Northern Living: 2019 October-December

Set Artin Deco concrete revival

Mainofattraction Cup cure 10 PAGE 32

Vintage Get bread Fishthat andrepairs greens PAGE PAGE 26 PAGE45 7

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Wrap-up Issue 2019

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Come Together We’ve spent the year exploring the North, checking out the newest restaurants and shops, and discovering the interesting homes of artists, designers, and architects. Now, as the year comes to a close, it’s time for us to wind down, too.

In this issue, we’ve put together an ideal wishlist to fill your homes, bookshelves, and closets. But more than gifts, we also take a look at what many may consider the star of the holidays: food.

In the spirit of coming together with loved ones, we check out a new restaurant set inside a 1970s home, helmed by chef Tatung Sarthou, along with a bakery whose take on sweets is set to change the way we look and crave desserts in the coming year. We also dissect our noche buena menus to know once and for all how to distinguish our classic Filipino stews.

But before we get caught up in the holiday rush, let’s remember the true spirit of the season. We’ve put together a list of organizations you can check out and give back to, be it in the form of clothes, food, or even volunteering time.

Pauline Miranda Associate managing editor

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What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

FOR MY GRADE SCHOOL GRADUATION, I RECEIVED A COMPLETE "TWILIGHT" COLLECTION. TEAM JACOB-DESERVED-BETTER FOREVER AND ALWAYS.

A VERY BADLY WRAPPED BOOK GIVEN BY A FRIEND WHO REMEMBERED, EVEN THOUGH HIS FAMILY DOESN'T CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT / GROUP PUBLISHER

CREATIVE DIRECTOR NIMU MUALLAM

CONTRIBUTORS WRITERS

EDITORIAL MANAGER

CLARISSE ALFONSO LEVENSPEIL SANGALANG

ILLUSTRATORS

BEA J. LEDESMA

ERIC NICOLE SALTA

ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR PAULINE MIRANDA

CONTENT CREATORS ZOFIYA ACOSTA CHRISTIAN SAN JOSE

JUNIOR CONTENT CREATORS BEA NICOLE AMARILLE JOY THERESE GOMEZ ANGELA PATRICIA SUACILLO A PAIR OF BINOCULARS WHEN I WAS A KID. IT WAS THE PERFECT GIFT FOR A VERY CURIOUS KID LIKE ME WHO WAS ALWAYS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW. I ENJOYED IT SO MUCH. I ACTUALLY EVEN WANT ANOTHER ONE NOW.

JUNIOR DESIGNERS

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS AND VIDEOGRAPHERS ARGYL LEONES SAMANTHA ONG JP TALAPIAN BEA TAN JONAS TIMBREZA

THE BEST GIFT I'VE EVER RECEIVED IS A DARK BLUE GREEN MANEKI NEKO (A JAPANESE CERAMIC LUCKY CHARM IN THE SHAPE OF A CAT).

This magazine was printed responsibly using recycled papers with biodegradable inks.

BOARD CHAIRPERSON ALEXANDRA PRIETO-ROMUALDEZ IGC CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER J. FERDINAND DE LUZURIAGA CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ATTY. RUDYARD ARBOLADO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT / HEAD HR OFFICER RAYMUND SOBERANO VP AND CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER IMELDA C. ALCANTARA HEAD OF OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LURISA VILLANUEVA

Northern Living is published by Hinge Inquirer Publications. 4F Media Resource Plaza, Mola corner Pasong Tirad Streets, Barangay La Paz, Makati City.

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KEY ACCOUNTS SUPERVISOR ANGELITA TAN-IBAÑEZ KEY ACCOUNTS OFFICER ALETHEIA ORDIALES SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES KYLE CAYABYAB, XENIA SEBIAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES CHLOE DIANNE CARTONEROS, JOY GALURA, ROSE MAMONONG, ANDIE ZUÑIGA SALES COORDINATORS FAITH CASIDO, ERIEKA OLITRES SALES SUPPORT ASSISTANT RECHELLE NICDAO

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IDGE MENDIOLA RENEE SAN JUAN

ZAILA MAE KRISTINE PAZ-YAP

PROOFREADER

CATHERINE ORDA

COPY EDITORS

PATRICIA ROMUALDEZ

A TURNTABLE FOR MY 16TH BIRTHDAY. I STILL USE IT TO THIS DAY.

