but even sometimes talks like one. The tanned and soft-spoken Chef Seiji has been working and living in the Philippines for almost 20 years now, starting as the Executive Chef of Tsukiji at the Century Park Hotel in Malate. I first enjoyed his innovative culinary creations when he had his Japanese-fusion restaurant Joan Miró on Pasay Road way back in the early 90s. Aside from his decades of experience in Japanese cuisine, he had also undergone a 2-year stint in France training with the great master himself, Paul Bocuse (one of the proponents of nouvelle cuisine and for whom the international culinary competition, the Bocuse d’Or, is named). I remember teasing Chef Seiji that time: “How international can you get! A Japanese from Yokohama who trained in classical Japanese cuisine AND French nouvelle cuisine cooking Italian in the Philippines!” He was pretty amused himself.

Just this year, Chef Seiji opened his restaurant Seiji along Pasay Road (now called Arnaiz Avenue). He prepares the most masterfully-done traditional Japanese dishes — with ingredients air-flown from Japan such as scallops, sanma (Japanese mackerel pike), wagyu beef — as well as exquisitely inventive and unexpected dishes, our favorite of which was the Foie Gras and Unagi Salad with Aged Balsamic Vinaigrette. Chef Seiji himself will welcome you as you enter and oversees his staff and sous-chefs to make sure everything is just so. In fact, up to now, he wakes up every day in the wee hours of the morning to go to market, usually the Baclaran Seaside Seafood market, to select and buy the freshest ingredients himself, as he has always done since he started working in the Philippines. Although you can order from a selection of premium sakes, he also even makes his own home-brewed sake, flavored with fruits like grapes and pears. And the true professional chef that he is, he holds tasting sessions for his staff so that they can knowledgeably describe to customers what they are like or made of.

For sure, my bouche was more than amused. So much so that Seiji merits a return or two or three…

Seiji Restaurant is located at the ground floor of the Cedar Executive Bldg on 1006 Arnaiz Ave, Makati (across Ayala Center). You may call 478-7550 for reservations.

Julie & Julia

18 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in Foodie Films, Hail to the Chef

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This August 15, 2012 was Julia Child’s 100th birthday! In acknowledgment and in  celebration of this trailblazing foodie and oh-so-remarkable woman, I watched the movie Julie & Julia all over again.

In a nutshell, Julie & Julia is a tale of two parallel lives — one of an aspiring writer slogging away in a boring job and living in Queens with her husband, the other of Julia Child who, during the late 1940s and 1950s, felt restless and intellectually adrift while living in Paris with her husband. Child then discovered her true calling when she decided to learn how cook the proper French way at the famed Le Cordon Bleu. Powell, on the other hand, needing some creative direction and fulfillment in her life, also challenged herself by cooking ALL 524 recipes in Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, every day for one year and chronicling her attempts in her blog.

Written and directed by Nora Ephron, it is based on Child’s autobiography with Alex Prud’homme, “My Life in France” and Julie Powell’s blog-turned-book entitled  “Julie & Julia : 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment“. It stars the magnificent Meryl Streep, masterfully portraying the inimitable Julia Child down to her fluting drawl to a tee, and Amy Adams as author and amateur cook Julie Powell. The extraordinarily talented Stanley Tucci, one of my most favorite actors ever, plays Julia’s husband Paul Cushing Child with a brilliance and a strong yet subtle presence that complemented and stood up to Meryl Streep’s dazzling cinematic charisma.

As The Vine review said: “Julie & Julia is not a mere celebration of food but a pleasant pair of true stories about the hand that rocks the ladle.” Yes, it is a delightful film. Definitely worth watching, if you like foodie films as I do. BUT, it’s not great — for me, it so failed to resolve satisfactorily the Julie and Julia connection, that it felt a bit anticlimactic.  Most of my favorite scenes were in the “Julia” part of the story. Amy Adams is charming and sympathetic but the lovely shots of Paris, the tour de force performance of Meryl Streep, together with Stanley Tucci, and the colorful character that was Julia Child simply drown out the more prosaic life of Powell/Adams and her husband. In fact, after watching the movie the first time, I actually went out and bought a hardbound copy of Child’s famous cookbook. Not that I would ever attempt to replicate what Julie Powell did. I can’t even master the French omelet (yet?), despite how easy Julia Child makes it out to be.

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P.S. I kept a clipping about Julia Child from a November 2001 issue of Oprah’s O magazine, where she lays out 8 of her favorite books — The Soul of a Chef : The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman, The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller, Kitchen Confidential : Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain, How To Read a French Fry and Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science by Russ Parsons, Stand Facing The Stove: The Story of the Women Who Gave America the Joy of Cooking by Anne Mendelson, The Essential Rilke, Edith Wharton : A Biography by R.W.B. Lewis, and mystery novels by Mary Higgins Clark and Sue Grafton.