Something fit for a queen

I would easily be pushed out if I were a contestant of the reality TV show Fear Factor. I would bow out of the race even before the first round is over. Frankly, I cringe at the sight of ipis, gagamba, butiki, palaka. Why? I don’t understand, considering that I grew up in a small town. And if I would be challenged to eat frog, I would faint. I’d rather have a boob job.

I am not adventurous when it comes to food. I am comfortable in my divinely Waray-Waray paksiw; in Jobert’s adobo, Manay Ichu’s delectable balut soup or Manay Gina’s foie gras from Pangasinan. But did you know that the local balut was number one in the best among the worst foods shown in Travel and Living? Among those that were dubbed the best of the worst were chocolate coated scorpion, worms found in cow’s dung, fried cricket and rotten shark. I filed an angry letter to the show – fuming why my precious balut was compared to a rotten shark.

We have our own comfort foods but what’s wrong with trying something at least once in your life? I had one of the most sensational adventures of my life when I went on to a gustatory trip of Indian food. People have this impression that Indian food is deadly, spicy, with a pungent smell. With reservations, I had my first bite of Indian food. But lo and behold, it tasted good and it was delicious!

My Indian food tasting happened on the set of Private Conversations where I interviewed Rubina Ram Hathiramani, operations manager of Queens Crystal Garden Restaurant in Jupiter St., Makati. Rubina co-manages the restaurant with cousin Karina Mabuhbani.

For appetizers I was served papadum, a thin, delicate rolled toasted bread made of flour. It was flaky, fresh and it tasted like homemade biscuits. Paired with my papadum was satay ayam – chicken barbecue in peanut sauce. In between bites I learned from Rubina that a customer can make specifications if he wants his food spicy or not so spicy. Queens has imported cooks from Nepal and Indonesia. I was also served Reshmi Kebab – chicken grilled in a clay oven and flavored with home made spices. Indian food cannot be without spices. Queens gets theirs in Singapore.

A vegetarian herself, Rubina has 80 delectable vegetarian dishes to offer at Queens and 250 other dishes to choose from. Rubina finished her Hotel and Restaurant Management course in Blue Mountain Hotel School in New South Wales, Australia. "Studying in Australia has been a great experience. It has taught me to be more independent and I was trained in managerial, tourism and hospitality skills," says Rubina. Rubina grew up in the Philippines and finished elementary and high school at Colegio de San Agustin.

Putting up a restaurant has always been her dad’s (Mr. Ram) dream. And Rubina’s knowledge in the hotel and restaurant business just came in handy. Also, she did not want to come back to Manila if she would not be able to practice what she has learned in school in Australia.

At Queens, the menu is a combination of Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean dishes. Living up to its name Queens, food is also served the proper way so that diners feel like royalty when dining. Queens is also a popular restaurant in Jakarta (another one is in Singapore).

Rubina and his father love to talk about an anecdote that had a group of Chinese diners dropping by, thinking that Queens was a Chinese restaurant. Ram made a wager that if the Chinese did not like the food they would only pay for the drinks. But the Chinese loved what they ate and paid the food in full.

As there are more than 250 Asian fusion dishes to choose from at Queens, I asked Mr. Ram to make the choices for me. And for my main course, I was served, nasi goring (fried rice), nan (an Indian bread similar to pita bread), paneer and handi mutton –lamb with home made spices and cooked in a clay pot. I have not eaten lamb in my lifetime and for the first time, I had a mouthful serving of lamb. My handi mutton which Rubina served tasted better than beef. The Indian bread (nan) was really tasty. I ate my nan bread like an open-faced sandwich with a little serving of handi mutton as my spread. Desserts were kulfi (Indian ice cream), and Oero cappuccino.

Rubina is the second child in a brood of three. An elder brother married at a lavish ceremony in India. Mr. Ram proudly showed us the fabulous photos of his son’s wedding. A younger sister also finished Hotel and Restaurant Management. When asked if she would go for a "pre-arranged marriage" or the "love marriage," Rubina was quick to say that she would hope for a "love marriage" the way her parents did.