Why Max Soliven loves The Aristocrat

You know you’re a Filipino when milestones in your life — birthdays, graduations, your first romantic date, weddings, your first job, your first paycheck, among many other firsts — were marked by blowouts at The Aristocrat.

It’s amazing why we never developed taste fatigue even if we relished their signature fare — kare-kare, pancit canton, arroz caldo, mechado, chicken and pork barbecue — over and over again. Well, maybe because the aroma of these home-cooked meals is enough to tickle the palate.

We all have an Aristocrat story to tell, but one of the best I’ve heard so far was that of the late Philippine STAR publisher Max V. Soliven and his widow, Preciosa Soliven.

Exactly two years after he died, the City of Manila paid tribute to the journalism icon with the unveiling of his monument, sculpted by Julie Lluch, along Roxas Blvd.

Enterprising couple: Justice Alex Ablola Reyes Sr. and wife culinary icon Engracia Reyes, founder of The Aristrocrat Restaurant

According to Sylvia Reyes, granddaughter of The Aristocrat founder Engracia “Aling Asyang” Reyes, Soliven’s widow Preciosa asked Mayor Alfredo Lim that if the statue would be erected along Roxas Blvd.., she wanted it to be right across The Aristocrat restaurant because “that is where we dated.”

“Isn’t that sweet?” says Sylvia with a smile. “From where we are, just go straight to Manila Bay and you’ll see Manong Max’s statue pointing to the restaurant’s location.”

The Aristocrat is the place where everything that meant a lot to Max and Preciosa transpired. I guess we can all relate to that. So, what’s your Aristocrat story?

The Making of a Culinary Icon

Grilled to perfection: For a minimum purchase of P3,000, diners get two orders of boneless Chicken BBQ with jave rice when they use their Citibank credit cards at The Aristocrat.

Engracia “Aling Asyang” Reyes’s love for family, food, and the need to survive gave rise to The Aristocrat, a family-owned restaurant chain she founded in 1936.

“When my grandparents, Asyang and Alex Reyes Sr., got married, my lolo was still a struggling law student. So while lolo was in school, lola would peddle food in our neighborhood just to augment the family’s income,” relates Sylvia Reyes, general manager of The Aristocrat Restaurant.

Her business prospered and by the 1930s, Aling Asyang started selling adobo sandwiches in her mobile store at the Luneta.

“The Studebaker van came from my Tita’s suitor. He had loaned it to Lola Asyang so she would let him visit my Tita at home. He was a genius,” relates Sylvia.

Aling Asyang’s reputation as a cook also spread by word of mouth due to the home dinners she hosted for friends of her now-prominent husband, Solicitor General Alex Ablola Reyes Sr.

Within two years, Aling Asyang opened a permanent restaurant, The Aristocrat, at Dewey Boulevard in Manila, which is still operational to this day. The resto’s name was contested by Lola Asyang’s eldest son Andres “Andy” Reyes, who believed that the name was ironic because during that period, Filipino cuisine was not considered appropriate fare in the homes of the Filipino elite or the aristocrats.

Seafood indulgence: Seafood kare-kare is one of Aling Asyang’s specialties.

The culinary icon scolded her son and said: “The dishes I serve in the restaurant are fit for the aristocrats. You’ll feel like an aristocrat when you dine here so there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

True enough, Andres’s elite classmates kept coming back for his mom’s home-cooked meals.

Celebration in the Citi

The Aristocrat and Citibank salute the graduates of 2011. Get 20-percent off when you buy Chocolate Supreme (selected sizes) or Choco Velvet cakes when you use your Citibank credit card. The Chocolate Supreme was chosen as one of the Best Chocolate Cakes by blog site Spot.ph.

“This promo is part of Citibank’s Dining Privileges,” explains Tina Tan-Perez, head of sales, VP merchant acquiring business, Citibank. “Citi chose The Aristocrat as one of its partner restaurants because most of our loyal cardholders frequent the resto.”

Citi Dining Privileges is a program that gives Citibank cardholders perks at select dining places, not only in the Philippines but all over Asia as well. In choosing its partner food establishments, Citi tries to represent every price range category. So there are restaurants for the mass market as well as affluent cardholders. They also manage to cover geographical locations. Citi has partner restos in Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Cebu, and beyond the Philippines like Singapore, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and Korea, among others.

Citi cardholders can also get two orders of boneless chicken BBQ with java rice for free for every minimum purchase of P3,000 at The Aristocrat.

“I’m an Aristocrat baby. My parents would treat us here during our birthdays or other memorable family occasions,” enthuses Tina. “It’s like a family tradition, which lives on to this day. I so love Aristocrat that we even celebrated my daughter Ysa’s fourth birthday here.”

Tina keeps coming back for The Aristocrat’s old-fashioned mechado, kare-kare, and pancit canton.

Every spoonful of the mechado reminds you of the hours Aling Asyang spent in the kitchen waiting for the beef to get tender.

“My lola built this restaurant empire for her family,” adds Sylvia. “All dishes that we serve in the resto are food items that are tried and tested by all her children, apos, and great grandchildren. Everything here is prepared from scratch. No shortcuts.”

Now on its 75th year, Aling Asyang and The Aristocrat have proven that Filipino cuisine is, indeed, “world-class fare.”

The Aristocrat branches are located at Roxas Blvd., Jupiter St. Makati, Robinson's Ermita, SM The Block, SM MOA, SM San Lazaro, SM Pampanga, SM Manila, and Subic.