World-class Filipino cooking from Serye

We grow boneless pork around here," says Alvin Reyes Lim in jest as he offered us a slice of boneless crispy pata, one of the main offerings at the Serye Restaurant.

In no time at all – Look Ma, not a sliver of bone! – the meat was dipped in toyo at kalamansi sauce and promptly disappeared from the plate. Eyeing the rest of the pata, uniform slices revealing an even marbling of meat and fat, we decided to control ourselves from totally pigging out on this one. Apart from its attractive presentation, it’s so easy to eat, not messy at all unlike before when one ends up arm wrestling a pata just to be able to enjoy the good stuff.

Blame it on Alvin’s stint at the Ecole Des Arts Culinaire et De L’Hotelerie in France and the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, California, where he honed his skills in the art of preparing food. In his case, particularly, he learned how to elevate the standards of homecooked fare from its oft taken for granted place in the cooking hierarchy to international standards.

This fourth generation member of the Reyes clan of the famous Aristocrat chain of restaurants is bent on injecting a fresh look into the food that Engracia Cruz Reyes – popularly called Aling Asiang – was known for. Thus, the new Serye chain (formerly Aristocrat) at Quezon Memorial Circle and Sucat, Paranaque.

Alvin’s idea is that of a Filipino version of a French bistro where "people not only eat and enjoy good ol’ comfort food but serve as places where people can meet, discuss or simply relax."

"Most Filipinos think that a bistro is a bar. I want to change that. A cafe bistro is a casual restaurant where they can eat comfort food and enjoy good company over perhaps a cup of coffee," says the president of Culinary Central Inc., the company that operates Serye, an anagram of Reyes. Other Aristocrat branches are owned and operated by Alvin’s other cousins and relatives.

Serye, as far as Alvin is concerned, suggests a continuity of the rich culinary tradition began by Aling Asiang in 1936, as well as one of her daughters Teresita, or more often referred to as Mama Sita.

Apart from being the Filipino term for "series," the word also suggests "constant development while retaining the food’s classic elements."

"We want it to be something like a teleserye. There’s always something new after each episode," offers Alvin’s sister Carmiña, who co-manages Serye.

Apart from the visual changes – roman blinds in place of bare glass windows, a new set of utensils and china, makeover of the former Aristocrat Quezon Circle interiors, to name some – Serye is proud of its tasty offerings.

While it has retained tried-and-tested treats Aristocrat has been known for such as the barbecue dishes, Serye also has added more grilled seafood and vegetable dishes. One dish worth mentioning is its grilled salmon and tuna combination, a lighter and healthy alternative to chicken or pork barbecue. Drizzled with Serye’s special barbecue sauce and eaten with either java or plain rice, this particular seafood combination is a potential bestseller.

Veggie lovers just have to try Serye Express, a cross between the classic pinakbet and the feisty Bicol Express. The very colorful and appetizing dish is steeped in coconut milk and chili for a rich, sweetish treat that goes so well with steaming hot plain rice. Those who want it extra spicy though can always ask the restaurant staff for additional chilis.

Since the menu has various combinations, such as chicken and spareribs, chicken and tuna or salmon, spareribs with salmon or tuna, to name some, a solo diner need not stick to just one type of meat, which makes for fun meal even sans company.

"Before when I would eat alone at Aristocrat and other restaurants, I’d always be stuck with just one type of dish. Now, I can mix and match with these meals for one combo dishes," says Alvin, adding that he’s bringing back old Aristocrat favorites like the chicken and pork adobo on the menu.

Says Carmiña: "We used to serve them but have somehow been overlooked and eventually disappeared. But people are asking for the old dishes, like the adobo nga. Since wala na masyadong nagluluto sa bahay ngayon because of the busy lifestyle, people are starting to look for homecooked meals. Balikbayans, too, are asking for it."

Other new additions include the sizzling seafood sisig, which has two types of fish, and Shanghai Platter, a flavorsome threesome of an appetizer that has Aristocrat’s famous lumpiang shanghai, camaron rebosado and fried crispy pinsec (siomai for the younger generation).

Since the Quezon Memorial Circle Serye branch is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (tel. no. 924-3411), it will cater to a more varied crowd, from government employees to students to nearby Quezon City residents.

This early, we’re quite sure health buffs will be reciting a new mantra – eat now, be guilty later. This is probably what early morning joggers around the Circle would say when they end up sprinting towards this old-new restaurant to partake of its sumptuous breakfast offerings. Whatever calories they burned earlier would be promptly forgotten once they begin feasting on Serye’s native longganisa (a choice of regional specialties like Vigan, Lucban, Cabanatuan and Tuguegarao), tapa (sweet or spicy and the newest addition – tapang usa), pork or chicken tocino, not to mention the pancakes, omelets and sandwiches.

For the leisurely merienda crowd, on the other hand, comfort food like arroz caldo, bibingka at tsokolate, halo-halo and the so-called flying saucer sandwiches the old Aristocrat is known for are there for the taking.

The sushi bar has taken a graceful exit and, in its stead, is a coffee shop with various kinds of local and imported coffee preparations (including an original sweet concoction, cafe tablea, made from local tablea chocolate), plus cakes and pastries, courtesy of Carmiña, who is currently operating Wedding Belles (a bakeshop specializing in wedding and special occasions cakes) and Carmine’s Desserts (featuring specialty cakes and pastries).

"I’m so fond of desserts and I make sure that the sweet treats I develop are worth their calories. ’Yung first bite pa lang, you could taste the flavors already," says Carmiña, who remembers with fondness her childhood days of seemingly endless parade of food in her lola’s house from lunch to merienda to dinner.

"Right after lunch, we’ll have dessert. Maya-maya, andiyan na ang merienda. We’ve about 30 cousins and one-third of us took up culinary arts."

Even at this very moment, new dishes are being tested and tasted at Serye’s R&D department. Comfort food doesn’t necessarily mean old dishes.

On Alvin’s part, he wants Serye to be able to create new kinds of comfort food for the younger generation to discover and the older ones to enjoy.

Serye, he says, is poised to add a new dimension to the world of home-cooked meals, Filipino food that would be served with class and international flair.