Town & Country sure knows how to throw a banquet. As a huge thank you to all its supporters, the magazine, now led by Editor-in-Chief Yvette Fernandez, threw a banquet at Aracama last Thursday night. An ode to being the oldest magazine in the United States, a pioneer in - shall we call it - haute writing, the Town & Country Philippines team decided to execute a heritage menu. With spot.ph/Summit's "Eat Out Now! 115 Manila Restaurants We Love" laid out on the tables as guests' souvenirs, the event was called A Fabulous Food Affair.
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| Gorgeous Town & Country EIC Yvette Fernandez squished between Chef Romy Dorotan and food author Amy Besa. |
It was such great timing that the New York-based authors of the much acclaimed Memories of Philippine Kitchens, Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan, would be in the Philippines around the time of the banquet for the launch of the sequel of their book.
In fact, Amy Besa has been hard at work on a separate project called Ang Sariling Atin. It is a movement that aims to preserve and promote heritage recipes across the nation; to ensure that the flavors, techniques and recipes of of the past and across the nation are passed on to the next generation.
With this noble purpose and gargantuan effort, the good news is that she isn't alone. Felice Sta. Maria, author of Governor General's Kitchen, has also been on a personal mission to document historical recipes. She is presently working on a Filipino food dictionary that is much needed in the market. The Doreen Fernandez Foundation led by Micky Fenix and Myrna Segismundo in cooperation with Anvil Publishing has also been encouraging writers to share stories of their own memories of food and kitchens. The list goes on.
The better news, of course, is that Ms. Besa - of international fame (naks) - is taking the lead. The first Ang Sariling Atin event held at Enderun Colleges was successful beyond words. Watch the video here. But the best news is that the enthusiasm is contagious and we may just achieve this mission sooner than later!
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| Amy Besa & Romy Dorotan with margauxlicious (top); the Sea Princess & Yvette Fernandez (right); Dely Fernandez. |
Town & Country - clearly at the forefront of lifestyle even in matters culinary - got in on the mission and used an Ang Sariling Atin menu for this banquet. Ms. Besa was made in charge of the creation while Mr. Dorotan took care of the execution of the menu, with the loving contributions of Fernando Aracama and Milky Way's Chef J Gamboa.
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| Sa masa, lumpia; sa mayaman, "crepe"! |
The first course looked like lumpia. But the menu read: "Butuan deep sea blue crabmeat & ubod in fresh rice and chive crepe with aligue and kalabasa sauce". So ... it was sosyal na lumpia, hehehe. But it was divine. The crabmeat gave me visuals of a happy Sebastian dancing, umami-happy. And check out the taba ng talangka generously "peppered" on the chic crepe.
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| Sa Tagalog, tamales; sa Bicolano, kinagang. |
The second course was kinagang. I am more familiar with tamales. This is its Bicolano version, specifically hailing from Sorsogon. A bit of surfing turned up the dish as recalled by a guest of Cendrillon called Crabmeat & Shrimp Kinagang offered at the memorable resto for USD 11.50. At Fabulous Food, it was slightly more stylized: Tamale of buko, pukot (forest fresh water shrimp), herba Buena (local mint) wrapped in Hagikhik leaf.
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| Sa masa, "ukoy"; sa mayaman, "fritters". |
Ukoy aka shrimp fritters was also part of the second course. This made me giggle in my head with the thought of Manila's most fashionable eating the very peasant ukoy - using a fork and knife! "Kakamayin ko po ha," I told Mrs. Dely Fernandez (Yvette's mom), whom I had the honor of sitting across from. Hindi ko kayang magpanggap, hehehe. The very discerning Ms. Besa found the ukoy too toasted although I've always had a preference for things burnt: pandesal, cheese, marshmallows, bridges (hehe) ... Who's afraid of carcinogen?!
Salad Trivia
While waiting for the fish, we had a great time figuring out the contents of this salad. It had alugbati, paco, and two kinds of pili: mature and ... not mature. The young one was plain while the mature one was like a nut. I guess their growth cycle is the opposite of humans!
Snaps for the Snapper
The second course was sealed with a kiss-worthy snapper. It had a to-die-for sauce with elements of the best sinigang: sampaloc and bayabas. With their unusual shapes and colors, we initially thought the sampaloc was batuan and the bayabas, in a shade of orange under the Aracama light, santol. But chef and author quickly clarified the ingredients. Because it was in a sauce and not in a soup, the flavors of these fruits were far more compact and strong. This dish was my favorite among all the savories.
Amy's Adobo
But the dish that put a smile on Amy Besa's face was the adobo. "It's perfect," she said triumphantly. And an inspired Romy Dorotan beamed as she said these words. My personal preference for adobo differs - in Bulacan we are more sweet than sour (both the people and the food!). But I teased the smiling Chef Romy, "There's only one person in this room whose opinion counts, ya?" To which he gave me a high five. Later I asked Amy Besa, "How do you keep him so inspired?" To which she went on and on about the importance of preserving one's heritage. Pffft, evasive. Kailangan ng Bulacan sweets, hehehe!
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| Food lovers: Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan (debating on the values of ukoy). |
Jackfruit Jackpot
I had to leave before dessert but fortunately was able to sneak into the kitchen and get a taste of dessert: jackfruit ice cream by J Gamboa on top of a to-die-for buko pie. Here's to hoping J serves this jackfruit ice cream at Milky Way soon!
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| Ferns Aracama (upper right). The Kawali Kings (bottom). |
