Kamayan: The hands tell a different story

Eating with your hands was the rule of thumb in this restaurant patterned after a turn-of-the-century Vigan house. In fact, there were no utensils in sight (some had to bring their own spoons and forks). And thus, its popularity spread by word of mouth (make that contented mouths). It was the place to see and be seen. VIPs from the world of show business, business, sports and politics came and left their mark via handprints that now adorn the restaurant’s revered Wall of Fame. Here, basketball teams would have a ball celebrating a victory after a championship game.

Two decades later, the hands tell quite a different story at Kamayan on Pasay Road, Makati.

"We’re still here, in the same place where it (the Triple-V chain of restaurants) all began," Tootsie Eduque-Marco stresses with a hint of nostalgia. "When they started to construct the entry point of the skyway on Pasay Road, people thought we closed down this Kamayan outlet. We never did, we chose to keep the place going – and all those warm memories alive. Other restos have come and gone – there were Sinugba, Tito Rey’s, Probinsya. But we have stayed; we’re very much around, just look for us under the skyway."

Let Tootsie be your guide: "There are different ways of coming here. If you’re coming from Makati going towards Magallanes, go into the tunnel and turn right on Pasong Tamo Extension where Mantrade is. Go straight down and eventually, make a left on Pasay Road. If you’re coming from the Expressway, go down until you hit the exit towards Don Bosco. Then make a right turn and you’ll surely find your way. If you’re coming from the skyway, take the Don Bosco exit, which is the most convenient exit. If you miss that, you can take the Pasay Road exit which will take you into Amorsolo. Make a left on Herrera and you’re back on Pasong Tamo. If you’re coming from Buendia, take Pasong Tamo all the way to Pasay Road."

In our case, we opt to simply trail the jeepneys plying the Pasay Road route. The good news is, if you’re driving, you need not worry about parking – there’s free valet service at Kamayan Pasay Road.

With the parking problem out of our hands, we follow the aroma of good food, leading us up a flight of stairs to the second floor of the 300-seat Kamayan restaurant where a glorious buffet awaits us.

Yup, Kamayan Pasay Road sure is alive and cooking!

Fact is, it has expanded its native buffet offerings to well over 50 dishes, from the ensaladas to the panghimagas. Of the new dishes, easily a hot favorite is the lechon sisig with lots and lots of tongue-searing chili. There’s also the souper-duper sinigang na ulo ng salmon.

"In the course of time, the Kamayan buffet has evolved," Tootsie is happy to share. "There are the different sections, like the Pancitan, Paborito Noon, Paborito Ngayon and the Ihawan, where we have introduced our grilled salmon and grilled swordfish. And now, we have the Festival dishes like pastel de lengua, morconito, gallantina. Soon, we will have bibingka and puto bumbong as regular features of our Panghimagas section."

These new dishes are offered together with Kamayan’s good old, hands-down faves like the kare-kare, adobong tostado, laeng, adobong kangkong, pinakbet, Bicol Express and chicharong Bisaya.

Another old favorite is the green mango shake which Kamayan was the first to introduce 25 years ago.

Tootsie asserts, "Depending on the season and whatever theme we have, sometimes we go regional, sometimes fusion and sometimes nouvelle cuisine. We have adapted to the times."

What has not changed though is the price of the lunch buffet. "Until now, it’s still P275," Tootsie beams. "Inclusive of over 50 dishes, plus all the lechon you can eat. After 25 years (and seven Kamayan outlets), we have mastered the tricks of the trade. We go directly to the suppliers and because we’re big, we get volume discounts."

Every now and then, Kamayan comes up with different festivals. Tootsie shares these happy tidings, "For December, we’re coming out with dishes that are traditionally served for noche buena like gallantina, morconito, pastel de lengua. You don’t have to cook, you simply have to order – just give us a two-hour advance notice."

Tootsie hastens to add, "And what’s Christmas without lechon to share with family and friends? Yes, we’re offering our lechon de leche at 15 percent discount from Dec. 1 to 15. Which means that you can get a four to five-kilo lechon de leche for only P2,000 to P2,500. Added good news is that you can preorder to avail of the discount and get your lechon for Christmas or New Year. You have a choice of lechon tanglad or lechon paella. It comes in a new take-home box designed by our marketing staff, which would make a great gift for Christmas."

For dinner, Kamayan Pasay Road goes a la carte. "That’s when you can enjoy our seafoods like the Kamayan king crabs, lobsters, prawns," says Tootsie. "Our asadong alimango is still around, along with the guy who invented it, Manny Tesorero, who’s still helping us concoct new dishes together with Angie Carranceja, assistant vice president for product research and development. Or diners can simply order the Kamayan laman-dagat combination which comes with a choice of chili sauce, aligue sauce or sesame oil (otherwise called the Kamayan sauce)."

The Man in White Tito Eduque who started it all could be burping in heaven. "We miss Dad’s presence but his legacy – his sense of family, values and principles – will live forever," says Tootsie. "He’s a tough act to follow."

If there’s one other thing that hasn’t changed, it’s the good old service that the dining public has come to associate with Kamayan Pasay Road. But expect a little twist, however.

"We’ve reintroduced hand gestures in terms of expressing ourselves service-wise," Tootsie points out. "We still use the hands, but not so much for eating as for expressing love and concern for our guests. We put this challenge to our staff, ‘How could we add entertainment value to our service?’ And they came up with their own choreographed greetings. We call it haplos ng Kamayan. We greet our guests with hand gestures that say, ‘We welcome you with our minds, words and hearts.’"

Such a touching welcome!

And that’s just for starters. To add spice to the holidays, Kamayan has lined up monthlong activities which include:

• Week 1, Dec. 1 to 7 – Romance of the Hands, where the haplos ng Kamayan and the Maharlika wash will be introduced, according to Rejana Marco, 21-year-old HRM graduate who’s fast following in her mom Tootsie’s culinary footsteps.

• Week 2, Dec. 8 to 14 – Sinukwan Festival featuring a parol competition. The award-winning lanterns will be put on display at Kamayan.

• Week 3, Dec. 15 to 21 – Pastores Bicol caroling competition.

• Week 4, Dec. 22 to 28 – Karisyohan Festival where chefs from Leyte have been invited to show their culinary talents.

"We did research on not-so-common Christmas festivals in Pampanga, Leyte and Bicol and tied up with the Department of Tourism," says Tootsie. "Christmas is really different in the Philippines. I remember once, Dad took all of us to San Francisco to celebrate Christmas with my sister who lives there. The kids noted a very big difference between the celebration there and here."

So how do you say "Maligayang Pasko" the Kamayan way?