ASSISTANT MANAGER - DESIGN DANICA CONDEZ SALES SUPERVISOR SARAH CABALATUNGAN ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES ANNE MEDINA, KIM TAÑAFRANCA SALES COORDINATOR TRISHA GONZALES JUNIOR CONTENT CREATORS KLEO CATIENZA, MJ ESTABILLO, ETY INES, MONINA MEJIAS, LYLE PENDON, YEL SAYO, SHELLY TAN DESIGNERS DANA CALVO, ARIA DIMAANO, KRISTINE PAZ-YAP JUNIOR DESIGNERS JENNY MASANGKAY, JOEY SIMBULAN, ZAILA URMENETA PRODUCTION MANAGER JAN CARIQUITAN PRODUCTION SPECIALIST MARICEL GAVINO JUNIOR MULTIMEDIA ARTIST MICHAEL CHRISTIAN YABUT MARKETING SUPERVISOR ZIGGY CHAVEZ MARKETING OFFICER ANDREA VELASCO MARKETING ASSISTANT DEMI BEDOYA, CAE BELCIÑA, PANJ SUPAPO DESIGNER BIANCA PILAR JUNIOR DESIGNER ICE REYES

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CARTOONS AS PROPAGANDA How animation can be used to spread problematic messages Cartoons are a really, really good medium for propaganda. “The most effective kind of propaganda,” says “Ten Commandments of Propaganda” author Brian Anse Patrick, “subtly feeds your mind, and cartoons are ‘junk food for the soul.’” But more than being junk food, cartoons are effective at influencing viewers because it’s easier to imagine yourself in the place of a drawn character than with one that’s played by a live action actor, leading you to identify more with whatever the former is espousing.

ART CLARISSE ALFONSO

This means that instead of dismissing animation as harmless fun, it’s important to look at what it’s saying, especially when it’s targeted towards children.

Read more about animation as a political tool on Nolisoli.ph.

NOLISOLI.PH @nolisoli.ph

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nolisoli.ph

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@nolisoliph

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NEIGHBORHOOD

How Southeast Asia’s only Art Deco stadium was brought back to life page 6 Great stages make for great performances page 10 An all-season gift guide page 12 Local beauty brands giving us some much-needed representation page 18

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NEIGHBORHOOD

NEXT DOOR The North’s newest residents are characterized by both a revival of our cultural landmarks and an openness to cultural exchange

Escolta Exchange GF Panpisco Building, 246 Escolta St., Binondo, Manila Escolta Exchange is the incubation space, creative hub, and café created by Manila Creative Exchange, the organizers behind the Escolta Block Festival, in collaboration with San Miguel Philippines. The space is located at the ground floor of the once-abandoned Panpisco building on Manila’s historic street, and recently housed the typography exhibit “Tipong Pilipino.”

Rizal Memorial Coliseum Ocampo St., Malate, Manila Heritage conservationist and architect Gerard Lico has revamped the 85-year-old arena within the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, restoring it to its former glory.

The restoration work includes emphasizing the space’s original Art Deco design and installing its first-ever air conditioning system, among others.

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PHOTOGRAPHY GERARD LICO (RIZAL MEMORIAL COLISEUM), JONAS TIMBREZA (ESCOLTA EXCHANGE)

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2020 NEW YEAR’S EVE COUNTDOWN DECEMBER 31, 2019 | STARTS AT 7:00 PM | THE TENT

Buy your tickets now! www.ticketworld.com.ph | 8891-9999

NEIGHBORHOOD

Earl of Sandwich 4F SM Megamall, Bldg. A, Doña Julia Vargas Ave., Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong Instagram.com/earlofsandwichph 0932-3423847 The international franchise started by the descendants of the fourth Earl of Sandwich John Montagu, the purported inventor of the sandwich, has now entered the local market, bringing along hot sandwiches like the turkey and bacon Earl’s Club. The Philippine branch is its first in Asia and, as such, features Asia-specific items like its rice meal section.

Babaghanoosh!

49 East Capitol Dr., Pasig Instagram.com/babaghanoosh_mnl Hidden inside a parking lot in Kapitolyo, Babaghanoosh! serves Mediterranean comfort food like chicken and pork kebab. Unlike other similarly-themed restaurants, its meals aren’t doused in melted butter, swapping that out instead with paprika oil.

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PHOTOGRAPHY JONAS TIMBREZA (EARL OF SANDWICH), SWEET ESCAPE BUSINESS (BABAGHANOOSH!)

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NEIGHBORHOOD

ENTER, STAGE Help out our local performing arts industry by watching a show at these theaters TEXT THERESE GOMEZ

ART CLARISSE ALFONSO

UP Theater Magsaysay Ave., Diliman, Quezon City

Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) 5 Sunnyside Dr, New Manila, Quezon City

The University of the Philippines’ Theater is home to the performing arts organization Dulaang UP, founded by the late Tony Mabesa, who was a producer of advocacy-driven performances.

