Filipino custom makes Lola's food a hands-on experience
Unfortunately, I learned too late about the meaning of “kamayan” to have enjoyed our meal from Lola's Kitchen in the most authentic manner.
Last Saturday, the delivery person from the less-than-ayear-old Filipino food business was 10 minutes early. We were hungry, and the smells of what we had ordered practically made our hearts quicken. We devoured beef ribs, chicken drumsticks, sweet and sour shrimp and garlic fried rice with minimum conversation. Soon, we were stuffed.
Only later did I learn the dinner for four had been presented in the kamayan style, and that kamayan in Tagalog means by hand.
For the full Lola's Kitchen experience, we should have scooped up rice from the massive tray, pressed the rice into our palm, topped it with meat sauce and popped it into our mouth.
Lesson learned. Next time, we'll skip the cutlery. But the food from Lola's Kitchen was none the worse despite our cultural faux pas, and we were especially satisfied by the thinly sliced barbecue beef ribs that won us over with their sweetsavoury goodness.
Lola's chicken adobo featured long-stewed drumsticks with prominent soy-based saltiness, but also a depth of flavour beyond that top note.
The chicken and ribs were packaged on top of an epic portion of garlic fried rice, which was delicious on its own and not simply a starchy companion to more exciting meats. The fried plantains that also topped the rice were fantastic; we only wished there had been more of them.
In a separate container were sweet-and-sour shrimps that were a touch overcooked, although the dish's pungently gingery sauce went some way toward redeeming it.
At work in Lola's Kitchen is, in fact, Kim Epino, for whom the food business is a part-time job. He started it last May, when there was a lull in his day job, and he never had to close his dining room during the pandemic because he doesn't have one, just his commercial kitchen in the City Centre building. The Instagram page for Epino's business shows some pretty lavish feasts prepared for larger groups last summer, with food laid out on banana leaves for kamayan-style enjoyment.
In an interview, Epino told me Lola is what Filipinos call their grandmothers, and that his grandmother used to own a little café in the Philippines. Epino was inspired by her, and wants to offer food reminiscent of his family's kamayan-style gatherings.
For now, Lola's menu is simple: 10 main courses, which are bundled in “combination platters” that serve two or four, plus a few appetizers and a dessert. That may not sound like a lot, but it's pretty significant given that Ottawa has had very few options that offer Filipino cuisine. (Tamis Cafe in Centretown is one, while the Meryenda food truck is closed for the season.)
Let's hope Lola's Kitchen outlasts the pandemic and expands on the promise of its unique-for-Ottawa, kamayanstyle feasts.