A new concept in private dining

BenCab figures prominently in the richly-laden dining table at the beautiful home of philanthropist Pinky Tobiano and her husband Juancho Robles at an exclusive subdivision in Quezon City where several other celebrities live.

Two weeks ago, Pinky hosted a birthday lunch for Juancho. Proving true to her reputation as, pardon the cliché, “a hostess with the mostest,” she sprang a surprise on her guests (including such close friends from showbiz as Lolit Solis and your Funfarer) with a setting straight out of a glossy food magazine.

Pinky loves to entertain friends at her home which reflects her prim-and-proper personality. Lolit and I have never seen a celebrity home where every nook and cranny are catalogued, from the first floor (with a floor-level pond full of carps) to the second floor where located are the bedrooms (her daughter’s has walls lined with books), the couple’s His and Hers closets, the fitness room (complete with a spa, etc.), and the bathrooms with toiletries so neatly-arranged that they can put to shame a body shop.

For security reasons and to preserve their privacy, Pinky and Juancho have politely turned down requests to have the three-storey house featured in a magazine, saying no to requests to have pictures taken even if they will happily take their friends on a quick tour (if too lazy to take the stairs, you can always use the elevator).

Oh yes, the food.

Pinky requested her friend, A-list restaurateur Happy Ongpauco, to cater for Juancho’s birthday. Happy is proud of her new venture which she called Private Dining by Happy Concept Group in addition to her existing chain of Pamana restaurants with an outlet on Mother Ignacia St., Quezon City, just across from the ABS-CBN Studios and in Tagaytay, a stone’s throw from her Bed & Breakfast Boutique with rooms called Love and Lust (where a popular couple stayed overnight before they parted ways) and a recently-opened Tsokolate Artisinal Café.

I specially mentioned BenCab because it was the BenCab plates (a collector’s item like the BenCab passport cover) that first caught our attention as we took our seats (marked by nameplates, as per Pinky’s SOP) at the dining table.

“This lunch is Filipino-themed, so I made it BenCab-inspired,” explained Happy (so named because she has a happy disposition just like her mom, retired actress Liberty Ilagan). “I filled up my food stations with BenCab plates and my tablescape with porcelain BenCab plates.”

The new concept was inspired by Happy’s love for beautiful plate ware and cooking (which she inherited from her father, former actor Rod Ongpauco, whose family is associated up to now with the Barrio Fiesta restaurants).

“For years now, whenever I travel, I immerse myself in the culinary world of the places that I visit. I learn their traditional way of cooking, their cuisine and how to serve it. I bring home with me the knowledge and their culture as well. Thus, I am able to introduce this kind of experience through my Private Dining Concept. We do specialized catering for intimate gatherings. We serve authentic Indian, Thai, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Italian, French, American cuisines and, of course, Filipino.”

With that, we buckled down to gobbling up the endless serving of food by a team of personal chefs and butlers that goes with the catering.

I will let the pictures on this page do the “talking.” — Photos by RICKY LO

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected].)