A UNESCO International Theater Institute Center, this site is fondly known as the “stage of the nation.” It’s home to the Philippine Educational Theater Association, which stages plays that tackle societal issues, so it’s seen the radical and diverse evolution of Philippine theater.

Areté University Road, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City Apart from housing a co-working space, dance studio and teaching restaurant, Areté—Ateneo de Manila’s art and technology hub—also has its 900-seater proscenium theater, 250-seater black box theater named after the cultural historian Doreen Gamboa Fernandez, and an open-air amphitheater for performing arts shows.

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The Cultural Center of the Philippines theaters CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay The CCP theater’s performance halls have, for the past 50 years, witnessed numerous emerging local art forms like ballet, orchestra and theater (it houses Ballet Philippines and Tanghalang Pilipino, for one). It recently opened its 300-seat Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez theater, a black box setup meant for more intimate performances.

Meralco Theater Ortigas Ave., Pasig

AFP Theater De Jesus Ave., Quezon City

Because of its good acoustics, the Meralco Theater has become known as a concert venue in recent years.

Still, it’s an ideal place for first-time theater-goers as its 1,000-seater auditorium makes for a laid-back but nonetheless engaging stage experience.

Aside from the usual plays from Treehouse Theatre Productions, the theater located in Camp Aguinaldo has become a venue for masses and Sunday services of several religious schools as well as a site for pageants.

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NEIGHBORHOOD

WISHLIST, CHECK Give the gift of natural scents, diverse reads, and handcrafted décor TEXT ANGELA PATRICIA SUACILLO

“Gift-giving is a love language and one that anyone can learn to speak,” writes Bonnie Wertheim for The New York Times. It’s a statement that rings true for everyone from all walks of life: The act allows us to communicate our happiness, pride, and gratitude towards the people we love through the kind of gifts we give.

More than anything, giving gifts allows us to build stronger connections, and demonstrates just how much we

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ART KRISTINE PAZ-YAP

know and care about our loved ones. The “perfect” gift, after all, isn’t measured by the amount of money we spent, but by the thought that we put into selecting a gift that our family and friends can either make the most out of or something that can help make their lives a little easier.

With that in mind, we’ve wrapped up meaningful gift ideas for every season— from new threads, pieces that spruce up a home, to books on anything under the Philippine sun.

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NEIGHBORHOOD

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HOME MARKET A housewarming guide for all occasions 01 Krete Manila Instagram.com/kretemanila Krete Manila is a home accessory brand that produces artisanal pieces using cement. Its latest product is the confetti tray, a plain white platter decorated with pink and blue scrap cement.

02 Ten/Twenty Kids Instagram.com/thetentwentykids Ten/Twenty Kids is a social

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enterprise that celebrates local craftsmanship through toys. Its first collection, Merkado, is made from upcycled textiles and is hand-sewn by stay-at-home moms.

03 393 Projects Instagram.com/393projects Architecture, interior design, and furniture brand 393 Projects is releasing its customizable Jut Lounge Chair, which has a one-foot

side extension for plants and books, and an accompanying side table.

04 Tropicalē Instagram.com/tropicaleph Tropicalē produces handcrafted home accessories made by local artisans from sustainable and locally sourced materials. One standout piece is the sorbetes storage bin, a rattan bin inspired by sorbeteros around the city.

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NEIGHBORHOOD

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PAGE TURNERS

Informative books for different kinds of readers

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01 “Walk Manila” by Far Eastern University Artbooks.ph/products/walk-manila Far Eastern University’s latest publication is a guidebook that identifies a hundred at-risk historic and heritage sites and structures in Intramuros, Ermita, Binondo, and Tondo, among others.

02 “Also Filipino: 75 Regional Dishes I Never Had Growing Up”

by Angelo Comsti Instagram.com/fooddudeph Inquirer food writer Angelo Comsti has released his fifth cookbook, “Also Filipino,” which shines a light on the country’s underrated dishes, showcasing the diversity of our cuisine.

03 Children’s Books Package by the Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (CANVAS) Lookingforjuan.com CANVAS, a nonprofit organization that works with creatives to promote children’s literacy, is releasing a group of books like May Tobias Papa’s “Karapat-Dapat,” which tackles issues on human rights, environmental conservation, and Filipino identity.

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04 Biannual Skinny by Gian Lao, Raymond Ang and Carina Santos Instagram.com/biannualskinny The Biannual Skinny is an art and literature folio that aims to start conversations on being human. The first issue features works by Paolo Lorenzana, Zeus Bascon, Marie La Viña and Mikael de Lara Co.

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NEIGHBORHOOD

BUT MAKE IT FASHION This season, stitch together a brand new wardrobe 01 Patton Studio Pattonstudio.com Instagram.com/patton_studio Patton Studio is a new ready-to-wear label that produces practical basics such as minimalist tops, culottes, and cropped jumpsuits.

