What glorious oysters!
MANILA, Philippines - There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to oysters, especially when they are eaten uncooked and freshly shucked from the shell. On one hand are those who abhor the shellfish and fear their possible ill effects, countermanded by those who absolutely adore the distinctive taste of the delicate morsels. “If you don’t love life you can’t enjoy an oyster, there is a shock of freshness to it and intimations of the ages of man, some piercing intuition of the sea and all its weeds and breezes. They shiver you for a split second,” said American author Eleanor Clark, whose book The Oysters of Locmariaquer received a National Book Award. Indeed, the specific flavor nuances of an oyster are quite hard to pin down, so that they can make both writers and gourmands wax philosophic.
At Restaurant Verbena in Tagaytay, listed by the prestigious Miele Guide of Singapore as one of the most notable restaurants in the Philippines, chef David Pardo de Ayala focuses on the oyster to create variations that are sure to thrill every oyster enthusiast. And create converts out of the doubters, besides.
“Gone are the days when oysters could only be enjoyed during a certain season,” says chef David. “Oysters can be eaten all year round due to modern day refrigeration. There are no seasonal harvest restrictions in cultured oysters, so that one may eat them as long as they are available.” Those served at Restaurant Verbena are harvested from the clean waters of New Washington in Aklan province. With shell on, they usually come nine pieces to a kilogram. 
As a prelude to a luncheon that highlighted the oyster, chef David prepared aperitifs of crostini or “little toasts’ topped with tomato and anchovies, eggplant caviar and crispy basil and pesto and cherry tomato. These were served with an enjoyable light, sweet and fruity Beringer Chenin Blanc. Sweet corn soup with bacon quickly followed, and we were ready for a sampling of the star of the meal.
What glorious oysters! Rockefeller with creamy spinach and Hollandaise sauce was familiar and always delightful; Roquefort had blue cheese, caramelized onions that lent natural sweetness and smoky bits of bacon; and the classic bistro favorite called Café’ de Paris was delicious with garlic-parsley butter and bread crumbs. Between bites, we sipped a refreshing rosé wine from the House of Beringer and sighed in contentment. But the best was still to come.
Delicious pepperonata oysters had slow melted bell peppers and chorizo Pamplona, and chef David explained, “The combination of seafood and chorizo is usual in Portugal.” To further highlight the versatility of oysters, there was an oyster foie gras broiled with Rougie duck liver and slivers of spiced almonds. That this was outstanding is not surprising. Rougie, after all is known to be the world’s number-one producer of foie gras and moulard duck specialties. Best of all there was black truffle oyster glazed with creamy black truffle spaghettini. Luxurious, earthy and lightly pungent, black truffle was a delicious way to dress up the shellfish. The oyster is widely believed to be an aphrodisiac and we found ourselves even more in love with the shellfish after chef David’s innovative oyster menu.
The delight did not end there. In between sips of zinfandel, we satisfied our sugar lust with superlative desserts of classic chocolate marquise topped with pistachios and bourbon vanilla English cream; olive oil and raspberry cake with brown butter sauce and Tahitian vanilla ice cream; and a deliciously fragrant lemon lavender cake with sour cream ice cream, French blueberry jam and orange marmalade. Yum! To be quite honest, there was a bit of guilt at the calorific indulgence of wine and oysters at midday. But we took heart with what the Canadian food writer Cynthia Wine says: “As casual sex gets scarier, for all of their dangers, desserts (and richly dressed oysters) seem a safer sensual indulgence; recreation without risk, or at least with only temporary consequences.” You could say that this was a lewd food luncheon.
Restaurant Verbena is at Discovery Country Suites, 300 Calamba Road, San Jose, Tagaytay City, with telephone (46) 413-4567. Call Manila reservations at 719-8888 or log on to www.discoverycountrysuites.com and avail of their special weekend getaways.
