A tribute to ingenuity & artistry

Although aired very late on ABS-CBN (way past Sunday  midnight), watching Urban Zone is still a relaxing way to cap our weekend — only to face another grueling week after only a night’s sleep.

Last Sunday was a particularly interesting episode: Host Daphne Oseña-Paez visited a private residence, a residence that also serves as an art studio and an art gallery in a restaurant filled with Asian treasures.

The private residence (owned by former bank executive Helen Osias) is most unique in the sense that it is actually two houses that are mirror images of each other. The Osias couple has two children and when they were able to buy the lot next to them, they thought of building on it (and actually did) another house that was exactly the same as the original structure.

But then, the couple adopted four children (I wish there were more kind people like them) and needed space. And so they ended up using both houses. Also, in the words of Helen Osias: “We didn’t want our kids to be too dependent on us, so we let them build their own houses.”

The two houses are connected by a beautiful courtyard, which in itself already makes for interesting conversation. And anywhere you look, you see things Filipino — from the various antiques Osias gathered through her many travels in our various regions to the architectural design, which is undeniably Pinoy since the couple believes that “classic Filipino design best suits our climate.”

The second feature on last Sunday’s Urban Zone edition was the residence-cum-art studio of artist Jo Bautista. It’s not a very big area, but he is able to create space — or at least an illusion of it. All over the place are works of art that came from recyclable material — even junk. I may not be a big fan of these types of artworks because my life is already one big crap and I don’t want scrap still surrounding me at home. But I still salute Bautista for his artistry and creativity and his great contribution to environmentalism for making usable items (and even art) out of objects that could have ended up as litter.

Urban Zone’s feature No. 3 was this restaurant doubling as art gallery called Bulan, which is located at the corner of Gen. De Jesus and J. Abad Santos in Little Baguio in San Juan (tel. no. 725-8496).

Bulan (it’s Ilocano for moon) is an interesting and as colorful as its owner, Marlene Aguilar (younger sister of the great Ka Freddie), who is a personal friend. I’ve been there thrice and I’m crazy about its food — prepared by Marlene’s brother Tony, an accomplished chef who worked for decades in Europe.

The structure was the house where the late Viring Asis (she put up Jo-Liza’s Antiques) lived. When Marlene had it renovated, she spent more than enough to actually build two grand houses. But it was worth the hefty budget and the effort (Marlene is the type who’d send for a whole team of skilled workers from up north to build a house — just like what she did when she had her fabulous Blue Ridge residence constructed about half a decade ago).

Aside from the great cuisine, it boasts of a great architectural design and interior that includes a cathedral ceiling and some of the most intricate woodcarvings you can find in this side of the metropolis.

The basic design of Bulan is Filipino, but is fused with other Asian motifs — like the doors of the bathrooms that were custom-made in Tibet and other portals from China and Bali. “Asian art has soul,” insists Aguilar in her Urban Zone interview.

All over the place are pieces of Oriental bric-a-brac that are also for sale (except that they are all put together, you’d think they were installed there to serve as permanent decors). On my first visit, I saw in a dining room upstairs exquisitely made brass chafing dishes from India that were functional (these are used when the set-up is buffet). Since these were also for sale, I inquired about the price and immediately perished the thought of owning even just one (it’s back to stainless caldero for us at home). But those pieces were lovely (they also looked telegenic when caught by the Urban Zone camera last Sunday) and if you have money sticking out all over and could afford — why not?

Aside from Oriental decors, hanging on the walls of Bulan are paintings of some of our great masters, among them Rafael Cusi, whose book, Yin and Yang (also published by Aguilar) was launched in the restaurant only a couple of months ago.

There’s actually more to see (even taste and feel) in Bulan, except that Urban Zone has limited time. But we have to give it to Urban Zone for having been able to incorporate into last Sunday’s edition true Filipino craftsmanship, the Asian spirit and even call for environmentalism.