SHIOK-LAH!

MILLIE: Shiok. It’s Singaporean slang meaning “satisfactory.” In Chinese, it means “cheap or inexpensive.” It’s also a clean, new hole in the wall restaurant with a casual and non-intimidating feel that offers delicious, inexpensive and everyday Singaporean and Asian meals for as low as P65 for an order of steamed bok choy to as high as P245 for a bowlful of nice and spicy sambal Prawns! The good news is that they even have lunch express meals with a price range of P75 to P85 and the flavors are authentic enough to convince diners that a Singaporean chef is in the kitchen. Well, almost. He’s a young Pinoy chef named Nicco Yujuico Santos and he speaks with a slight Singaporean accent. Okay lah! Asked why, he says he may have unwittingly caught the accent from his cousins in the course of his frequent trips to visit them in Singapore.

Nicco’s business partner is his girlfriend, the pretty and softspoken Erica Chang who has been very supportive of Nicco’s restaurant endeavor. She not only inspired him, she practically pushed him to pursue his dream, giving him a plan and showing him the steps. In other words, although it was Nicco’s idea, it was Erica who drafted the steps and showed him how to execute them. Erica’s expertise in the field of finance and business and Nicco’s culinary skills are the necessary ingredients for a good and hopefully long-lasting partnership. But the main source of inspiration was Nicco’s mom, Lizette, who admirably cooked for Nicco, arousing his taste buds at an early age and making him curious about ethnic flavors. Obsessed with sambal, Nicco went beyond, discovering flavors and spices and learning new dishes. Each new dish had a story to tell, like the version of Char Kway Teow he learned from a Muslim chef from Kuala Lumpur named Chef Sadiah. Nicco mastered the art of Asian cooking techniques, using high heat for Chinese cuisine and low heat for Malaysian cookery. “The secret is in the ingredients and the cooking techniques applied. One cannot substitute,“ he says. Ingredients are sourced directly from Singapore and Hong Kong.

KARLA: Every time we eat in a new restaurant, I normally hold on to the menu longer than everyone else. That’s because I like looking at the pictures and reading the descriptions. If there is a restaurant with a really pretty menu, I often ask to keep a copy to add to my collection. The section in the menu that is often overlooked is the beverages section. Most restaurants have such normal drink lists consisting of soda, water, iced tea, lemonade or alcoholic beverages, mostly the classic cocktails which are just named differently. But as I was scanning through the menu of Shiok, I found the drink list quite interesting, particularly two items, the Milo dinosaur and choco horlicks. So, Milo dinosaur it was. Without knowing what it was I decided to order it. My eyes almost popped out when I saw what it was. It was Milo in a tumbler with foam and Milo powder on top and about an inch thick of condensed milk. Oh, wow! Chocolate-y bliss. All the times I visit Shiok, I always end up ordering Milo dinosaur and never really had the opportunity to try choco Horlicks. Horlicks is a product of GlaxoSmithKline but isn’t available in the Philippines. So I’m guessing Shiok imports the ingredients. My mom says it’s some sort of chocolate energy tablet, close to a similar product I grew up with, Ovaltinies. Apparently, Horlicks was very popular during her time.

MILLIE: While Nicco’s in the kitchen, Erica tends to the cash register, making them an ideal team. The menu line of Shiok was developed from Nicco’s favorite discoveries. We’ve tried the sambal kang kung, which is ideally paired with the steamed fish fillet. We adore the sinful but delicious crispy pork. The curry dishes are good with roti prata which we enjoy dipping into the curry chicken or curry beef brisket. We could not stop eating the sambal prawns and really cleaned the plate with a bowlful of steamed rice. Other classic delights are ginger beef stir fry, nasi lemak, spicy pineapple fish, char kway teow. There’s even Hainan chicken rice! The roasted barbecue pork is a fast-moving item and we hear Nicco just got back recently from Hong Kong where he learned to cook Peking duck! Mmmm… we must try that when it’s out. Meanwhile, Nicco has a great passion to learn more and discover new dishes and desires to share his experiences with others through his culinary talent..

KARLA: For my mom and I, the most inspiring characteristic of Nicco’s cooking style is how he doesn’t try to overdo his dishes. For most chefs and restaurants in the Metro, fusion has become the trend. Most times these dishes have very creative plating techniques, but they’re very disappointing in overall concept. They overdo the dish and try to make it as modern as possible but this can gravely affect the taste and the technique. They forget the essence of the dish, which eventually leads to confusion.

Nicco is constantly on the lookout for something new. His taste buds always drive him towards culinary adventures and product development. Therefore, we can’t wait to try the new dishes Nicco is currently developing. His passion for investigating the origins of the dishes he serves makes his creations even more interesting and authentic. Knowing the importance of each step is the secret to his style. He respects the culinary techniques and tradition of each cuisine and doesn’t settle for shortcuts. He also explains how he never compromises on quality and uses top of the line, authentic ingredients no matter how expensive it is or even if he has to import them. It is important for both Nicco and Erica to serve honest good food without cheating people, skimping on the best ingredients or overcharging them. Shiok specials are worth every single centavo and affordable every day. Nicco even talks about how he eventually wants to open more branches and earn more so that, in his own heartfelt words, “Erica doesn’t have to work.”

At the end of the interview, I asked Nicco if he cared to share a recipe with our readers. His response was very inspiring and the mark of a great chef. He readily said yes and explained how chefs shouldn’t be selfish with their recipes. You become a chef to share your talent and passion for food with the people around you and sharing a recipe does exactly that. In the end it’s all up to your own style, creativity and taste.

Chef Nicco’s parting words? “Come to Shiok lah!” Shiok is open daily Monday to Friday at 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Located at 01-05 Fort Forum Bldg., Bonifacio Stop Over, 31st and 2nd St, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila.

Kon Loh Mein

Ingredients:

70g roasted BBQ pork

2 pcs bok choy

200g hofan noodles

1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp white sugar

30g garlic

2 tbsp cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Sauté garlic in oil until fragrant.

2. Add noodles and sauté until slightly translucent.

3. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil and white sugar. Stir well and plate.

4. Blanch Bok Choy and top it on noodles.

5. Slice BBQ pork and top it on noodles.

6. Garnish with chopped spring onions.