I have three spry reminders who keep me on my toes; making me aware that if I don’t have the attitude, I’m going to fall way behind, and end up as useful as yesterday’s newspaper. These three reminders are my three boys; aged 13, 10 and six – and it was to them I turned to keep my birthday activities within the realm of the "real" and substantial.
On Sunday, we got up bright and early – for a Sunday – and headed to La Mesa Dam Ecopark. It was Treeathlon and Family Fun Run Day for Gina Lopez and her ABS Foundation’s Bantay Kalikasan, and if one is going to start the kids on the right foot in terms of environmental awareness, one has no better place than La Mesa to remind them that the possibility of natural forests and bounty can co-exist with the urban landscape, if enough effort and protection is put into it. With major sponsors such as HSBC (for the early morning Treeathlon: running, biking and planting a tree) and Petron (which funded the scenic Jogging and Biking Trail), and Ayala Museum (with their fun games, arts and crafts sessions) all making their presence felt, there was a plethora of activities to choose from and keep the kids busy. I suddenly realized I had awakened too early for a Sunday, but as my motto goes, denial, denial; and so I was one with them, traipsing around with Luca (six), who wanted to fish, hike, bike, drink ice tea, watch the magician and play on the giant inflatables – simultaneously!
The great thing with La Mesa is you go down Commonwealth Avenue, enter East Fairview subdivision (something ironic about looking for a pocket of fresh air and trees within an urban setting, and entering a residential enclave whose streets are named after cigarette brands – but go cough and hack and figure that out on your own! Hahaha), and in no time at all, you’re there. It was a real eye-opener for the boys, to see such a substantial expanse of water right here in the city, minutes away from congested traffic-snarled streets and unending vistas of concrete and steel.
In this regard, Gina and the foundation are raising the stakes in bringing some semblance of balance and rationality to this city. You look at most major cities all over the world and there exists that element of urban planning where expanses and pockets of green and raw nature exist within the city. London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park, the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, even Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak – they all provide the city dweller with an option to recapture some semblance of ecological balance and a pastoral setting when planning a weekend afternoon without leaving the city. Luneta Park is too much of manicured lawns and wide open fields. With La Mesa you can still get picnic tables that are nestled under bowers of branches of centuries-old trees. The spillover lagoon from the dam provided us with some recreational rowing as the Ecopark staff had brought in Burnham Park (Baguio) type boats.
To drum up publicity and support for the Ecopark, several prominent personalities and figures lent their names and presence to the Sunday event. Former President Fidel Ramos, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Senate President Franklin Drilon, the head honchos of Petron, the indefatigable Warner Manning of HSBC – in one way or another they helped make that Fun Day at the Ecopark a truly rousing day-long affair.
If the day at the Park was some form of "food for the soul," a few nights later, it was time for capital "F" Food. Ria de Borja had made her case for my trying out the cuisine of her cousin, Toogy Clavecilla. He’s the guest chef at the Top of the Citi restaurant. Owned and operated by the Souffle Group, it was especially fitting that Toogy chose this venue, as he’s always considered Souffle chef Jessie Sincioco as his mentor.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Poughkeepsie, New York, and having trained in Lutece restaurant and the Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan, Toogy has created a French menu with Filipino flair that proves not all fusion is con-fusion. The great thing about the food he served that night was the strong sense of flavor that emanated from the various dishes. It was creative in a way that truly enhanced the dishes; and not just fusing Filipino flavors with the basic French foundation with no real purpose.
His Steamed Salmon Flakes had my three boys gushing. It was the dousing of the flakes in Dayap Buerre Blanc (along with asparagus spears) that gave this appetizer a real distinctive taste. The soup, Curried Mussel Soup, had my two older boys asking for seconds; tahong served with chives and Brunoise bell peppers, the curry flavor was done so as not to be too spicy. Luca goes to Souffle for the escargot; but after the salmon and soup, even he was ready to "try something new" with Toogy and forego escargot for the night.
The Inihaw na Veal Chop had orange-jus sauce, warm grilled potato salad and baby vegetables. The rich sauce that accompanied the more than substantial chop had my boys dreaming of bringing home some in a doggie bag for the following morning’s breakfast. Grilled to pink perfection, the veal chop was something the boys would be drooling about for days to come.
Toogy will be at the Top of the Citi until May 13, with the menu changing every week. My boys may be picky eaters, but perusing the menu for each week, they were already warning me that they wanted to be back for this or that dish. Toogy doesn’t astound by bringing you the bizarre or esoteric, he firmly plants himself within a mainstream culinary comfort zone, then produces subtle surprises or tweaks that bring the dish to a new level.
Well worth the elevator trip up... and more. If Toogy’s dad, Iggy, has the golf course as his "home court," Toogy has made the Citi kitchen his very own "home course" until May 13 – and I’ll take any of the courses he whips up.
As for my three boys, they may run me ragged while I play "catch up," keeping current with the rosters of various NBA teams and WWE Pay for Views. I’ll even know the difference between Game Cube, X Box and Play Station, and that the latest GameBoys have dual screens. I may not know how to spell Yu-Gi-Yoh or recognize all the SpongBob characters; nor know which song is Blink, and which one is Simple Plan – but even if trying to meet them halfway, helps keep me feeling younger than my years, then it’s one more reason I’m eternally grateful they’re around!