PHILIPPINES ON A PLATE: 1,000 years, eight courses

History can actually be savored.

Embark on a trip back in time with XO46 Heritage Bistro’s food tour, dubbed “Philippines On A Plate.” The first of its kind, the tour is a delightful, gustatory trip through time. It highlights more than a thousand years of Philippine history and a myriad of culinary influences from Arabic to American.

A result of more than a year of research and development, the tour is a brainchild of XO46’s Sandee and Andrew Masigan.

“Ours is a cuisine with incredible depth and scope,” says Andrew. “We are one of the few who has a complete dictionary of local dishes according to region, much like the Chinese and French have. Just as there are Cantonese, Hainanese, Peking and Hunan dishes, so is there Ilocano, Pampangueño, Caviteño, Ilonggo and Marawi food.  

“Having a multi-dimensional cuisine puts us in the league of countries like France, Italy, Spain and of course, China  in many ways,” Andrew reveals proudly.

Both Sandee and Andrew are staunch advocates of Filipino heritage cuisine. Their highly successful restaurants XO46 Heritage Bistro and The New Visayan Room along Valero St. in Makati and Isla Café are proof of their commitment.

We were invited to the launching of Philippines On A Plate at the White Space recently and were treated to chunks of information about Filipino food by our “tour director” Gabe Mercado, even as we savored degustacion portions of it by chef CK Kalaw during an eight-course dinner.

The tour goes way past the Spanish era where most history books start. It highlights the richness and sophistication of our ancestors, how they lived and ate, and shatters myths like how Filipino food is all brown and oily.

“Our ancestors actually ate healthily,” says Sandee.

After cocktails made with lambanog and tuba and appetizers,  our first course was a trio of Kinilaw na Tanguige, Kinilaw na Kambing, Kinilaw na Laman Dagat served on a bed of salt. This was followed by Inihaw na Kalabaw at Ensalada. The grilled carabao beef was surprisingly tender and tasty. This was followed by Sinigang na Talakitok sa Santol, which was very fresh. The sour flavor of the santol-laced soup actually cleansed the palate. Our fourth course was the Pato Tim, which featured duck instead of pork “pata.” The Pato Tim actually tasted European to me, perhaps because it was presented like Duck L’Orange but with Pinoy frills.

The fifth course of Binagoongang Baboy Damo had the taste and aroma of Thai bagoong rice, except it was wrapped in banana leaves.

I was actually surprised by my favorite course, the Ensalada de Mexicana, because it was not what I thought of as traditionally Pinoy food. I loved the corn flavor of the mousse in this dish and the guacamole sauce. Remember, we were governed by Spain through Mexico.

Seventh  heaven was Balbacua at Bringhe, which was sticky rice served in bamboo. The Spanish influence is evident here, but the bamboo vessel is so “Malakas and Maganda,” so it’s definitely Pinoy.

The eighth course was dessert of Buko Pie at Fruit Salad ni Lola, definitely as Pinoy as halo-halo. The Fruit Salad has American influence — with a Pinoy touch because of ingredients like pineapple and kaong.

As we went through each course, our guide Gabe Mercado gave backgrounders on each dish.

“Food serves as a potent medium by which we can  communicate who we are as a people — our history, our flavor, if you will, to foreigners who visit our shores.  A fantastic food experience has the power to imprint  a good impression of ourselves in the minds of our visitors,” says Andrew.

So we went around the Philippines, with side trips to different parts of the globe, through several centuries — without leaving our seats.

It was after the eighth course that we had to get on our feet — and burn the calories. History was never this appetizing!

 (Philippines On A Plate Tours will be held three times a week, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., at the Visayan Room beside XO46 Heritage Bistro along Valero St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. The tour can also be mobile and brought to other venues for a minimum of 30 people. A tour is slated for Aug. 17.

For inquiries and reservations, call 553-6635 and 32,

Pinky at 0917-5408575 or Leo at 0932-3317810.

Tour fee is P2,800 per person.)

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)