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02 Gabriel Bustos Santos Instagram.com/gabrielbustossantos The Manila-based fashion designer’s new clothing collection, “Exercises on Reminiscence,” features pieces made from piña-seda, and designed with gothic, contemporary forms in mind.

03 Uniporme Instagram.com/uniporme.official Uniporme helps people build a modular wardrobe with its line of functional and modern accessories and apparel. Its latest collection, the Uniporme Boosts, includes high-waisted leg trousers and loose-fit linen shirts.

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04 Alunig Instagram.com/alunigph Alunig, which directly translates to “resonance,” is a Baguio-based brand that hopes to keep traditional indigenous art alive by incorporating woven motifs from Kalinga and Ifugao into its bags and organizers.

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HOMEGROWN BEAUTY Add a little sparkle to your beauty routine and support local at the same time TEXT RENEE SAN JUAN AND ANGELA PATRICIA SUACILLO

PHOTOGRAPHY JONAS TIMBREZA

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“The beauty industry has seen explosive growth, especially among young, independent brands,” reported Forbes in 2018. A huge part of this expansion is because the consumers, who largely base their buying habits on social media, now support brands they deem authentic and are aligned with their personal values.

This global push for small independent brands has also meant that it’s easier for local beauty brands with advocacies to get started and quickly gain a following. It also helps that homegrown makeup brands are typically created with different complexions in mind (morena representation, yes!), a far cry from most Western brands.

01 Daniela Calumba Instagram.com/danielacalumba

03 Sundays Beauty Instagram.com/hey.sundays

Inspired by nature, jewelry designer and slow fashion advocate Daniela Calumba’s latest fragrance line Perfume Drama is made with all-natural ingredients like honeysuckle, calamansi and ylang-ylang.

Sundays Beauty is an all-natural beauty brand best known for eyebrow products like the B.U.B. Tub, a brow-styling product made from castor oil. They also carry items like Spark Light, an easy-touse highlighter made of reflective pearls.

02 Filipinta Beauty Instagram.com/filipintabeauty Filipinta Beauty, an indie cosmetics brand inspired by Filipino culture and mythology, recently released Kabal, an eyeshadow palette inspired by protective talismans. It features bold and basic shades of pink, gold and bronze.

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04 Macynn Cosmetics Instagram.com/macynncosmetics Macynn Cosmetics’ Illumina Liquid Illuminator has an easy-to-blend, silky smooth texture. The cruelty-free product comes in three shades: golden bronze, silvery pink and champagne gold.

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EATS

At his latest restaurant inside a 1970s home in Maginhawa, chef Tatung Sarthou wants diners to appreciate slow food page 21 Hiraya Bakery is introducing a dark chocolate tart with two unusual ingredients: dalandan and sambong page 26 Want to know the difference between local stews?

Check out this guide page 30

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SLOW NOSTALGIA Talisay by chef Tatung Sarthou revisits Filipino essentials TEXT CHRISTIAN SAN JOSE PHOTOGRAPHY SAMANTHA ONG

The customized ceramic plates and cutlery add to the homey feel of Talisay.

The last time I was in the northern stretch of Maginhawa was for a dreaded dinner with high school classmates four years ago, when we ate at a themed restaurant, which I will not describe any further as it is still in existence today.

This street, part of the Teachers Village in Quezon City, is more

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known for its proximity to UP Diliman and EDSA tenants, who themselves are trying their best to outlast the competition with either gimmicky tactics, legacy, or plain budget-friendly appeal.

As far as themed restaurants go, it’s really hard to dispel the feeling of disbelief. Why would a space that’s obviously residential

try to transport diners to Italy?

Or a very industrial concept of a food park attempt to mimic the white-and-blue serenity of the Mediterranean?

Lately, what seems to be the next target simulation is the concept of home. Or has it always been that way, especially for those whose prime market are families?

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Combining three Mindanao culinary staples, Sarthou’s take on the Maranao beef rendang comes with palapa or toasted grated coconut and mango chutney for an added acidity to cut through the richness of the stew.

This trend has prompted many to ask, “Why would I want to go there if I could easily eat at home with the same ease?”

Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou kind of answers this in his 2018 book, “DISHkarte,” by pointing out that there’s such a thing as “sawa factor” and domestic kitchens are inherently limited by ingredients and equipment.

One Tuesday afternoon, at his new restaurant in Maginhawa, he

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says that another reason is that no one really “cooks” the way mothers did before. No one has the time and patience to do the intricate work of preparing a Filipino meal that takes hours to marinate, tenderize, and imbue with flavor.

