Crisostomo: A novel inspiration

MANILA, Philippines - I recently had a very hot date — with history, that is. Fact is, every nook and cranny of this restaurant christened Crisostomo at Eastwood Mall resonates with memories of the past. Well-loved — and much-hated — characters from Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo leap out of the pages of our national hero’s thought-provoking novels and onto the eye-popping pages of Crisostomo’s menu.

Chef/owner Florabel Co Yatco confesses, “I love Filipino food. I named my first restaurant after me. I wanted to name this resto after my husband, Christopher, but there’s no Filipino equivalent to his name, so I named it Crisostomo. Also, I wanted to pay tribute to a Pinoy hero. So my partner Ricky Laudico and I agreed on the name Crisostomo.”

A Taste of History

Tokwa, tokwa: Legaspi (tempura prawns stuffed with laing) & Crispin at Basilio (tokwa’t baboy with onions and vinegar sauce)

Crisostomo, Florabel’s new baby in her growing family of restos, occupies 130 sq.m. and can comfortably seat 70 inside and 70 outside. Dishing up a feast for the senses, the Filipino resto is adorned with prints from Sari Ortiga of Crucible and graphics by Abigail Goy, all of them inspired by characters from Rizal’s novels. If only the walls of Crisostomo could talk, they would surely tell many an intriguing tale!

To tell you the truth, Crisostomo’s popularity has spread by word of mouth — contented mouths, we’re sure! Crisostomo regales us with turn-of-the-century Filipino cuisine given the piquant Florabel twist and spiced with a dash of humor.

Talong And Winding Road

Florabel explains with a chuckle, “We named our chicharong bulaklak Mi Ultimo (Adios) because, of course, you know what happens when you eat too much fatty food, don’t you? We also have our Crazy Sisa Squid (green mango with crispy squid salad) and Noli me Talong (tortang talong pie). Ricky (Laudico) is good at naming dishes.”

Florabel shares her culinary roots, “My dad, who loves to eat but doesn’t cook, taught me adobong baboy na may pusit, humba in cuapao with tofu skin, etc. In all my restos, I serve all the things I really like to eat and prepare for my husband. Also, if I go out of the

Shake it: Duhat shake, buko shake, and dalandan

country to check out the latest food trends, and I find something I really want that can be twisted into a Filipino dish, I introduce it in my restaurants. Like the tempura that we stuffed with laing (rich and creamy Bicolano dish made from dried taro or gabi leaves with coconut milk). Laing has small shrimps; now we have put the laing inside the shrimp.”

She manages a tota-l of nine restaurants: Florabel, Podium; Felix, Greenbelt 5; Crisostomo in Eastwood and Nuvali; Floring’s at Landmark, TriNoma; Floring’s Petron and Caltex on SLEX; Commons Restaurant and Bar, Valero, across Citibank Building; Market on Fifth,

St. Luke’s. She recently opened Sweetpea: A Chef’s Kitchen at McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio.

And so, over generous servings of laughter, we stuff ourselves with Crisostomo’s scintillating offerings. To rev up our taste buds, we dive right into a bowl of Sinigang Zamora (sinigang na ulo ng salmon sa miso at dahon ng mustasa) that immediately warms our hearts and our bellies.

Primetime Soup

If you’re a soup person (I am), head straight for Crisostomo’s Tinolang Matanglawin (tinolang manok with buko meat) or Monggo de

Really crabby: Calamba (tortang alimango with crab fat sauce)

Mariano (sabaw ng munggo with chicharon & tuyo fillet).

Tease your taste buds with the assorted appetizers at Crisostomo. Like the Bravo de Balut (sizzling garlic balut), Beaterio (sizzling corn & cheese), Sisig Isagani (chicken sisig), Bagumbayan Lechon (lechon kawali chips), Bracken Tofu, Victorinas Secret (fresh oysters with native vinegar), Elias’ Choice (oyster with garlic & cheese), Tiago’s Triumph (oyster with spinach & bacon), or the appetizer to end all appetizers — Mi Ultima Felicidad (assorted chicharon).

Lovers of native salads will love Crisostomo’s fresh palate ticklers. Like Atchara Ibarra (ubod, papaya, sili at mangga) or the Danggit y Tales (danggit, kamatis, sibuyas) salad.

Of course, we didn’t forget to order rice. What’s Pinoy food without the all-important rice? But the nagging question at Crisostomo is: What kind of rice? They’ve got pandan rice (eat-all-you-can plain rice), garlic rice, taba ng talangka, binagoongan with adobo flakes & egg, tinapa salted egg rice, and adobo rice. Tough decision, isn’t it? But I know you’ll rice to the occasion!

