A mouth-watering dining experience

Fr. Rudy and I were looking for the Wooden Horse, not a Trojan in any way, but a new restaurant along Katipunan in Quezon City. It turns out it’s not Wooden Horse but Wooden Spoon owned by Chef Sandy Daza. Chef Sandy, as I know him from our family Sunday/Saturday morning viewing, is the son of culinary Nora Daza. It was a weekend habit to have the TV tuned in to Cooking it up with the Dazas, and I remember taking down notes, but not once did I cook any of the recipes.

It was my Lolo Fr. Rudy who suggested Wooden Spoon. He ordered crispy adobo flakes, while I ordered vegetable with tinapa. The third dish was squid with spicy sauce. This is not how the menu describes it where words alone would make you crave for it, but nothing beats the real thing. I was also excited to try the recipe of Chef Sandy, the closest I can get to reliving Cooking it up with the Dazas.

I recognized Chef Sandy when he entered the restaurant, exactly the way I remember him more than a decade ago. He came over just as we were about to finish our meal. The verdict: “I want to bring my papa here!” I told Chef Sandy. That’s how he likes it, he says, “When customers want to bring their family over.”

I agree with the chef — the biggest compliment one can give is wanting to share an experience with your loved one. A meal, after all, is not just a meal but a shared experience that goes beyond what happens in your palate.

The dishes that we ordered were perfect. I don’t claim to have any culinary skills and neither would I dare consider myself a food critic, but I can tell good food! The way I would describe it, malinis ang lasa.

The servings were just right, filling but not overwhelmingly heavy like in family restaurants. The ambiance was intimate and nice for conversation which made the lunch complete.

Nothing beats good food coupled with good company, and I have to credit my Lolo Rudy for making every moment memorable.

I went back to Wooden Spoon a week after — this time around with my Papa Nick. We had the same orders except for the adobo flakes. Papa is now pescatarian. No meat, just seafood and vegetables for his diet. He particularly liked the spicy squid. “Masarap,” he said, without me asking. It’s music to my ears to hear Papa say that he likes a dish. Normally, I would ask him for comment and his answer: “OK lang.” I don’t know if it’s the Kapampangan blood that makes him so picky with food, but I trust his taste.

But the thing about Papa, if I feed him delicious food and he finds out it’s pricey, he would always revert to our all-time favorite, Zensho Restaurant in Tomas Morato in Quezon City. With Wooden Spoon, well, Papa didn’t even mind asking about the price. Obviously, he enjoyed it! I’m glad!

My husband and I don’t mind spending on food. My husband was brought up that way, “You don’t scrimp on food,” but we also do not mind eating in carinderias at all. My husband’s daily fix is a P30 dish of laman loob with his friends. I eat in carinderias with our Lingkod Kapamilya team, but I try to order healthier options like fish and vegetables. I also have kamote and banana in my bag for a quick fix. But on weekends, we love trying out new restaurants, and it’s officially my cheat day wherein I can do buffets.

Speaking of buffets, we recently dined at Manila Hotel’s newly-renovated Café Ilang-Ilang hoping to experience something truly Filipino, in time for the hotel’s centennial. What was served was not thematic Filipino but international cuisine. Five-star hotels seem to serve similar dishes, but what sets the Manila Hotel buffet apart is the over-all experience. It was also very thoughtful of Manila Hotel to include specialty coffee with the buffet and fresh juices. The ube ensaymada was yummy. But it’s not just the food. We ended up spending hours in Café Ilang-Ilang even after lunch but courteous staff didn’t seem to mind. Kudos to the friendly staff, adding coziness to an already sumptuous dining experience. After eating, I wanted to fall asleep in the couch (burp!). Manila Hotel has a homey feel to it, and despite its renovated interiors, it was like going   back to something familiar, like having lunch with an old friend.