At his new restaurant Talisay, in a refurbished 1970s house, there is no room for pretensions, no room for gimmicks, and maybe just enough square-foot mileage for the millennials who are after

reinterpreted Filipino food despite the expansive seating and the sprawling garden. There’s none of that here.

Forget the millennials and their newfound purchasing power. For restaurateurs like Sarthou, the big money is still with the conservative, hardcore classic-Filipino-cuisine-ornothing moms and dads, and lolos and lolas who get the tab after every meal.

“Sometimes there’s a tendency when we try to reinvent Filipino food to take it to the extreme na parang sabog-sabog na,” he says.

“I think what’s very essential for a Filipino meal is the ‘busog factor.’

Diners are willing to spend in order to get satisfaction. Ayaw nila ’yung pang-Instagram lang. That’s what we’re trying to create here. ’Di ka aalis kapag ’di ka busog.”

So there are no deconstructed plates, reinterpreted classics, and what-have-you. That’s not chef Tatung’s gig—at least not here.

At Talisay, it’s all about a wholesome, grandma-style approach to Filipino cooking.

His balbacua, a popular Visayan dish that’s a dead-ringer for kare-kare, takes eight hours to cook. The bread, a hybrid pandesal loaf made with a levain starter, is made in-house; so is the flavored butter that goes with it.

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24 EATS Everything, simply put, is not just reminiscent of a family kitchen but actually employs the necessary tedious work that goes into it. And why not? Sarthou has the space to pull it off.

Next to the main structure that’s now a three-part dining area is a kitchen big enough to house the main service line as well as a commissary. Ah, the joys of not succumbing to commercial malls or high-rent business district spaces and the compromises that go with it, Sarthou remarks with relief.

The property belongs to the family of journalist Cheche Lazaro and was previously a shop that was recently vacated and left idle. A rare bungalow-style house, one of the few that remains along Maginhawa Street, as others had been converted to money-generating restaurants or commercial buildings in the last few years.

Apart from the aesthetic changes to the floor plan and the facade, nothing else was restored, leaving the place looking eerily like the home that it once was. That was not at all Sarthou and his brother and business partner Jomi’s MO. None of that nostalgia by visual association. It’s all nostalgia by taste, as it should be.

Okay, maybe, despite Sarthou’s denial, there are little hints of

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23 innovations and small touches of personalization that show that he, in fact, cares about the “look” of his new restaurant. His choice to substitute bomba, the short-grain rice typically used for paella, with a local variety from Benguet called Tinawon is exemplary of his eye for modernizing the traditional.

This seasonal stout-grained rice, which does not turn soggy when stirred with the rest of the paella, is procured directly from farmers, who ship it weekly in sacks via provincial buses. The result is an al dente grain with a distinct flavor profile.

Lumpiang sariwa gets a technicolor upgrade here reminiscent of ube and pandan pandan..

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The paella uses a local rice variety specific to Benguet called Tinawon.

In the looks department, the plates and cutlery have been chosen with the utmost attention to detail. The ceramic plates engraved with “Talisay” underneath are custom-made, and the matte stainless utensils are shipped from Germany. So yes, it is a home as far as these details are concerned.

During our visit, there was a power outage (what could be homier than that?) after an electric line exploded across the street. Sarthou firmly apologized even before we arrived, and he

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went from table to table doing the same with the parties dining in that day.

The unfortunate circumstance rendered the split level called “the gallery” useless. A waste, really, as it houses many artworks depicting food from Quezon City collective Art Kitchen.

But lunch continued. A family stayed, knowing how inefficient the electric company could be, and that it might take the whole afternoon for the electricians to respond. They didn’t mind.

Neither did the kids who were

carelessly running around the garden, offering flowers to what they thought was a dead fish in the man-made pond.

Because that’s what good food does. More than making you remember the good stuff, it makes you forget the bad.

Talisay Garden Café 44 Maginhawa St., Teacher’s Village, Quezon City Instagram.com/talisayqc 8293-9077

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FLOUR ALL SEASON

Sambong isn’t just herbal tea—a Maginhawa bakery makes chocolate tart with it TEXT CHRISTIAN SAN JOSE

Cured spiced egg adds a savory flavor to this meringue pie with passionfruit.

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PHOTOGRAPHY JONAS TIMBREZA

In the last issue of Southern Living, we explored the means and methods to turn our lola’s favorite straight-fromthe-backyard herbal infusions into drinkable refreshments. By “drinkable,” we mean taming the bitterness often associated with this dreaded remedy, making it palatable even during the days when we feel fine and don’t require a herbal sedative.

With the help of the Philippines’ first tea master, Renee Sebastian, we were able to produce three tea recipes, including a sweet-tasting green teasambong hybrid.

