Eat your ‘Noli,’ chew your ‘Fili’ properly
SHE wasn’t going to settle for just any novel, either. When Bambi Sy-Gobio decided to open a Filipino restaurant in Greenbelt 5 in 2007—she had a dry run just before the Glorietta bomb explosion, and had to close for a bit after that before reopening in earnest—she wanted a Filipino restaurant with a truly original concept, based on the works of no less than Filipino national hero José Rizal.
The Culinary Institute of America-trained chef had come home in 2001 after several years of working in New York and Toronto. She had a fruitful stint as chef for what was then the hottest restaurant in Malate, Fidel, where she first worked with collaborators and friends Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre, and opened her own food store, Kooky and Luscious, which still has branches on Ayala Avenue and the Medical City.
Then, the decision to take inspiration from Rizal’s milestone works, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo,” both of which, as it turns out, were treasure troves of culinary ideas.
“I read them both, and there were so many references to food!” says Sy-Gobio. “For example, there are many accounts of Kapitan Tiago visiting his estate and sitting under a tree eating sinigang na kandule. Then there’s the tapang usa that Sisa made for her sons’ breakfast, which her husband eats when he comes home.”
Sy-Gobio revels in the details that enrich both the novel and the menu items they inspire. First, there’s the name of the restaurant, taken from an unlikely couple—the infamous Padre Damaso and the late Doña Pia Alba, wife of Kapitan Tiago.
“She gets only a paragraph in the Noli,” Sy-Gobio explains. After years of trying to conceive, Doña Pia becomes pregnant, but becomes depressed and dies after childbirth, with the insinuation that the child she delivers, Maria Clara, is actually Damaso’s daughter.
Ill-matched pair
Why name a restaurant after such an ill-matched pair? Sy-Gobio sees the wry humor in the choice, and the fact that Damaso is the embodiment of indulgence.
“There’s even a Damaso breakfast—he normally eats a whole chicken. Well, it’s a lot of fun when people get it and keep talking about the novels, because they’re books that every Filipino who grew up in the Philippines is supposed to know,” she says.
“Some people come because they like the idea, but they come back because they like the food. But I’m not the type who goes to the tables to explain the concept.”
Still, it’s not about being a cultural snob, but of simply having fun with the food and its references, and Sy-Gobio had a field day listing down the names of characters and the menu items she could match with them. Then she went about sourcing what is locally available, such as Davao blue cheese, Davao tablea and ostrich grown in Cagayan de Oro, to tweak the recipes and give them a more original flavor. “It’s not strictly Spanish or Pinoy, but it’s certainly fun,” she says.
Sitting inside the restaurant, which accommodates about 30 (with another 40 al fresco seats outside) and is designed like a Spanish-era salon, it’s hard not to get witty with your repartee and discuss Rizal’s heavily nuanced landmark novels for hours.
Vintage chandeliers and framed prints that Sy-Gobio filched from her grandmother’s ancestral home in Malabon helped designers Toledo and Vijandre give the place its elegant period look.
The road to Pia y Damaso’s opening was paved with serendipity, Sy-Gobio says. For example, she had been investigating langlang, an old Binondo favorite that is mentioned often in “Noli.” It turned out the family of one of her partners in the restaurant, architect Dan Lichauco, had an heirloom recipe, which includes shredded chicken, ham, shiitake and wood-ear mushrooms, and pancit molo, lomi, and sotanghon noodles.
The tapang usa from Nueva Ecija, she learned about from a sign she spotted on the road. Ode to Heidelberg, a German dish of boiled smoked pork hock, bacon, four kinds of sausages, and potatoes, refers to the city where Rizal finished writing “Noli,” and is also a tribute to Sy-Gobio’s late mother, who loved eating pork hock when traveling in Germany.
Refreshing drink
Our dinner at Pia y Damaso started with wonderful glasses of Tubig ni Maria Clara, a very refreshing mix of ginger, cucumber and citrus water.
Teasing the taste buds in quick succession were a delicious Roasted Vegetable Tart with Davao blue cheese, stuffed with eggplant, zucchini, roasted pepper, caramelized onion and garlic; Pumpkin Wanton Ravioli, stuffed wanton with roasted pumpkin and garlic sautéed with walnuts and brown butter; Chicken Parian, Sy-Gobio’s version of machang, steamed chicken breast roulade stuffed with sticky rice, Chinese sausage, chestnuts, Chinese ham and shiitake mushrooms; and a very interesting pasta with figs, apples, pine nuts and roasted garlic.
Other ingenious combinations are Lengua and Shaved Queso de Bola Pandesal Sandwich and Seared Prawns and Fish Fillet on Davao Tablea with Cacao, Sherry and Orange Sauce.
The desserts are equally engrossing. Wicked Simoun, a Bailey’s cheesecake, meets its match in Maria Clara’s Velvety White Cheesecake. There’s Brazo ni Doña Vicky, chewy meringue roulade with fresh butter curd, and Salvi’s Canonigo, baked caramel-lined meringue with vanilla cream and fresh mangoes.
We recommend Diablo, hot chocolate soufflé with crème anglais, prunes, figs and siling labuyo, and the dreamy ensaymada served with Davao tablea hot chocolate.
Although her concept has been copied but not quite equaled, Sy-Gobio takes pride in the fact that she brought something novel and memorable to the dining scene.
“I try to be creative and original,” she says—that, while still serving up a feast for all the senses. Padre Damaso himself would be smacking his lips in approval.
Pia y Damaso is at 2/F, Greenbelt 5. It is open 10 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Call 7295511, e-mail damaso@zpdee.net.
Bambi Sy-Gobio’s garlic-overload ‘adobo’
1 k chicken thighs
1 k pork kasim, cut in
2-inch cubes
¼ c garlic, crushed
¼ c garlic cloves, whole
2 c soy sauce
2 c vinegar
1 c water
6 large bay leaves
1 tbsp black pepper
½ c corn oil
Put chicken, pork, garlic, soya sauce, vinegar, water and bay leaves in a pot.
Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer.
Cook for 15 minutes until meat is almost done.
Remove pork meat and chicken from pot. Strain garlic cloves from sauce.
Heat another pot over medium heat. Add oil.
Fry whole garlic cloves in hot oil until brown. Remove.
Using the same oil, fry the chicken and pork pieces until brown. Remove.
Return browned meat to the pan, and pour in the cooking liquid from first pot.
Bring to a simmer until meat is soft and sauce is reduced.
Add browned garlic cloves.
Serve with hot rice.
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