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| Romy Dorotan |
MENU: A Golden Endorsement for Purple Yam
SAM Sifton, the restaurant critic of The New York Times, wrote a review of Purple Yam, Filipino chef Romy Dorotan’s and Filipino food writer Amy Besa’s restaurant in Brooklyn.
Of adobo, he said: “Adobo is a national dish of the Philippines, with probably as many recipes for it as there are islands in the archipelago... Eat it with a bowl of fried rice anointed with bagoong, a kind of fermented shrimp paste, and it’s possible to imagine it on the level of a neighborhood staple, up there with pizza or rotisserie chicken.”
Of halo-halo, he wrote: “Best of all, there is halo-halo, the Philippines’ answer to an ice cream sundae: a parfait glass of sweet beans, palm seeds, all manner of coconut products and jackfruit, topped with flan and purple yam ice cream. The combination is hilarious, like an umbrella drink gone mad, and extremely delicious.”
I could not contain my enthusiasm and wanted to hug Mr. Sifton after reading this. Finally, The New York Times, the most revered paper for restaurant reviews (at least the most recognized), acknowledged adobo alongside pizza, and halo-halo alongside an ice cream sundae. Via Purple Yam, through the hands of Romy Dorotan, in that part of the world with the most competitive restaurant scene, Filipino food, long neglected or cherished in secret and with minimal recognition –initially described by Mr. Sifton as “porky at best” – has arrived.
Credit is due to the chef. A man less passionate about flavors would not have achieved such merit for his work. Like any chef of his stature (two stars for Cendrillon), he capitalizes on quality ingredients, a recognition of their importance, and knowledge of how to best use them. Take his philosophy on adobo: “Adobo can do without toyo (soy sauce) but it cannot work without vinegar.” Obviously he insists on using vinegar of best quality.
Of halo-halo, he wrote: “Best of all, there is halo-halo, the Philippines’ answer to an ice cream sundae: a parfait glass of sweet beans, palm seeds, all manner of coconut products and jackfruit, topped with flan and purple yam ice cream. The combination is hilarious, like an umbrella drink gone mad, and extremely delicious.”
I could not contain my enthusiasm and wanted to hug Mr. Sifton after reading this. Finally, The New York Times, the most revered paper for restaurant reviews (at least the most recognized), acknowledged adobo alongside pizza, and halo-halo alongside an ice cream sundae. Via Purple Yam, through the hands of Romy Dorotan, in that part of the world with the most competitive restaurant scene, Filipino food, long neglected or cherished in secret and with minimal recognition –initially described by Mr. Sifton as “porky at best” – has arrived.
Credit is due to the chef. A man less passionate about flavors would not have achieved such merit for his work. Like any chef of his stature (two stars for Cendrillon), he capitalizes on quality ingredients, a recognition of their importance, and knowledge of how to best use them. Take his philosophy on adobo: “Adobo can do without toyo (soy sauce) but it cannot work without vinegar.” Obviously he insists on using vinegar of best quality.
“The key to good adobo is good quality vinegar,” he explains over lunch to fellow New Yorker Jayme Natividad (currently the chef behind Dinelli at The Fort) during a recent visit. “Pag inferior ang vinegar na ginamit, ang asim humihiwalay. Pag mahusay ang vinegar, buo ang lasa [When the vinegar is inferior, the sourness does not meld with the dish. With good quality vinegar, the taste is compact].”
There is also the awareness that best quality does not translate to most expensive. “It should be easy to find quality vinegar here in the Philippines because cottage industries selling premium vinegar have been sprouting up in the countryside.”
What Dorotan considers cheap is when enhancers are used on food. Surveying Filipino bottled goods at a reputable Filipino deli in Greenhills, he picks up a bottle and shakes his head. “Look,” he says, disappointed, “MSG.”
I don’t share the advocacy – as with various issues from piracy to the Reproductive Health Bill, my personal stand is to let adults decide what’s best for themselves – so I prod him on his vehemence against it. “The claim that MSG adds flavor to a dish is not true,” he argues. “In fact, it takes away from the natural flavors of the ingredients.”
His following argument, though, I agree with wholeheartedly. “Worse is Ajinomoto’s claim on the word ‘umami,’ equating it to MSG. ‘Umami’ is not MSG and they should not say that you need MSG to achieve ‘umami.’”
In an effort to relieve the air of tension before it hit our Xiao Long Pao, I attempt to change the subject by volunteering information on latest restaurant trends in the Philippines, saying that Metro Manila has picked up on the truffle craze although most restaurants, by sheer reason of availability, use truffle oil instead of shavings or salt. Which only drives the conversation back to MSG: “Truffle oil is worse than vetsin!” Chef Romy shakes his head again. “It masks the flavor of the food. At least vetsin enhances the flavor of the food although it is an ingredient that is absolutely not necessary and even harmful to your health.”
I cower. So you don’t think our restaurants can compete with the best in New York? Dorotan chuckles, “Ang dami ding masasamang restaurant doon [There are also a lot of inferior restaurants in New York].”
He thinks we have the potential to compete with the best of the world if we promote ingredients closer to home instead of riding with trends like truffles. “We have really good fish and vegetables here that are not capitalized on,” he observes. And we start our list of the best of Filipino seafood that the world has yet to discover: diwal, apahap, Puerto Princesa lobster, curacha ...
He agrees that Filipino cuisine will soon be validated worldwide but we also need to improve as a country first. “Development of cuisine comes with the development of the country itself,” he analyzes. But, he adds, “We must also cultivate our own identity. For instance, we have to find the structure of our street food because it is very different from those of our Asian neighbors.”
But we should not stop marketing Filipino cuisine, he says. He shares that he got an invitation to put up a Malaysian restaurant from tourism authorities trying to enhance Malaysia’s tourism and willing to provide capital for this restaurant.
I guess we’re lucky our government need not intervene to create a restaurant like Purple Yam. We’ve been blessed with Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa, give or take a few bottles of really good suka and bagoong. •
Purple Yam. 1314 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, NY 11226.+001 718 940 8188 www.purpleyamnyc.com
For recipes from Cendrillon, check out Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa’s book “Memories of Philippine Kitchens” available in major bookstores.