If you haven’t had sambong tea in your life, well, good for you. My lola used to drink its infusions every afternoon to help cure her urinary tract infection. I remember mistaking it one day for sabaw ng mais, a sweet, hot drink we used to get for free from the neighboring boiled corn vendor when I was younger. It was so bitter and herbal—and it didn’t help that my lola made it with freshly picked leaves.

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Tamarind cumin blondie, walnut cardamon ball, sampinit brownie, and the Hermit or nut spiced cookies

So it was a relief that the sambong tea hybrid we made did not have the same bitterness, probably because we used dried leaves and added honey and lemon, whereas my lola’s was made purely with sambong and water.

In Quezon City, Hiraya Bakery has hatched another way to make use of this herbal plant, this time in a dessert.

Part of its new Christmas menu is a dark chocolate tart with a dalandan custard filling and—get this— sambong-infused vanilla icing.

Nicole “Colette” dela Cruz shares that apart from using in-season local fruits, they are now experimenting with unlikely ingredients for cakes,

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like the bitter sambong—which she insists reminds her so much of the taste profile of sage and thyme. This only made sense to me after I had my first bite.

It didn’t even occur to me prior to the tasting that sage and sambong actually resemble each other, with felt-like, elongated, textured leaves.

Together with the zesty dalandan curd, the sambong-vanilla icing adds an almost savory layer that cuts through the richness of the dark chocolate layers and crust.

The dalandan chocolate tart with sambong cream is priced at P1,700, or you can have it by the slice at Hiraya’s

Maginhawa branch. You might want to hurry up, though, as availability is largely dependent on the duration of dalandan season.

But if the bitter sambong isn’t your jam, and you are not convinced that it works with chocolate, Hiraya serves other desserts that use local fruits as the main ingredient.

There are the hibiscus- and sampinitstriped brownies. Sampinit is a local species of raspberry that grows abundantly in Quezon and Laguna, where Hiraya’s owners are from and where they get the majority of their ingredients. The red fruits taste slightly sour, bringing out the bittersweet flavor

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of the chocolate, accentuated with the sweet and floral tones of hibiscus.

In the cake department, two others stand out next to the sambong-dalandan tart: the passionfruit marshmallow mousse tart with spiced cured egg and the chocolate cerveza cake infused with cerveza negra, a dark lager.

Apart from cakes, Hiraya also specializes in other baked goods like these knot breads.

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The former is the same study in sweet and savory flavors as the sambong-dalandan tart, albeit more pronounced with the addition of the spiced cured egg. The “adult” cerveza cake, meanwhile, doubles down on the richness with the addition of the dark lager that effectively enriches the cake’s texture while deepening its flavor.

Hiraya Bakery’s focus on using only local and readily available fruits, however, isn’t the only thing that sets the business apart. It’s cultivating lasting connections and fruitful relationships with suppliers that make Hiraya more than your friendly neighborhood bakery with Instagram-ready treats and interiors.

Dela Cruz says that their sambong leaves are harvested by a neighbor in Laguna, then carefully sun-dried

by their staff. In an Instagram post, Hiraya’s owners also say that the sampinit fruits they use are foraged from San Pablo’s Mount Cristobal and Quezon’s Mount Banahaw, while the passionfruit is delivered to them by a family friend.

“Every Tuesday and Friday, our extended family member ate Ging comes to our kitchen with a bilao full of sitaw, talong, and corn and a bayong filled with passionfruit, also known as granadilla,” reads one of their posts.

Truly, these qualities, coupled with their culinary curiosity to continue coming up with new ways to use these local harvests, tally up to build the character of Hiraya Bakery: a localcentric, community-driven enterprise that brings forth a new gastronomic experience with every baked good.

ART DANA CALVO

The bitter sambong is used in this tart to bring out the tartness of dalandan.

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Cerveza negra is the secret to this decadent chocolate cake.

Hiraya Bakery 3F 195 Maginhawa St., Sikatuna Village, Diliman, Quezon City Instagram.com/hirayabakery 0995-0279853

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SIMMER DOWN Mechado, caldereta, menudo. Still can’t tell one from the other?

TEXT IDGE MENDIOLA

They’re all red, made up of meats, and simmered to perfect tenderness; how do you distinguish caldereta from mechado, menudo from afritada?

These dishes are ever-present on the Filipino dinner table. They’ve been enjoyed for lunch, dinner, and even breakfast, ever since the Spanish came and taught how they’re made.

They’re ubiquitous during celebrations and parties--baptisms, weddings, and

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ART CLARISSE ALFONSO

even death anniversaries. They’re also available everywhere, from the corner carinderia to high-end restaurants.

But how come many Filipinos still get confused when identifying these tomato-based dishes?