Meat Our Heroes

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and meat our heroes. Take Tagyang ni Tiago (crispy beef tadyang), Callos Aguinaldo (oxtripe with chorizo), Kare-kare Kura (oxtail kare-kare), Don Rafael (crispy pata), Barcelona (tinumok — meat rolled in native gabi leaves with coconut milk), Crispin at Basilio (tokwa’t baboy), humba with hot pao, Chayong (stuffed tofu with meatballs), Cordero (lamb short ribs adobo), Adobo Damaso (chicken pork adobo). Crisostomo’s all-meat selection is truly meaty!

From historic Manila de Bay come Crisostomo’s assorted seafood dishes. The tempura prawns look shrimply delicious. I just love tempura, but this one is unlike all I’ve tried and believe me, I’ve tried a whole lot! This tempura is stuffed with spicy laing — but fret not, it won’t burn your tongue and you need not call a fireman to put out the fire.

Best-Sellers

Among Crisostomo’s other fresh seafood best-sellers are Guerrero (sautéed prawns with tamarind sauce), Milette (bangus stuffed with buro), Caracol (ginataang kuhol), Ka Plaridel (binukadkad na plapla), Selya (crunchy squid with sweet chili sauce), Calamba (tortang alimango with aligue sauce), Concepcion (soft shell crab), Antonio (grilled Palawan lobster), Simon (seafood kare-kare), and Protasio (New Zealand baked mussels).

Dessert Storm

And what’s for dessert? So sweet of you to ask! Well, there’s Halo-Halo ni Crisostomo that’s loaded with ube, leche flan, saging, gulaman, and quezo. Or try Narcisa (like we did), a really cheesy cheese cake that uses quezo de bola. Or indulge and order a silvanas platter (ube, mango, pandan, chocolate, coffee, plain). Or share a suman fondue. I promise you, it’s a topnotcher, it’s suman cum laude!

Suman cum laude: Florabel’s famous suman fondue

A really cool treat, too, is the Sorbetero de San Diego (classic Filipino sorbetes made of macapuno, ube, avocado, tsokolate, strawberry, quezo doble. The sorbetero can really melt your ice cream-loving heart!

“On our 14th month, we’re coming up with new dishes,” Florabel whets our appetites even more. “In my restos, I like to change our menu and add dishes. For Crisostomo, I like to put up 50 to 70 dishes. We’re also giving out coupons to loyal clients. On their birthday month, they get a free noodle dish and dessert.”

A Partnership Made in Food Heaven

And there’s so much more to enjoy at Crisostomo, what with the luscious offers from the Citibank Dining Privileges launched last July 1 in more than 1,000 dining locations in the Philippines and 5,000 across the region. And it comes with Citi’s Best Deal Promise, too. You need not think twice because Citibank gives the best deals in town. You can say it’s a partnership made in (culinary) heaven!

A friendly warning: You’re bound to fall out of your seat with the 30-percent discount on the special dishes that Crisostomo offers for all Citibank cardholders, running for four weekends.

On weekdays, get a free appetizer of the day for a minimum receipt purchase of P2,000.

“So every time you use your card, it’s the most rewarding experience you can ever have,” says Citibank’s Martha Aguila-Borja, VP, Cards Business Group.

Gift yourself with assorted irresistible gift coupons from Crisostomo, available daily until the end of the year at its Eastwood City and Nuvali outlets. Get a free Beaterio (sizzling corn & cheese, P195) for every P1,500 worth of single-receipt purchase. Or for the same amount, get a free Crazy Sisa Squid (P200); or Anastacio (crispy hito with burong hipon); or Humba de Lagas (pork humba with hot pao & crispy wonton, P295); or Pork Santiago (deep-fried pork chop with mushroom gravy, P325); or Susan (seafood pinaputok with special sauce, P345); or Escolta at España (crispy pancit canton with XO sauce at ginataang manok with tanglad, P690); or Binagoongan Rice (with adobo flakes & egg, P325); or Arroceros (grilled chicken bbq with atchara, P250); or Kapitan Valentin (sautéed vegetable chopsuey with coconut meat, P295); or Nol Juan (sizzling frankfurter with pepper & onion, P295); or Monggo de Mariano (sabaw ng munggo with chicharon & tuyo fillet). Truly, the best things in life are free!

Jose Rizal must be burping in his grave!

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For a delicious taste of history, visit Crisostomo at the second level, Eastwood Mall, Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon; open Monday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.. Call 710-1693.