Entertaining With Flair
The Metro Society team starts the holidays by indulging in a nostalgic feast
CHRISTMAS is a time for family to gather and for friends who have become like our family to celebrate with us. Reunions are aplenty, with childhood classmates, former officemates, cousins, visiting relatives from overseas—there is always a good reason for a Christmas party. It is a time to spread cheer and love, and to eat, always to eat!
The Metro Society team’s Christmas party this year was held at the newly opened Restaurant 1950 in Valencia, Quezon City. Chef Robby Goco, together with his sous chefs Chester Velas and John Balanagay, prepared a feast with a traditional Christmas Noche Buena menu. Goco is the genius behind the Cyma group of restaurants, including Souv by Cyma, serving Greek cuisine; and Green Pastures, a pioneer in the farm-to-table concept. He is a prolific chef, responsible for restaurant concepts that included Mexican, a burger joint and movie snacks that turned hotdogs gourmet. Velas has credentials that highlight cooking for Akulturado in Vancouver while Balanagay has been in the kitchen of Rembrandt Hotel, Yumi, and its other affiliated restaurants for many years.
As in many Filipino Christmas Eve dinners, the table was groaning with food. Goco explains, “We prepared dishes that I’ve been having every Noche Buena, first at my grandmother’s house, then my mom’s. This is the Christmas feast I grew up with. It has to be complete. It has to be abundant. Everything you see is made in house.”
In typical Goco fashion, even the traditional is punctuated by his personal approach to a dish, adding twists that elevate and make more difficult to resist. The Christmas ham was cured and smoked in house, a delicious smokiness the predominating flavor that was meant to be juxtaposed against the salty queso de bola. For those that needed a sweet dimension, a honey glaze was served on the side, along with a platter of house made pandesal. The Caesar salad was prepared exactly as it was decades ago, when only iceberg lettuce from Baguio was available, and Romaine lettuce did not exist in any vegetable garden, whether commercial or personal. This time though, Parmigiano Reggiano was used, eschewing the jar of Kraft grated Parmesan cheese
that used to be the only kind of Parmesan available on local grocery shelves. The potato, macaroni, and fruit salads were throwback versions, looking and tasting like Lola’s did, with distinct flavors that reminded you of home. Pescado con Mayonesa, traditionally a steamed lapu-lapu or grouper dressed in mayonnaise and garnished in stripes with chopped hard-boiled eggs, strips of red bell pepper, pickles, chopped carrots was Goco-fied into fish con mayonnaise Japonaise, using Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, made with rice vinegar instead of the usual distilled vinegar. The result was a creamier and smoother dressing, that went very well with the mild flavors of the fish. For a touch of humor, Goco fashioned a black caviar eye on the lapu-lapu. The Chicken relleno, a stuffed boneless chicken, was done in classic Christmas style but instead of the usual gravy made with chicken liver, it was served with a sauce made with foie gras, bumping the dish up several notches above what you would normally get. Pastel de lengua
or ox tongue, was cooked in a white wine sauce and baked en croute while the paella marinera got a healthy dose of taba ng talangka, a Filipino fermented paste derived from the salted roe and aligue
of small river swimming crabs or Asian shore crabs (talangka), instead of the standard saffron. In the 1960s, imported steaks were only available at finedining restaurants of international hotels so all the general public had access to was local beef. While it possessed robust and earthy flavors, its texture was tough so the most sought-after cut to serve as steak was tenderloin. Filet Mignon was de rigueur and
Goco paid tribute to it, using prime Angus beef instead and home-cured slab bacon. The cochinillo did not need any twists, the pork tender and succulent, the skin breaking like glass under the plate used to cut the suckling pig. No effort was spared in preparing the desserts that occupied almost half of the entire table. While the leche flan with ube haleya and ensaymada looked effortless to make, they actually took many hours to bring to the table.
Restaurant 1950 is the newest concept by Goco. It is a 1950s residence that was once the residence of the Santaromana family. Renovated from home to restaurant, an entire kitchen was built behind the original one, and the old kitchen in the ground floor was transformed into a bar. The layout on the ground floor is multilevel while on the second floor, the rooms were knocked down, resulting in an open area that accommodates larger tables. An enclosed private
room is tucked away in one corner, for intimate parties or private meetings. An outdoor patio with a couple of tables is smoker-friendly and large trees grow in the surrounding grounds that are used for guest parking. Memorabilia and furniture from the 1960s can be found throughout the interiors, giving it a nostalgic feel. Home is still the predominant atmosphere, giving the restaurant a cozy and warm ambiance. The surrounding neighborhood is quaint and residential. Parking is ample, secure, and protected inside its private compound.
Goco tries his hand at mixology, creating mocktails that he enjoyed putting together. His favorite is the “red carpet,” a refreshing mix of strawberry, apple, lime, and cinnamon; easy to drink, light enough to consume in large quantities. He crafts the Valencia
Hills sunrise, in honor of the neighborhood that the restaurant is found. It combines pineapple, peach, and passion fruit. Piña colada, virgin mojito, and “dreaming apples” complete the list; all delicious, despite the absence of alcohol. Goco’s trade secret? He uses only fresh fruits pressed for their juice. Its menu is eclectic, a mix of Filipino classics made modern and dishes that run the gamut from Japanese to American, listing dishes that include Kansai-style sukiyaki to buttermilk fried chicken bites.
Restaurant 1950 is slated to be on our short list of best-kept secrets, away from the maddening crowd, the perfect place to gather. Christmas is only the beginning.
Restaurant 1950 is at 14 Castilla Street,
Brgy. Valencia, Quezon City.