Truth be told, it has something to do with how everything is done in a rush these days. People want quick, fast results, and this applies to food as well.

It might also be a product of people’s

laziness, putting together whatever ingredient is available in the pantry and relying on ready-made mixes.

Reverence to tradition is simply forgotten along the way.

So, we take a step back and dissect each of these Filipino dishes, differentiating each by which meat is used, how the sauce is made, and what vegetables and other accoutrements are added. You’re welcome!

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EATS

Caldereta

Caldereta is a celebratory dish. Christmas and birthday parties are never without it. Its name comes from the Spanish word caldera, which means cauldron, or the pot where the dish is cooked. It’s usually salty and spicy, and features a thick, deep red sauce. Some claim that caldereta is a general term for stews, so mechado is actually a type of caldereta. Got even more confused?

Meat: Beef with bones or goat Sauce: Tomato sauce, liver spread, bird’s eye chilies Embellishments: Carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, olives, cheese sometimes

Mechado

Its name suggests how this dish is different from other tomato-based dishes. It’s taken from the Spanish word mechar, meaning to put oil or lard, which suggests how the traditional mechado is made. Beef steaks are rolled and lardon or pork fat is placed at the center. The lardon is a welcome addition because fat is flavor, of course.

Meat: Beef or pork, fat lardon Sauce: Tomato sauce, soy sauce, acid such as vinegar or citrus Embellishments: Carrots, potatoes

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Menudo

Menudo is actually a Spanish word, which means small. Thus, all the ingredients of menudo are cut or diced into small bite-sized pieces, making it easier to consume. No knives needed. It’s usually made with raisins that make the sauce sweeter than usual.

A spin-off is the more budget-friendly menudillo, which uses ground pork as its main ingredient.

Meat: Diced pork, liver sometimes Sauce: Tomato sauce Embellishments: Potatoes, raisins, hotdogs, quail eggs sometimes

Afritada

An everyday dish, afritada is traditionally made with chicken. It’s slightly saltier than the rest and often thicker, with the occasional addition of breadcrumbs to the sauce. Its name is taken from the Spanish word fritada, which translates to fry and suggests how the dish is cooked. The meats and some of the vegetables are fried first before being simmered into a stew.

Meat: Chicken Sauce: Tomato sauce, breadcrumbs sometimes Embellishments: Carrots, potatoes, bell pepper, green peas sometimes

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SPOTLIGHT

Don’t call Hapag the next great Filipino restaurant page 35

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BRICK AND MORTAR

Want to know what the future Filipino dining landscape looks like?

Set your eyes on Hapag TEXT CATHERINE ORDA

Minutes before service at Hapag starts, we stand by the bar that separates the kitchen from the dining area, watching chef and co-owner Kevin Navoa prepare a dish called laing stones, carefully placing dark blobs of squid ink-covered laing inside a pot of herbs and stones, co-owners and fellow chefs Thirdy Dolatre hunching over a laptop, and Kevin Villarica explaining the tasting menu to a group of diners.

It’s a common setup that has the earmarks of a self-respecting restaurant—an open kitchen; minimalist design; carefully plated food; and a sense that the people behind the kitchen would rather not be doing anything other than what they were currently doing. And the people sitting on the other side know this, too.

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PHOTOGRAPHY SAMANTHA ONG AND BEA TAN

Kevin Villarica, Kevin Navoa and Thirdy Dolatre are the childhood friends-turned-co-owners of Hapag.

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SPOTLIGHT Left: Hapag’s Oyster bonete is a play on the classic bonete bread which originated from Bulacan.

The buttery bun is used to sandwich fresh Aklan oyster, adobo aioli, and mulberry reduction.

Right: Hapag's interiors

Or at least that’s an assumption anyone would make upon entering the 24-seat concept. It’s not easy to secure a reservation at Hapag. The three owners tell me they’ve had to turn down reservations as well as the brave few who have ignored (or believed) social media hype and walked in hoping for a free table.

Hapag is one of Manila’s younger homegrown concepts whose food is a straightforward reflection of its owners’ philosophy—“authentic Filipino food but cleaned up.”

An obvious precedent is Jordy Navarra’s Toyo Eatery, whose takes on traditional Filipino food have been read by diners and critics alike as attempts at “elevating”

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the shapeless, sauce-heavy dishes of our childhoods.

Villarica was particularly concerned about this empty uniformity. One of his laments goes: Kare-kare, for all its complexity flavor-wise, was too often reduced to a mass of dark orange sauce that had nothing going on for it in terms of texture. The messiness of it, too, was an issue.

“We deconstructed it, pinaganda, and at the same time we made it easier to eat. ‘Yung hindi ka na kukuha sa pot tapos maghihimay. The sauce is mixed into the oxtail flakes and in the rice, so when you take a bite, all the flavors are there already,” says Villarica.

