Hello, Dali

MILLIE: My best friend Verne Reyes and I have been doing the rounds of tapas bars recently to enjoy the wines and the tapas, of course. We would meet up for happy hour and sometimes be joined by her husband Hector and my daughter Karla if their schedules permit. Verne lives in Los Angeles and comes to visit twice or thrice a year and I take advantage of her presence to do things we both love to do: wine and dine. We met at Cornell University in the early ’70s and have remained very close, like family. It helps that her married name is also Reyes, although her husband and I are not related.

We frequent places like Barcino and sometimes sit by the food concourse level of the Power Plant Mall sipping wine at Titania’s and people watching, too. I invited her to join us to try Dali, a new tapas bar in QC near ABS-CBN, but the thought of traveling that far during rush hour turned her off. But Karla and I managed to still go to Dali at E. Lopez corner Sgt. Esguerra, which was not easy to find as we were quite unfamiliar with the area. We didn’t realize there were so many bars and restos that have sprouted up there.

Owners Thirdy Herrera and wife Pia, who is the chef, welcomed us. We were virtually unprepared for what was to come. Famous Catalan painter Salvador Dali, a surrealist known for bizarre images, inspired the restaurant. Dali is the couple’s favorite artist and some of his works are displayed in the restaurant.

The couple behind Dali Restaurant and Tapas Bar: Thirdy and Pia Herrera

We were surprised to find the place buzzing with celebrities like Lorna Tolentino, Amy Austria and Tonton Gutierrez. We also saw a dear friend, Ed Trinidad, who was attending a Rotary event that evening.

The husband and wife met at Brent school and were neighbors and carpool mates. They went to the USA together, got married and have two daughters.

KARLA: Pia took the liberty of ordering a selection of tapas for us to try and we literally had a feast. First came the Plato Mixta consisting of chorizo, jamon Serrano, Manchego cheese and queso ahumado, which is smoked cheese. Manchego is one of our family’s favorite cheeses, especially my lolo Joe. It is actually made from sheep’s milk. When I went to Spain in 2003, I brought home two wheels of Manchego for him. One of those he shared with his Wack-Wack golf buddies and, of course, the other we kept for family gatherings. We enjoyed it so much that I even named my Yorkshire terrier Manchego. His mom and dad are named Souffle and Truffle, respectively.  We had a selection of tapas like chicken croquetas, albondigas served with sofrito sauce, tuna empanaditas, chipirones rellenos, which was baby squid stuffed with meat sausage then breaded and crisp-fried and served with a sauce of its own ink, and boquerones, also known as fresh pickled anchovies marinated in wine vinegar, salt, garlic, and extra-virgin olive oil. But what I enjoyed the most was the queso rebozado, breaded farmer’s cheese drizzled with flower honey and cracked pepper.

Karla’s favorite: Queso rebozado, breaded farmer’s cheese drizzled with flower honey and cracked pepper.

As we were enjoying our tapas, our jaws dropped and eyes popped when we saw the cochinillo by our table. Pia had prepared a whole suckling pig just for us. Cochinillo is a Spanish-style lechon where the pig is normally around four to six weeks old, fed only on its mother’s milk, and weighs not more than three kilograms. It is oven-roasted for six hours to a golden-brown, crunchy-skin perfection. That is why cochinillo should be ordered 24 hours in advance. While Filipino-style lechon is chopped on the spot at the buffet table, Spanish cochinillo is a form of culinary entertainment as the waiter chops the cochinillo with plates. Although it creates a disruptive noise in the restaurant, it also becomes the center of attention and is added tableside entertainment for the guests.

MILLIE: I first tried the real, authentic cochinillo in Madrid way back 1969. My mom Meldy Reyes and I traveled around Europe before she left me to go to school in Switzerland. We had dinner at the Hotel Madrid and Mom made me wear a formal evening dress. The dinner turned out to be a mother-daughter tete-a-tete and she taught me “all the things a young lady should know” in one session, over dinner, at that! She gave me a refresher course on table manners. She also taught me how to smoke, how to cross my legs, how to behave properly, to prepare me before letting me go. That evening was a very special moment for me, and it is forever etched in my memory, the way I still remember how crispy and tasty the cochinillo crackling was and expressed enjoyment at eating it while sipping a glass of red wine.

KARLA: I was also thrilled to learn that Dali serves sangria and wine cocktails. They had so many interesting flavors I even suggested they have smaller portions because I wanted to try all the flavors they had. I ended up with the Oriental sangria, which Thirdy recommended I try.

Plato Mixta: A combination of Spanish chorizo and jamon Serrano plus slices of Manchego and smoked cheese.

After a filling dinner, out came the dessert, which was very light sorbets and a good complement to our dinner. We had the white and red sangria sherbets, and both were very, very refreshing and interesting. Mom loved the white sangria sherbet so much that she almost had the whole thing to herself.

Mom and I have talked about coming back to try the main entrees soon but I would definitely go back to try the other sangrias.

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Dali is located at 40 Eugenio Lopez St., South Triangle, Quezon City. For inquiries and reservations, call 948-0971.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@ gmail.com and karla@swizzle mobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.