Second Generation Ilustrados

MANILA, Philippines — Ilustrado general manager Beatrice Pimentel-Aquino and her sister chef de patron Bernice Pimentel have fond memories of growing up in the iconic restaurant and cafe in Intramuros, now celebrating its 29th anniversary.

“We grew up being brought to the office quite often,” says Bea. The sisters remember ordering off-the-menu items “as weird as green mango with toyo and Tabasco and adobong balut,” they share.

“We had all our parties here,” Bea adds, among them her seventh birthday party and most of their friends’ birthday parties were celebrated at the family’s restaurant as well.

Bernice says, “This was an extension of our house in terms of our playground... Our parents would bring us here, we’d run around.”

Food was obviously a big deal at the Pimentel home. Bea and Bernice even recall their father bribing them with money if they gain 10 pounds over the summer! “No one will believe that our food is good if you’re too skinny,” their father would say.

Early on, the sisters experienced serving as cashiers, bartenders, receptionists and waitresses every summer.

As Ilustrado celebrates its 29th anniversary, general manager Beatrice (left) and chef Bernice (right) talk about how they are preserving and innovating on the family’s beloved restaurant. STAR photos by JESSE BUSTOS

Bea took the reins from her mother in 2004, while Bernice joined the company’s commissary in 2005 and officially moved to Ilustrado in 2012 aside from teaching stints in different culinary schools.

Working together at first was a challenge, the sisters admit with a laugh. Bernice even describes it as “cats and dogs.” However, once they got used to each other, they fell into a comfortable rhythm.

“It’s not much different from when I first started,” Bea recalls. She would often butt heads with her father and late mother when it came to running Ilustrado. “They wanted to preserve the restaurant as when they started it,” she says. “We want to preserve it, but we want to make it more, we’re here to add to that.”

“We have to adapt as the status quo changes,” Bernice adds.

The sisters’ touch is most evident in the changes in Ilustrado’s menu.

“Before, it was a Filipino-Spanish menu with a bit of the old menu of the restaurant which they used to run, an old French continental restaurant in Bel-Air.”

Bea says, “We did want to preserve that, but we felt like the culinary industry here in the country is starting to get noticed. The country has launched endeavors in promoting local cuisine and making it relatable and approachable at the international level.”

This is what the sisters, especially Bernice, want to reflect in the restaurant’s offerings. “Our focus now is merging our heritage and culture with the modernization of the world,” she says.

Part of the Ilustrado Anniversay Degustation menu

The Ilustrado Anniversary Degustation menu, available for the whole month of October, is the best example of the new direction that the restaurant is taking.

The eight-course meal starts with kangkong pesto brioche served with boursin cheese, which is surprisingly a hit with those who have tried the menu, though it is just the bread course.

The appetizer is a Spanish-Filipino inspired croquette stuffed with kesong puti, served with lato, baby mesclun and salsa verde aioli.

The next course is Bernice’s unique take on oyster Rockefeller. “Instead of the usual cream, cheese and spinach, I changed it to laing,” she says. “You get to try the flavors of the coconut and the chili, dried gabi.” The dish features Aklan oysters with chili and coconut milk, topped with Parmigiano Reggiano and drizzled with lemon juice.

To warm the stomach is sayote egg drop soup with quail eggs and crostini. “Sayote is usual ginisa, but we turned it into a soup,” says Bernice. Even the chef was surprised that the sayote came out very creamy while she was experimenting in the kitchen – there was no need to add any extra milk. It is served with a raw quail egg, letting the heat of the soup gently cook the egg.

Burong mangga sorbet makes for a unique and refreshing palate cleanser, one of Bea’s favorites on the special menu – inspired, perhaps by their childhood green mango cravings?

Following the sorbet is the BBQ pulled pork tostados with pork shoulder braised for 2 to 3 hours, marinated in Filipino-style barbecue sauce. It is served with refried munggo (the Filipinized counterpart to Mexican refried beans) and a green papaya slaw.

Chef de patron Bernice Pimentel’s degustation menu showcases modern Filipino cuisine and uses local ingredients including BBQ pulled pork tostado

The main entree is sea bass fillet served on sinantol rice, which is another crowd pleaser, the sisters say.

A beautifully plated egg pie brulee – which Bernice describes as a cross between a Portugese egg tart, a Filipino egg pie and French creme brulee – provides a sweet ending to the celebratory dinner.

It is the third time that the restaurant is offering an anniversary menu and the first time for them to offer the menu for the whole month. Diners can choose to order dishes from the menu or enjoy the whole experience.

Another exciting development is the new a la carte menu that Ilustrado is launching this month. Just like the degustation menu, the offerings will “reflect a more modern Filipino aspect while also using more Filipino ingredients,” says Bea.

Some of her favorites to look out for are parmesan sigarillas (a twist on a dish that would normally use French beans), sinigang risotto and Angus beef bistek.

Bernice also hopes to delve into garden-to-table food in the near future.

Of course, the sisters dare not touch the beloved mainstays on Ilustrado’s menu. The tapas – gambas, salpicao, tokwa’t baboy, sisig kapampangan – will remain on the list. “I do not touch the house specialties,” says Bernice.

The sisters laugh as they recall when a chef friend from Barcelona visited a few years ago and taught them the traditional way of making paella. Keen on giving their patrons a taste of authentic Barcelona paella, they decided to adapt the traditional procedure in their restaurant kitchen – much to the dismay of their loyal clients! “I had to change back to our old paella after only three days,” Bernice shares.

The Ilustrado’s bagnet is another mainstay. “We innovate on it,” says Bea. “Dad makes a mean adobong bagnet with crabfat.” The combination is so deadly that the menu item comes with a disclaimer: “Please be careful with my heart.” No one remembers who put that on the menu, the sisters share – it’s just been there from the start.

“Our vision has always been to educate. Ilustrado means the ‘enlightened class’ so we took it upon ourselves to be Ilustrados, to be ambassadors of knowledge,” says Bea.

This happy balance between innovation and preservation is what the sisters hold dear as they lead the restaurant on its 29th year.

Family is also very important in running the company. The family still gathers on weekends to enjoy their father’s cooking. Bernice considers her father and youngest brother as her toughest critics when it comes to introducing new dishes.

Bea remembers their mother would always order a tuna sandwich off-the-menu while working. Now a tuna and mango sandwich on brioche is offered on the menu.

Both admire their parents’ dedication to their work. They remember their father saying that the job of a restaurateur is a 25-hour job.

Their mother was known for taking only a month-long maternity leave for each of the four children in the family.

The Illustrado employees have also become part of the family. “A lot of our members have been with us since we were young,” says Bea. Some have been with the company for 25 years.

Some of the most important advice the sisters received from their parents is to take care of their people.

“We’re a very loyal, close-knit bunch,” says Bea, who often brings her three-year-old son to the office.

He likes going to the kitchen and ordering food, she says – just like the sisters once did.

It’s his incessant singing of “Bahay Kubo” that inspired Bernice to start using more local vegetables in her cooking.

“What we want to share with our guests is that our culture is very much alive in our cuisine. Filipino food is something worth promoting, something we should be proud of,” says Bea.

“At the same time, we want to maintain our parent’s wish, which is to prolong the life of the restaurant and preserve it so that our family will always have a place to stay.” And eat – whether it’s a tuna sandwich or green mango with toyo.