"What happened to this girl?" Chef Myrna Segismundo said at a luncheon for the benefit of I Can Serve back in 2008. "When I met her she was so nene, now she's a woman!!"
Of course she was talking about me. BUT her statement was only half true. I met her in 2007, for a story for Sunday Inquirer Magazine. I was much younger, weighed 105 lbs. and wore a short black dress and must've looked fresh out of college - true, I was "so nene". But a year and an additional 30 lbs. later, I wasn't so much woman as I was suman!
I had always been starstruck with Chef Myrna, probably because of my first memory of her. This is from way back in 1998 at one of my first shoots for food for the GMA7 morning show Good Morning Asia (eons ago, before the public existence of Paolo Bediones; I was the segment producer for the Lifestyle and Culture beat). The coverage was at Zu (remember that? with the trannies? where the Cranberries performed and Hungry Young Poets opened for them?). And THE Doreen Fernandez arrived and raved about the food.
Little did I know that I would be blessed with partaking of cuisine a la Myrna again a decade later.
But as a testament to her culinary genius, five years later, I still remember what we ate. Robyn Eckhardt of the world-renowned eatingasia blog (her piece on lechon from that interview/trip here) joined us so Chef Myrna served her signature lechon roulade a.k.a. Roulade of Boneless Native Lechon in Duck Liver-Red Wine Sauce. In 2007 I described it this way: "This dish is reflective of what Segismundo stands for: something rooted deep in Filipino culture using techniques that are used in four-star kitchens around the world for a dining experience that is high brow yet close to home."
Today I wouldn't change a word. (The 2007 piece here.)
Myrna Segismundo made waves back in the 80s and 90s as one of the chefs changing the landscape of Filipino cooking. Through Chefs on Parade. And through a restaurant at the top of the then-PCI Bank Building (now Equitable Bank) in Salcedo Village called Sign of the Anvil. (Proud to say naabutan ko pa yon!)
At the time most Filipino restaurants offered homecooking in a restaurant setting. Think Kamayan. But Chef Myrna, with her Waldorf Astoria background (yep, sheworked headed the Waldorf kitchen!), Frenchified Filipino food. She would create concoctions like a green mango sauce to be paired with Lapu Lapu or a tomato sinigang sauce. And dress up pork to become a lechon roulade. Achoo-choo! Baboy na sosyal!
Today, some people call this fusion. A word she hates. Fusion leads to confusion, we once discussed. And she shakes her head at those who experiment with Filipino food without (as yet) a clear understanding of it in its pure form.
To celebrate Rizal, this "pure form" is out for the public to experience at the Peninsula until the end of the month. Chef Myrna goes back to basics for the Lasang Pinoy Festival at Escolta. Plus, of course, a Europeanized Pinoy dish or two.
At a "dinner for friends" - and indeed there were hardly any new faces in the guest list - we gleefully partook of Pinoy classics: kare-kare, barbecue, tokwa't baboy, kinilaw - all by the loving hands of Chef Myrna and her team.
Now for that sweet ending, there's the spread of leche flan, halo halo, and turon. BUT don't miss out on the desserts by Jill Sandique, especially the pistacchio sans rival. I've been raving about it (along with other food writers) for years and it's still a delight every time I chance upon it.
The best part of the meal though was just before I went home. (Dinner is best when had with great company!) I got to chat a bit with my idols: Chef Myrna, of course, plus Claude Tayag, Mrs. Claude Tayag aka Maryann, and Micky Fenix.
Si Ginoong Claude, with his characteristic sense of humor, holds up these two miniature eggplants that were used as part of the centerpiece. "Do you know what they call these in Ilocos?" We held our breaths. "Poki-poki!" Tawanan. Hindi nagpatalo si Mommy Maryann. "Ang patola naman sa kanila, kabatiti!"
My stomach hurt from laughing.
Yan ang Pinoy!
Lasang Pinoy at Escolta, The Peninsula Manila. Only until June 30!!!
Lunch Monday to Saturday P1450 for adults, P860 for kids 12 and under.
Dinner Sunday to Thursday at P1550 for adults, P920 for kids 12 and under.
Seafood buffet every Friday and Saturday night P1900 adults, P1100 kids.
Ay! Plus 10% service charge + taxes pala ang bill. (Hotel!)
Call Pen to reserve! (I tried to come in once without a reservation, naku how long the line!)
887 2888.
Major credit cards accepted, valet available, wheelchair accessible, come as you are - preferably hungry!
