Lakwatsa in London

MANILA, Philippines - Claire Buyson does not sound like a Filipina at all. She has the twang of a young woman who was born and raised in the Notting Hill area of London, who went to school and university also in the UK and has only visited the Philippines four times in her life.

But deep in her heart she knows she is a Filipina. She grew up hearing her mother say “maglalakwatsa ka na naman!” whenever she asked permission to go out with friends. So to her, lakwatsa meant happy times socializing, happy times with friends.

Her mother is a good cook, never failing to feed her small family all the Filipino favorites like adobo and lumpia. And so her two children, Claire and her brother, grew up loving Filipino food.

Claire worked part time at a Thai restaurant when she was in school and worked for another Asian premium restaurant chain for more than four years when she was in university. She learned to be a hostess who sat VIPs and movie stars at their favorite tables. She learned to work in the kitchen and bar, and she met many business people. One of them gave her a break to work at his investment firm where Claire honed her entrepreneurial skills. The job gave her the opportunity to travel and explore many places and try other restaurants,  because she knew that someday she may have her own small restaurant too. 

Tucked under her arm was a business plan that was evolving as she traveled to New York and other cosmopolitan cities. Ever the enterprising lady, she asked her boss to invest in her plan and he agreed. Thus, her dream cafe called – what else? – Lakwatsa was born.

She knew exactly where she wanted her restaurant to be. She knew what gap there was in the café and retail landscape in her neighborhood. She set her sights on an old tapas bar that for 20 years never renovated or refreshed itself. As fate would have it, the landlord offered the place to her, albeit at a very steep price. She almost lost the space when another bidder came and trumped her offer. But she would not give up so easily. After all, she had her plans and interior design drawings already done. She upped her offer and begged the landlord to please award the space to her. And he did.

Her café, which offers merienda fare or small tidbits of Filipino and Asian snacks, is prominently located between the famous Notting Hill bookshop featured in the Hugh Grant movie “Notting Hill” and an equally famous store featured in the TV show “Miami Ink.” Besides having famous neighbors, Claire was also blessed by the timing of the Dept. of Tourism’s launch in London last November of the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign. The DOT had  billboards in the underground subway system and stickers on taxis – all contributing to awareness about the Philippines.

Claire’s merienda place was also featured in The Evening Star, a free paper that everyone reads on their way home from work, as it is given out at train stations and other prominent places.

ABS-CBN News also featured Lakwatsa in its online news portal, and word got around in Twitter and Facebook posts. News about Claire’s dream café went viral and soon her place was packed and running out of lumpia on some days, running out of turon because she just did not expect the response of Londoners curious about Filipino or Far Eastern cuisine, served as tapas or appetizer style. And Claire is adamant about freshness, serving only food freshly made or prepared on site.

We had a taste of rice balls filled with shredded adobo (her mother’s recipe), which comes with an adobo dipping sauce, chicken teriyaki barbecue (three sticks per order), and prawn toast which she said is a tweaked version of the Chinese dim sum favorite. Her menu is Far Eastern, which is how Londoners still call Southeast Asia.

For drinks, she specializes in bubble milk tea which she researched on for about four months, trying out different recipes and purveyors, Vietnamese coffee (she says people find it interesting to watch the coffee drip slowly onto the ice cubes and condensed milk) and a selection of Asian-inspired teas like ginger and lemongrass. She also serves halo-halo, lumpiang shanghai, and freshly-baked pan de sal.

I was impressed with her being a hands-on operator, and her astute business know-how, as I quizzed her on food costs and operating expenses.

She envisions a second store soon and knows exactly where she will build it. I was reminded of my first coffee shop which I put up after college, because I also asked my mother to prepare the tapa recipe and she helped me as Claire’s mother is now helping her with the kitchen challenges.

What is impressive is her desire to put Filipino and Far Eastern cuisine in the minds of the international market that is London.

The place is eclectically decorated with natural and organic touches like wooden crates from an orchard in France, old scaffolds cut up to be table tops, a menu board made with Scrabble tiles, simple lines and white as the dominant color or non-color.

The swing seats are her choice because she likes to relax like in a hammock, and the stools are covered with pillows strapped with leather belts or bands.

It is a nice place to lounge in, hang with friends or simply to relax and read a book while enjoying bubble tea. When I visited, there were solo diners who just simply came to enjoy the food.

Whether they remember it as Filipino or Far Eastern, the good thing is that Claire has definitely put our adobo and lumpia on the London food map.

Soon to come will be Far Eastern High Tea with small cakes and tastings of items on the menu. And most important, Claire has asked me for Philippine coffee to serve her discriminating clientele.

Another woman making waves in a different part of the world.

That’s Claire Buyson – a true inspiration for many young women who want to make their mark in the world bringing the name of the Philippines along with them.

Bravo, Claire!