Cooking up a friendship
Years back, we would have regular dinners at Louie Ysmael’s townhouse, with his wife, Cecile, excelling with the Thai dishes she would prepare for us. Her natural skill and talent in the kitchen was firmly established, and we all knew it was only a matter of time before Cecile would venture beyond their kitchen at home, and showcase her cooking prowess in an establishment where a wider audience would recognize this “gift.” Silk at Serendra was the first showcase, and it continues to enjoy fervent patronage. Setting her sights on an even wider reach, Cecile has smartly taken this first experience as a restaurateur and joined forces with a number of friends to be the “working partner” of The Terrace at 5th, a new eatery at Greenbelt 5 that one can find on the ground floor that directly faces Greenbelt 2. And what a bunch of “friends” they are: Maricris Zobel, Menchu Soriano, Carol M. Garcia, Ching Cruz and the sisters Almario, Cynthia and Ivy.
The underlying concept behind the resto is to elevate treasured family recipes and grand home cooking to the level where they become a singular dining experience that the discriminating “everyone” can enjoy. As can be expected, the interiors of the restaurant come courtesy of the sisters Almario; a suburban country setting where green and white dominate, and touches such as birdcage ceiling lamps, French windows, and floral murals all conspire to make one feel one has been deposited in a well-appointed country home, and not smack dab in the middle of the Makati Business District.
And the food is comfort food with a flair and twist that makes us realize that fine dining and hearty eating do not have to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. Among the starters, I especially liked the Tofu Salad in Sesame Dressing; topped with truffle oil and bonito flakes, it’s a light appetizer that refreshes the eye and palate. Regulars rave about the Laing Pasta a la Cristina, and I have to try that next time, taro leaves with white shrimp simmered in coconut milk. As for the main courses, my boys and I dug into the 1,000 grams Porterhouse steak, wonderfully seared on the Rare side of Medium, and that took us away from the Grilled US Short Ribs, a Calatagan favorite that’s served with roasted garlic, homemade coleslaw and brown rice — of which I also hear rave reports. There’s Steamed US Dungenese Crab, Confit of Pork Belly, and Chicken and Pork Adobo Flakes on the menu — all favorites, that make the brain trust these six good friends have created a culinary godsend. Am only happy to be able to say that I was there at the beginning, as Cecile’s “affair” with the kitchen took flight!
Global angst
The two novels today share qualities of helping us, via armchair and book in hand, travel to India, and then to Germany and Prague. Along the way, we meet singular personalities who help us understand the daily traumas and travails of living in this complicated world.
Slumdog Millionaire (or Q&A) by Vikas Swarup (available at National Bookstore): When this debut novel by Vikas Swarup came out in 2005, it was one of my favorite novels of that year and I was lending it to people to read and enjoy. To find it’s been adapted for the screen, directed by Danny Boyle, and has won plaudits with most film award-giving bodies is proof positive of how universal and charming this story was from the outset. When we meet Ram Mohammad Thomas, he’s in a prison cell, detained for having won the billion rupees prize in a nationally televised Indian quiz show. An uneducated street urchin, the network executives are quick to claim that Ram must have cheated. The novel is ingenuously structured, so that each chapter recounts an episode in Ram’s life and why he would, by sheer luck, just happen to know the answers to each question he was asked on the show. A true pleasure to read!
All Shall Be Well; and All Shall Be Well; And All Manner of Things Shall Be Well by Tod Wodicka: With possibly one of the longest titles in history, Tod Wodicka’s novel is a shaggy dog tale that takes on such themes as family, globalization, modernity and urban angst. Our protagonist is an eccentric 63-year-old American who dabbles in Medieval re-enacting. This he does with singular obsession — he doesn’t eat potatoes because they are OOP (out of Period — meaning they didn’t exist in Europe as food during the medieval times). Traveling to Europe allows our “hero” to also go on a quest, searching for a long-lost son who’s now a jazz musician in Prague. The book is written so that “reveals” of the family’s highly dysfunctional life are interspersed with the main action of said family search. A picaresque with a major difference, as our hero is one for whom senior moments are forever occurring! Funny, but strange.