Of course she was talking about me. BUT her statement was only half true. I met her in 2007, for a story for Sunday Inquirer Magazine. I was much younger, weighed 105 lbs. and wore a short black dress and must've looked fresh out of college - true, I was "so nene". But a year and an additional 30 lbs. later, I wasn't so much woman as I was suman!
I had always been starstruck with Chef Myrna, probably because of my first memory of her. This is from way back in 1998 at one of my first shoots for food for the GMA7 morning show Good Morning Asia (eons ago, before the public existence of Paolo Bediones; I was the segment producer for the Lifestyle and Culture beat). The coverage was at Zu (remember that? with the trannies? where the Cranberries performed and Hungry Young Poets opened for them?). And THE Doreen Fernandez arrived and raved about the food.
 |
| The Legend. Chef Myrna slicing up the lechon roulade. |
Little did I know that I would be blessed with partaking of cuisine a la Myrna again a decade later.
But as a testament to her culinary genius, five years later, I still remember what we ate. Robyn Eckhardt of the world-renowned eatingasia blog (her piece on lechon from that interview/trip here) joined us so Chef Myrna served her signature lechon roulade a.k.a. Roulade of Boneless Native Lechon in Duck Liver-Red Wine Sauce. In 2007 I described it this way: "This dish is reflective of what Segismundo stands for: something rooted deep in Filipino culture using techniques that are used in four-star kitchens around the world for a dining experience that is high brow yet close to home."
Today I wouldn't change a word. (The 2007 piece here.)
Myrna Segismundo made waves back in the 80s and 90s as one of the chefs changing the landscape of Filipino cooking. Through Chefs on Parade. And through a restaurant at the top of the then-PCI Bank Building (now Equitable Bank) in Salcedo Village called Sign of the Anvil. (Proud to say naabutan ko pa yon!)
At the time most Filipino restaurants offered homecooking in a restaurant setting. Think Kamayan. But Chef Myrna, with her Waldorf Astoria background (yep, she
Today, some people call this fusion. A word she hates. Fusion leads to confusion, we once discussed. And she shakes her head at those who experiment with Filipino food without (as yet) a clear understanding of it in its pure form.
 |
| Dinner for Friends. Top: Margaux, Nina Puyat, SuperGarch, Pepper Teehankee; Cyrene dela Rosa and Claude Tayag; True Pinoy. Bottom: Celebrity photo op with Myrza Sison; Troy Barrios and Nina. |
To celebrate Rizal, this "pure form" is out for the public to experience at the Peninsula until the end of the month. Chef Myrna goes back to basics for the Lasang Pinoy Festival at Escolta. Plus, of course, a Europeanized Pinoy dish or two.
At a "dinner for friends" - and indeed there were hardly any new faces in the guest list - we gleefully partook of Pinoy classics: kare-kare, barbecue, tokwa't baboy, kinilaw - all by the loving hands of Chef Myrna and her team.
 |
| Photo from the Pen |
 |
| Photo from the Pen |
This we matched with a not-so-ordinary paella binagoongan.
 |
| If Chef Ed Quimson had a paella tinola, Chef Myrna Segismundo presents the Paella Binagoongan. Kaka-addict! |
The nice thing about her cooking is that while it is emphatically Pinoy, it offers a healthy appeal. It's not drowning in fat, oil, or MSG. Very refined.
The best part of the meal though was just before I went home. (Dinner is best when had with great company!) I got to chat a bit with my idols: Chef Myrna, of course, plus Claude Tayag, Mrs. Claude Tayag aka Maryann, and Micky Fenix.
Si Ginoong Claude, with his characteristic sense of humor, holds up these two miniature eggplants that were used as part of the centerpiece. "Do you know what they call these in Ilocos?" We held our breaths. "Poki-poki!" Tawanan. Hindi nagpatalo si Mommy Maryann. "Ang patola naman sa kanila, kabatiti!"
My stomach hurt from laughing.
 |
| Claude Tayag |
Yan ang Pinoy!
Lasang Pinoy at Escolta, The Peninsula Manila. Only until June 30!!!
Lunch Monday to Saturday P1450 for adults, P860 for kids 12 and under.
Dinner Sunday to Thursday at P1550 for adults, P920 for kids 12 and under.
Seafood buffet every Friday and Saturday night P1900 adults, P1100 kids.
Ay! Plus 10% service charge + taxes pala ang bill. (Hotel!)
Call Pen to reserve! (I tried to come in once without a reservation, naku how long the line!)
887 2888.
Major credit cards accepted, valet available, wheelchair accessible, come as you are - preferably hungry!
