Margarita Fores DOES street food

MANILA, Philippines - A stand, Da Nerbone in Mercato Centrale in Florence, does bollito misto sandwiches with tripe and their sign says tripa, tripe sandwich — and goto, for the Filipinos who work there,” shares Margarita Fores. “I was so amused that whether for Filipinos or Italians, street food is something we all go for. Anywhere in the world, street food is what keeps us grounded.”

This was during her first time in Italy in the ’80s, this introduction to Italian food culture — casual, filling, and delicious — being the inspiration behind the 11-store-strong success that is modern Italian chain Cibo. The pioneering feat of educating the Filipino palate with the dolce far niente lifestyle got her Asia’s Best Female Chef award in 2016 from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

It has thus been a long time coming for new menu Cibo di Strada (street food in Italian), the addition of four Italian street food items pizza fritta (Neapolitan fried pizza), arancini (big risotto balls), arrosticini (skewered beef tenderloin cubes spiked with chili flakes a la Abruzzo on Tuscan whole wheat bread), and fritto misto (a Venetian mix fry of deep fried shrimp, squid, zucchini, eggplant, and lemon). The menu is now available exclusively in SM Aura Premier to commemorate Cibo’s 20th anniversary as well as the opening of its al fresco area, while the pizza fritta is available in all branches. In SM Aura, it will be fried in a cart parked outside, Napoli-style.

The panino porchetta (roast pig sandwich) is also relaunched. Cibo opened with it years ago in Glorietta when everyone else was doing traditional, clichéd Italian. In the age of long lunches, it was prepared and packed for on-the-go sustenance. Fores’ family would tell you these are the most underrated items in Cibo’s extensive menu.

This, however, isn’t a first for Cibo. Arancini, for instance, was introduced to the menu in 2000 then edited out. “Many of the things we’ve done, sometimes, it’s a little bit too early for its time,” she says. Even with our own street food culture, to do so in Italian — small, filling meals meant to be noshed quickly or on the go — didn’t quite click.

She cites one difference: “In Italy, they do arancini bigger than we do it here because you’re supposed to walk out with just one piece and bite it as you walk.” Here, most people still opt for a sit-down and eat it with a fork and knife.

But as they do it in Italy, Cibo’s arancini gets flavor from the rind of parmigiano in chicken broth; its texture from crusty, day-old bread crumbs. “You never waste anything,” she says. This take on Sicilian street food comes in three varieties: Bologna-style beef and pork ragu and mozzarella; their best-selling al telefono, made of stewed tomato, mozzarella, parmigiano and basil; and porcini mushrooms, gorgonzola and mozzarella.

Pizza fritta makes its first appearance in the menu with the Manila arrival of Caputo flour, the flour of Naples, the hometown of pizza. It was also with Caputo that Fores learned how to make pizza with Maestro Gaetano Fazi in Naples 12 years ago. Fores shares, “After 12 years, our pizza finally feels more alive.”

Sinking my teeth into the pizza fritta, it is first crisp and then delectably chewy. These deep-fried pizza dough pockets can either be savory or sweet when stuffed with prosciutto cotto, bel paese, mozzarella, and fontina then doused with groviera cream; a vegetarian option of tomato, mozzarella, and basil; and Nutella and banana for those with a sweet tooth, all best eaten straight from the wrap with your hands. It’s perfect with a prosecco or a bellini.

The staff, too, are visibly thrilled as one folds the dough, presses it, and then stretches the sides — the secret to its airiness. “Handle the dough the same way you would handle your wife — gently and deliberately, otherwise it will be tough,” Fores says, spilling some good old Italian wisdom. It is then deep fried. Mouths water as the fragrance wafts throughout the restaurant; using heat, Cibo used to only grill and bake. 

Fores is convinced this is the right time for her street food and the easy enjoyment it represents. “There is a real lifestyle change all over the world. Even serious chef restaurants don’t do it so formal anymore. Good food is more accessible. Regardless if the service trappings are not there, everything is more relaxed, service-wise. It is more about eating good food and eating well.” Indeed, as it should be.

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Cibo offers a 20-percent discount on a single order of any pasta dish (for dine-in and take-out) along with an order of pizza fritta from June 26 to June 27, Mondays to Thursdays only. Visit cibo.ph/stores to find a Cibo near you. Follow them @ciboph on Facebook and Instagram and @cibo_ph on Twitter for updates.