A yummy taste of Pinoy food

You don’t know when it will come but once in a while you get a fit of nostalgia. I had one and realized that there are a few people I feel very close to. Four of them live in the US and two of them in Europe. Why am I so far away from my closest friends? I have no answer to that one.

Two of them come to visit maybe a month every year. Then we really have fun. They go back home and I miss them painfully for about a month but then I pick up my old life and soon I am good for one more year. The others are at e-mail distance but that’s not the same as being here.

When they are here, my eating schedule  no breakfast, only coffee or tea, a huge lunch, no dinner, only bread or fruit  is thrown totally out of whack. Suddenly I have lunch and dinner.

Last night, on the way to dinner, Lisa said, “Oh I’ve eaten at that restaurant. The food is pretty mediocre.”

“I think you’ve eaten at more restaurants than me and I live here,” I said.

“It’s because you don’t like to socialize,” she said.

I have to admit. I don’t. Socializing bores me to death. I prefer small groups. My high school friends. My market friends. My students. But not all together. I admit I’m an introvert. I love staying home and making costume jewelry, then playing computer games, then reading before I go to sleep.

But Monday night I got invited, along with Lisa and her sister Bella, to dinner at Puy’s place.

Puy is a designer who holds dinner events. By that I mean you can call him and ask him to prepare dinner for you and your guests at his home or he can also cater at your house.

Actually it was Dennis, another designer, who invited me to come along with Lisa. There we ran into other guests, Ivar, Roland, a young man from Barcelona who was visiting, Bubuy and James, my old friends.

Puy’s home is at the penthouse of one of the buildings on Makati Avenue. It is a pretty place, tastefully decorated with wonderful lights and a tall wall mural painted by him. He cooks delicious Filipino food but serves it in a modern, sophisticated way.

Our meal began with kinilaw but served in small, tall bowls topped and overflowing with grated fried potatoes. It was beautiful and delicious. Lisa doesn’t like eating raw fish, though kinilaw isn’t exactly raw. So we exchanged cups after I finished mine and then I finished hers.

This was followed by tinolang manok, which was once again delicious clear soup with strong ginger flavor and healthy delicious malunggay leaves. The chicken was free-range and it was a bit difficult to disengage from the bone. I recommend next time that the chicken meat be sliced before serving. It would save the guests from struggling with free-range chickens. Nonetheless the flavor was so delicious.

That was followed by a crab dish presented so beautifully. This is served on a soup dish and the food is covered with a very clean red crab shell topped with a twist of lemon. The dish was scrumptious. Crab meat cooked with coconut and taba ng talangka.

Puy’s dishes are all from his province, Samar, but cooked with his own twist and served with his own taste. “You know,” I said, “If we served all Filipino food this way, our food would be considered world class. It would be at once delicious and beautiful.”

And finally the piece de resistance  laing also known as pinangat – served molded in a round flattish cup and decorated with crumbled, crisply toasted catfish. This was served with discreetly (not too much lard) fried rice in a rice bowl on the side. Once again, delicious and beautifully presented. You didn’t have to look at the glazed eyes and whiskers of the catfish as you dug for its meat. The meat was crumbled and scattered gracefully around the plate.

If I were having a party, I would have it at Puy’s house or ask him to cook for me. He is a wonderful native Filipino chef. By that I mean that he cooks original Filipino food deliciously. I don’t think he puts sugar in his adobo or kaldereta as some people do these days much to my anger and disillusionment.

I promised Puy I would write about his dinner because it was superbly delicious and well-served therefore well worth recommending. In case you want him to cater your next event, call him for more information at 0916-7763098.

Enjoy a talagang masarap at napakaganda pa evening.

* * *

Please text your comments to 0917-8155570.