Al-Shams: A taste of kitchen royalty

MANILA, Philippines - It is not every day that you find a son paying homage to his father by reviving the restaurant that the latter put up in the past. Proving that food is an unforgettable legacy, Adil Khan opened Al-Shams mid last year along Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes, Paraaque City. And the reception to the Pakistani, Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine that he serves at Al-Shams is, well, exceptional.

Those in the know will remember that there were two Al-Shams restaurants before. The one on Mabini Avenue in Manila closed in 1990. The second branch on Makati Avenue in Makati City closed its kitchen in 1995. Both were opened by the late Mr. Sham, a Pakistani who married a Filipina. Mr. Sham earned his fame when, in the early ’70s while he was the in-house cook of a famous Indian restaurant in the country, he had to leave the Philippines to become the personal cook of then Saudi royalty, King Khalid himself. It was said that the king would not touch the food that Mr. Sham did not prepare. He was so dependent on his personal cook that wherever the king went, Mr. Sham had to be there. After his stint being the trusted cook of the king, he returned to Manila and put up his own restaurant, which would come to be known as Al-Shams.

The Indian butter chicken called chicken makhani.

Fast forward to today. Mr. Sham’s son Adil, who was exposed to his father’s prowess in the kitchen, later realized that it was about time to bring to the fold everything that he knew about kitchen magic. He opened Al-Shams, an 80-sq.m. restaurant that serves halal food.

“I only started cooking six years ago,” recalls Adil, who finished Computer Management at Letran-Manila. “My taste buds still remember how my father prepared the food he used to serve my family. The best that I remember from him is never to scrimp on the ingredients. And that there’s no shortcut to serving good food.”

Adil truly knows how to labor in the kitchen. His chicken tikka and chicken tandoori are prepared “the way my father would have wanted me to prepare the dishes.” He serves them piping-hot, the meat almost breaking before it touches the mouth. It bursts with flavors. One bite is enough to be at the doorstep of food nirvana.

Adil Khan, owner of Al-Shams: “My father taught me that there’s no shortcuts to good food.”

Same thing with rogan josh (an aromatic lamb dish) and mutton korma (rich and spicy meat curry). The best compliment Adil received for these dishes came from Indian senior citizens living in the area. “They told me, ‘It was as if it was your father who cooked the rogan josh. Your mutton korma is like your father’s.”

Adil, of course, delights in the compliments. One day, however, a male Pakistani customer, who did not know that Adil was his father’s son, complained to him that he had no right “desecrating” or “using” the name Al-Shams because, as far as the customer was concerned, it belonged to “kitchen royalty who was the best Indian chef of my lifetime.” Adil, with a smile, quickly explained that he was the son of the “kitchen royalty” the loyalist customer was talking about. The customer readily embraced and thanked him. Then he tested him by asking for the gravy that Adil served in his restaurant. The restaurateur readily complied. The customer clapped, almost in disbelief that the gravy he tasted was faithful to the one he used to order on the side at the old Al-Shams on Mabini. If there’s one thing Adil knows how to prepare by heart, it is the gravy whose simple recipe his father taught him when he was still a kid: yogurt, desiccated coconut, cashew nuts, and brown onions. The gravy alone he prepares for four to five hours, the way his father labored to prepare it when he was still alive. Mr. Sham passed on in 2008.

Bursting with fragrant spices: Lamb biryani

“As I said, my father taught me that there’s no shortcuts to good food,” Adil reiterates, adding that the fare he serves at Al-Shams is reasonably priced.

In his restaurant, Adil makes sure that spices like cumin, cinnamon, cloves and coriander will deliver a punch to the palate. The taste of star anise, elachi (green cardamom seeds) black pepper and dried chili will dance on your tongue as you bite into a serving of mutton kebab or chicken makhani cooked in yogurt. Even his vegetable biryani is bursting with the flavors of saffron and rosewater. The simple samosa, which comes with chutney mixed with tamarind, garlic and wansoy, becomes a gustatory experience in his restaurant.

Chicken out: Chicken tikka, chunks of chicken marinated in special spices then grilled on skewers

“There’s a risk in using the name Al-Shams,” Adil says. “Then again, I only serve what I learned from my father. This is my only way of paying homage to a legacy he left behind.”

And Adil knows that the legacy left behind by his father is still there, in his heart and his taste buds. With his own brand of kitchen wizardry, he knows that the magic of his father lives on.

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Al-Shams is located at 66-A Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Paranaque City. For more information, call 553-3587 or 216-3891.

Aromatic lamb dish: Rogan josh, a specialty at Al-Shams