Old Swiss Inn–Pre-war

Baby boomers still get regaled with stories about the genteel times of the 1940’s, rudely rocked by a war that disrupted those bucolic times. I’m a baby boomer, and no, I wasn’t around yet during World War II, but I am familiar with those stories from my parents and uncles, even friends who went through those times. One of the great things that happened then was the opening of the Swiss Inn Restaurant. That was in 1946. (Nope, I wasn’t around yet then.)

That was the time when we became an independent nation with then President Manuel Roxas. A fine gentleman, a Swiss national, named Emil Landert opened the very first Swiss Inn in what was then known as Dewey Boulevard. Now we all know this place as Roxas Blvd, but you can spot a baby boomer right off when he slips and still occasionally call this wide stretch of an avenue by its old name.

In those days, my Dad loved to talk about the elite restaurant where fine gentlemen loved to bring their wives, and dress up for the occasion. By the way, the Swiss Inn was famous for having the longest bar in Manila.

Back then, they were already known for their fresh corned beef and pig’s knuckles. The fresh corned beef was (and still is) just thick slabs of boiled beef, served with fat wedges of boiled cabbage and whole boiled potatoes served alongside the beef. The broth where they boiled the beef, flavorful and clear, was served separately in a bowl. The whole dish can be enjoyed with strong mustard and horse radish on the side. This dish, simple as can be imagined, was the stuff most of our dreams were built around. It was a huge treat to have a fresh corned beef dinner at the Swiss Inn, and dinners here were always reserved for a special date, or a momentous family occasion.

Well, it was a momentous occasion when the Old Swiss Inn decided to celebrate its 60th anniversary last month. The owners now, the Limcaoco family, decided to use a lot of nostalgia in marking this milestone. Not everyone can celebrate sixty years on the scene, (and still counting), and it takes a lot of originality and imagination to come up with a unique celebration.

Daughter Katrina (once one of my most eagerly watched co-hosts on the TV show Business & Leisure), who sits at the helm of this endeavor, thought of going back to the roots of the old Swiss Inn, yes, pre-war, in commemorating this milestone. They decided to have a price rollback to the 1940s. They did not advertise, but a write-up here in the Philippine Star caught the attention of my wife Baby, whose father too was a Swiss Inn loyal patron most of his life. Anyway, the anniversary dinner was a good two months away, but she decided to reserve for a group of eight. It’s a good thing she did not procrastinate, because by 11 a.m. of that same day, we were told later by the staff, the restaurant had to close all reservations. They were booked full!

We brought daughter Tin and son Wee, plus two other couples who were good friends, to this "adventurous" dinner. Babes had read in the write-up that they were going to serve selected items in the menu at pre-war prices, but they just couldn’t tell yet then what those prices were going to be. That was part of the adventure. We were also told to be at the restaurant promptly at 7 p.m., and they were just giving all the reservations a 15-minute window to show up, after which they were going to move up the next name in the long reservation list.

Come the day for the anniversary dinner, we were there by 7:05, and the main dining room of the Old Swiss Inn was already full. They had to open their function rooms to accommodate the hungry throng.

Their menu for that momentous evening listed the selections that were going to be served at pre-war prices that evening:

Fresh corned beef at P14

Gnagi (pigs knuckles) at P17

Hungarian sausages at P11

Veal sausages at P11

Pork sausages at P11

Schublig at P11

Pepper steak at P23

Prime rib at P35

Don’t rub your eyes, those prices are real.

The adventure began. For our group of eight, we ordered seven Rib eye steaks and one Pepper steak, five Fresh corned beef, Three orders of Boiled pig knuckles and three of the crispy variety, two orders of Schublig two orders of Veal sausage, and two orders of Hungarian sausage. All the orders, by the way, came with garlic fried rice.

I know it’s a bacchanalian feast, but at those prices, how can you blame us? Besides, my young son was with us, and we had no doubt he could polish off whatever was left. The long table behind us with about 12 or more in the group apparently had the same ideas.

We thoroughly enjoyed the fresh corned beef which was tender and flavorful, and the boiled and crispy pigs’ knuckles, both of which we ate with the horseradish and piquant mustard. The prime rib steak was cooked exactly the way they prepared it years back when we started frequenting the place — tender, with their own subtle marinating to enhance the flavor. Some of us preferred the crispy variation of the knuckles, while others preferred the boiled variety. Obviously, their pigs knuckles differs from our own native crispy pata — theirs were not as crunchy, but were far more flavorful, I guess because there was more preparation that went into it.

My son, who is a great sausage lover, polished off all the sausages on the table. I know we ordered a lot, but what was more amazing was that we finished everything on the table! Shame on us grown, cholesterol-conscious men! The only down-side was you couldn’t order these same selections for take-out. Not on those prices. Who could blame them? They would wipe out the restaurant’s stocks on that very same evening if they were loco enough to do that.

Suffice it to say that we were divinely satiated that evening. Looking around, it seemed like a gracious family night, as long tables of families enjoyed the Old Swiss Inn feast, at pre-war prices. We spotted a visibly ever fresh and slimmer Katrina Limcaoco doing the rounds of the tables after dinner. She was chatting up the old familiar faces of diners who showed up for the anniversary dinner. Among other things, she mentioned, while pleasantly surprised to see us, that they have kept the original stained glass windows from the old dining area and the main door of the restaurant as well. She also mentioned that the next time they will do this anniversary dinner at pre-war prices again is fifteen years from now, when they celebrate their seventy-fifth anniversary. Would I still be able to bite into their prime ribs with original dentures by then?

A great feast and a great idea to celebrate a momentous event.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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