From politics to fine dining

MANILA, Philippines - My indoctrination to Spanish gastronomy occurred over two decades ago during my first visit to Spain at the residence of a mild-mannered gentleman who has lived in Madrid since the ’50s named Don Jose de Leon. He lectured me that the best Jamon Iberico (Iberian Ham) comes from the Jabugo region of Spain, must have been aged a minimum of three years and have subsisted on a diet of Bellota (acorns) in the last few months before slaughter; authentic Manchego cheese must be made from the milk of the Manchega breed of sheep from the La Mancha region of Spain and the authentic Paella must be made with Bomba rice flavored with real saffron.

Don Jose or Don Pepe, as he is fondly called, is the father of my compadre and long-time travel buddy Joey de Leon. Prior to meeting Don Pepe, my familiarity of Spanish food only revolved around Paella, Fabada, Gambas Al Ajillo and Lengua, which I heartily consumed at a handful of Spanish restaurants in Metro Manila I frequented like Terry’s, Minggoys, Casa Armas and Patio Alba. Having been colonized by Spain for an odd 300 years, I have always lamented that we have a shortage of good Spanish restaurants and should have more choices.

One afternoon, my good friend and high school classmate at Colegio San Juan de Letran, Pastor “Boy” Saycon, called me. As I stared at the ringing cellphone, I was thinking he must have some hot political news to share or a new project to discuss. I was surprised when he proudly announced that he was opening a Spanish restaurant-cum-gastro bar specializing in Catalan cuisine. I found it unusual to hear such an endeavor from a friend and schoolmate whom I’ve spent some summers of my teen years with at his family’s sprawling rest house opposite Burnham Park in Baguio. I’ve known Boy as an effective PR person, politician, peacemaker, drag racer but never one to delve into gastronomy.

Out of curiosity, I visited his recently-inaugurated Gastro bar on Macapagal Blvd. in Pasay City. It took me a while to find his venue because it was at the back of the Hobbies of Asia complex that houses a number of restaurants including Gloria Maris. Pastor’s Spanish Gastro pub has a huge neon sign at the entrance. The interior part is airy and sub-divided into a bar, the main dining hall, a secluded smoking area, a function room for private dinners built around the theater-type kitchen where diners could watch how the food they ordered is prepared.

Pastor or Boy’s eldest JJ runs the show. He studied culinary arts in New York and has apprenticed and worked in several fine dining New York restaurants including one where the chef is Michelin rated. From our conversation, I observed that JJ (who still dreams of meeting his idol Chef Ferran Adria, one of the founding fathers of “molecular gastronomy” and rated as one if not the best chef in the world with his El Bulli — now closed — rated with three Michelin stars, the highest rating for a restaurant) is very meticulous about his ingredients. He is a stickler for authenticity and uses only Bomba rice for his Paellas and dried Bacalao imported from Spain’s Basque region for his Bacalao dishes. A lot of his herbs and vegetables like bonsai arugula and carrots are sourced from a local organic farm. I tasted some tapas prepared from his kitchen and I have to say they are delectably creative. While munching on a piece of bread with kesong puti and a slice of tomato, I boldly asked JJ, “Aren’t you afraid your patrons may find the location off the beaten path and rather go to easier to reach Spanish restaurants?” to which he confidently responded, “If you’re food is really good, then they will come,” and I totally agree.

JJ also intimated that for him, Señor Alba is his favorite local chef for Spanish cuisine. Señor Alba still runs Patio Alba in Bel-Air Makati.

I’ve been to Pastor’s only a couple of times and both times got star-struck with the people dining there. Vice President Jejomar Binay is a regular and so is his daughter Sen. Nancy Binay. I also saw Sen. Loren Legarda, congressmen, governors, mayors including Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto, celebrities, broadcast executives, fishing magnate and Fisher Mall owner Bobby del Rosario, just to name a few. With this kind of patronage, Boy need not worry about his hidden location.