CEBU, Philippines — A decade ago, I was in Hong Kong with a group of tour operators and travel agents. We had dinner at the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, a restaurant that serves French cuisine. L’Atelier translates to “workshop of a professional artist.”
I have noticed that there are very few institutions with the name of the owner (like Joël Robuchon) attached to the name of their establishments (L’Atelier). Well, there is now one in Cebu – and it is called Private Kitchen by Joel del Prado. The place specializes in Filipino favorites and holiday heritage dishes. It makes deliveries to homes, and does take-outs as well as full catering services for clients.
I have known Joel del Prado as the manager of a famous Filipino restaurant and he has collaborated with world-class Filipino chefs in giving Cebuanos an opportunity to taste the heritages dishes they have nurtured.
I was present, excuse me, at the Ilocano, Kapanpangan, Tagalog food festivals that Chef Joel had set up and my dear readers must have had come across my accounts of these culinary events in my previous writings.
Recently, select local media personalities were invited to preview these Filipino favorites and Spanish-inspired dishes. Appetizers were Green Mango Salad and Boiled Saba Bananas with Ginamos Special. (The Visayan “ginamos” is a salted fermented product, usually made with anchovies and shrimp fry but Joel uses whitebait, a term referring to immature fry of fish,1 to 2 inches long, called “shirasu” in Japan).
Main dishes served were Cebu Lechon, Whole Parrot Fish Baked in Sea Salt Crust, Gourmet Kare-Kare served with Bagoong, Jamon ng Bulacan, Fresh Lumpia, Callos, and Lengua con Tomate. Desserts were the Cuchinta, Palitaw and Fresh Fruits.
Baking the parrot fish or mulmol with herbs and coated in salt keeps the fish juicy, tender and aromatic. The secret is the egg white which combines with the salt to form a cover and prevents the salt from leaking into the fish which could make the fish very salty.
The Jamon ng Bulacan was delicious and it was tenderer than the usual ham because it is marinated with pineapple juice, which contains enzyme bromelian, a tenderizer. Other ingredients used are prague powder, beer, wine and sugar.
Fresh lumpia is always comfort food for me, because it reminds me of the lumpia my Lola Emping used to make. The only problem is that when Lola was still around (lived up to 99 years old) making that lovely lumpia, I failed to document it. Now, all I have left are broken memories of how Lola made lumpia, without use of measuring cups or tablespoon. However, it’s deliciousness, excuse me, is forever etched in my brain.
The kare-kare, paired with bagoong was quite tasty. I had tried my hand in cooking the perfect kare-kare, beginning with the toasting of the rice and grinding it. Then the same procedure was followed with the peanuts, toasting and grinding it. The oxtail and calf’s feet were cleaned to remove whatever extra hairs were left.
The butcher only sells it by a set of four feet, tail and face for the beef stew. If you want to make more kare-kare, then maybe buy two sets. If you want less, then you can have your kare-kare in two or more instalments. Be creative.
If you find it too much work to make your own kare-kare, you may just place an order via phone numbers 328-9202 and 0926 505 8517. More information is found at https://www.facebook.com/PrivateKitchenByJDP/.