A chili story: Why LZM was the fave resto of Joe Reyes in Silang
MILLIE: Whenever Karla and I have had a long week working hard, we treat ourselves to a good massage and definitely a good meal, saying, “We deserve this.” The meal need not be ostentatious. It can be a simple, home-cooked meal of chicken and pork adobo with steamed, fluffy white rice. Ahhhhh! Heavenly.
The week that just passed was one such week, as we were both busy attending to important catering events like the cocktail reception after President Aquino’s fifth State of the Nation Address. A few days before, we already planned with our yaya Beth that we wanted adobo for dinner, and she willingly obliged.
At the end of the week, we decided we deserved something really delicious to reward and comfort us. We decided to drive to Tagaytay with my friend Susan Bertschy who was in town, en route to Brisbane to visit her 94-year-old mom. Instead of taking her to a fancy place, we took her to LZM, our favorite “lutong bahay” place in Silang, Cavite. Susan was easy to convince and her face instantly lit up when we described what was on the menu.
KARLA: We have been patrons of LZM for as long as I can remember. It’s conveniently located across the Riviera Country Club. My Lolo Joe would frequent LZM and of course, mom and I would often tag along. He enjoyed the laidback Tagaytay vibe, the breeze and of course, the good comfort food. Lolo Joe would always bring his own green mangoes and Aristocrat bagoong to enjoy with the meal and sometimes salted eggs that went well with LZM’s famous bangus.
Of course we also had our own take on the sauces. Mom preferred her bangus with fish sauce and calamansi, while Lolo had his with soy sauce and calamansi. Although Lolo Joe always had his sauce ready, he would always get from mine, anyway. My sauce is usually calamansi with soy sauce, vinegar and crushed pepper combined. This made us both eat more garlic rice than we’re supposed to because of the sauce’s added spice. Lolo Joe had another ritual at LZM that we tried to hide all those years. He would actually wrap up the chili in a paper napkin to take home and would sometimes ask for more. Back then, Lolo had a pet myna bird called Toting. My uncle Gerry told him that feeding them chilies would urge them to speak and make their voice stronger. So Lolo made it a habit to bring home chilies for his pet after every trip to LZM. He would also ask our gardener to grow lots of chilies in our garden for Toting.
MILLIE: I usually do the ordering after consulting with the group about their food preferences. On top of my list is the boneless, golden-fried Dagupan bangus, which has a buttery flavor. It is so simple yet divine. I love the way they curl up the fish’s tail like a mermaid. I always manage to take home a few uncooked pieces for future meals at home. The fried bangus goes very well with LZM’s pinakbet with freshly cut ampalaya, okra and squash, chunks of pork and whole shrimp cooked in bagoong.
Another LZM favorite is the nilagang bulalo with huge chunks of beef, bone marrow and boiled cabbage. The broth is perfect for a hungry soul on a rainy day. Sometimes they add a whole boiled saba banana, which gives it a unique and sweetish flavor. At home, I like it with potatoes and corn on the cob as an added feature. These three dishes are enough to make my day just grand. The only thing that bugs me is that I tend to eat much more rice than I should.
When we come with a bigger group, we sometimes order lechon kawali or crispy pata or inihaw na baboy to add to our staple food orders. Sometimes, we order the eggplant with bagoong as a side dish, which Karla enjoys tremendously.
So much for comfort food. It was truly a great reward for a fulfilling week!
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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes. More photos are on http://www.instagram.com/kakakarlotta.
