The taste of success

My siblings and I had a special Thanksgiving treat last month. Our dear godfather, Papa Norman Turley, flew in from California. Upon the gracious invitation of his dear friend Jose Mari Chan, we accompanied Papa Norm, as we fondly call him, on a historic and culinary tour of Bacolod, the City of Smiles. 

After a tour of the Negrense Museum, Jose Mari Chan thoughtfully declared, “It’s time for lunch. I’m sure you are all hungry.” As usual, we didn’t need much convincing as we hopped into his van. We heard him requesting his driver to take us to Aboy’s located at Liroville Subdivision behind the Golden Field Commercial complex. We were so excited.

We arrived at a big lively place, like a huge provincial home, welcomed by verdant gardens with cascading water features, friendly smiling faces and the inviting aroma of fresh grilled seafood. We were seated in a sunny room overlooking a sprawling garden as Joe Mari proceeded to order grilled blue marlin, tiger prawns, scallops in shells baked with garlic and butter, laing, fragrantly fresh clam soup, chicken inasal and garlic rice.

Aboy’s, we learned, is a very famous place among locals and visitors. Joe Mari said a trip to Bacolod is never complete without a meal at Aboy’s, as we dug into the juicy succulent seafood dishes in front of us. He was absolutely right. The dishes melted in our mouths and straight into our hearts. You know, with my Dayrit family, it’s no secret that the way into our hearts is directly through our stomachs.

The sumptuous cuisine gave us such a high. We could not leave without paying our compliments to the owners: amiable couple Nestor “Aboy” Evaristo and his youthful-looking wife Del. My siblings and I were quite taken with them. Despite their success they have kept humble in word and deed.

With their children Kokoy, Dr. Kim, Karl and Kata.

Aboy and Del met in UP. He was on his final year as a Sociology major while she finished Psychology. Their deep friendship blossomed into lasting love and soon they got married on Oct. 25, 1980. 

“It became apparent that Aboy’s salary as a teacher at the University of the East and my income would not be enough to raise a family. So Aboy took a job as a medical representative in a pharmaceutical company and was stationed in Negros Oriental. We transferred in 1982 to Dumaguete City where he was first assigned and then to Bacolod City the following year until his retirement in 1992,” said Del. 

The couple was convinced that Bacolod was an ideal place to raise their children because it had the amenities of a highly urbanized city but at the same time maintaining its provincial characteristics. 

“From his Bacolod assignment, Aboy was transferred back to Manila in 1991 while the kids and myself had to stay in Bacolod because it was still in the middle of the school year. I had to take a job as an insurance underwriter to augment our income as Aboy’s expenses in Manila added pressure to our very limited resources. One day during our casual phone conversation, he asked me if it was OK for him to resign so he could go back home to Bacolod. I was surprised to find myself saying ‘yes’ without hesitation, because in my heart I knew that Aboy is industrious and will do everything to support us. He really wanted to put up a ‘carinderia’,” Del said. 

Back in Bacolod, Aboy started making “polvoron” and peddling them around the city to add to their income. The P80,000 he received as retirement pay was slowly being used up since less money was coming in and their expenses slowly increasing.      

“We pawned our Volkswagen Beatle for P29,000. Aboy went around looking for a site to open a restaurant. Finally, a friend offered his vacant lot near the public market for the restaurant site in exchange for being a partner. It was made up practically of coco lumber with galvanized roof and the floor was just dirt covered with “kagaykay” or broken seashells from the shores of nearby towns.” 

“We were the new kid on the block. There were already similar restaurants nearby selling the usual ihaw-ihaw fares. Lacking in operating capital, the first challenge was how we can be differentiated from these and how we can let people know we even exist,” Del narrated.

Aboy said, “I even went around giving out discount cards to offices and to taxi drivers who can in turn give them away to their passengers.” 

With Aboy’s PR and the word of mouth by satisfied clients, their food business venture was slowly being noticed. Aboy would at times even walk clients to their car with an umbrella if it’s raining and even do valet parking. To this day, Aboy brings clients to their hotels for free, if they can’t find a ride.

“We believe that God’s grace and nothing else is the reason we were able to be what we are right now. There was a time when we were about to give up and it was only our ardent prayers that saved us from doing so. When we surrendered everything to Him and completely trusted in His goodness, that is when He showed us His awesome power and grace,” Aboy said.

Last Dec. 6, Aboy’s was given the “Healthy Eating Place” award by the Department of Health in the whole of Region 6. To win this award, a food establishment should pass the cleanliness and sanitation standards set by the DOH during surprise inspections.

Despite their success in the business, Aboy and Adel said their greatest achievement is raising four wonderful children.

Kim, 29, is a doctor who took up Biology in Ateneo and Medicine in UST. He loves to experiment cooking “weird recipes.”

Karl, 26, is the family’s schooled chef having finished Hotel Restaurant Institutional Management (HRIM) at DLSU-College of St. Benilde. He also took up Culinary Arts at the International School for Culinary and Hotel Management in Quezon City. He also had a one-year apprenticeship work at the Marriott Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Kokoy, 23, is also a budding chef. He also graduated from DLSU-College of St. Benilde (honorable mention) with a degree in HRIM. He used to work for the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. He is the entrepreneur among the four.

Kata, 20, also has an HRIM degree from DLSU-College of St. Benilde and plans to take up a course on Breads and Pastries.

The Evaristos love to cook and eat together as a family. Aboy and Adel said their family dinner has always been the focal point of their daily routine. The couple said they would want to see the day that all of their children are all settled down with their respective families and able to pursue their own dreams.

“I pray that God will always forgive our shortcomings and continue to bless us with our daily provisions. That through the business He has given us, may we bring joy to as many people as we can through our food and our hospitality,” Adel concluded.        

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