This dish, as is the rest of the items on the menu, reflects parts of all three chefs’ distinct culinary styles and personal histories: The oxtail was supposed to be served as whole pieces, but that didn’t look good

so the classically-trained Dolatre stepped in to troubleshoot and tweak a few things; so did Navoa, whose talent for precision cooking manifested in the clean delineation and artful layering of the dish’s components; meanwhile, the idea of using a classic Filipino dish as a base for experimentation is Villarica paying homage to the tradition-heavy culinary culture of his hometown Bulacan.

There’s an obvious concern about quality, sure, but that’s only a byproduct of the chefs’ commitment to getting a certain message across.

“What we want to do is to let people eat in a setting where they will respect the food,” says Navoa.

“Food, obviously, is not only for eating,” wrote the late Doreen Fernandez in her essay “Culture Ingested: Notes on the Indigenization of Philippine Food.”

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SPOTLIGHT The search for a national culinary identity Hapag and the few other Filipino restaurants who are in the business of trying to say something about Filipino cuisine are susceptible to sensationalism—to being called the next great Filipino restaurant, its owners the poster boys of modern Filipino cuisine—and understandably so. There’s comfort in labels, especially if those labels can serve partly as answers to what seems to be the most frequently asked question about our food: What is Filipino cuisine?

Our search for a singular culinary identity has often hinged on virality, on how many people around the world have tasted adobo or sinigang, or on how many branches of Jollibee

37 have opened overseas—in other words, our cuisine’s capacity for trending. In 2017, owing to the marked increase in international popularity of restaurants such as Bad Saint and certain dishes such as sisig, Filipino food was predicted to be the “next big thing.” In reaction, many Filipino-American chefs and restaurateurs that spread the word of Filipino food abroad have pressed that they don’t want Filipino food to be known as such. In a 2018 interview with F&B Report, restaurateur Johneric Concordia, co-owner of Los Angeles-based The Park’s Finest, said: “Trends die.

We’re not here to be a trend… when someone writes and says you’re the next thing, there’s another writer that’s about to tell you that

it’s passing. And that’s not what we’re about.”

Neither camp is wrong—there’s certainly some danger to being a trend, and yet the importance of virality is undeniable. How can two contradictory statements hold?

Perhaps we’ve been asking the wrong questions about Filipino food since searching through labels and trends has, if anything, led us farther from a better understanding of it. Talking about whether or not Filipino food is the next big thing is just as aimless as asking if Hapag is the next great Filipino restaurant. Fernandez, again, said: “In spite of his daily participation in its preparation and consumption, the Filipino is hard put to say just what Philippine food is. In his home and restaurant menus are dishes with vernacular names… all companionably co-existing.

Banana Heart Granola is a puso ng saging dish slow-cooked and served like a taco, with betel leaf as the shell and pinipig-cashew-raisin granola as the toppings. It comes with vegan bagoong made from black bananas.

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SPOTLIGHT

Laing is balled up and decorated with twigs, greens and edible flowers sprayed with mango pickles. It’s served with actual stones at the bottom of a palayok, challenging diners to rummage through the plants to know which is laing and which is stone.

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SPOTLIGHT The reason for the confusion is that Philippine cuisine, dynamic as any live and growing phase of culture, has changed through history, absorbing influences, indigenizing, adjusting to new technology, and thus evolving.”

The great writer didn’t believe in having a single, definitive culinary identity but in cuisine as an active, malleable thing, shaped by history and technology. To consider food this way is to identify and respect what makes a cuisine, with its influences borne out of either innovation or adaptation.

If we hope to understand Filipino food better, it seems that the more productive questions to ask are: What influences are Filipino chefs absorbing now? What new technology have restaurants adjusted to?

This is what young chefs are cooking now A few years ago, Dolatre was working in Benu, the Corey Lee-helmed, three Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco known for “Asianinspired New American” cuisine. The establishment offers a set tasting menu that draws from a lot of different cuisines, serving dishes like thousandyear-old quail’s egg with potage and ginger, and homemade tofu with pumpkin juice and black truffle. “[Benu] is open to the influence of all different kinds of cultures.

We have Asian influences, of course.

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39 We have Western influences. We have influences that are technique-driven.

Some are flavor-driven. Some are ingredient-driven. But it accepts all those things and it defines the kind of food we serve,” explains Lee. Dolatre had been especially inspired by all this.

So he talked to two of his friends he had known since grade school, and pitched an idea: “Why don’t we do something like this pero Filipino?”

And so it happened that in late 2017, Dolatre, Navoa, and Villarica started holding private dinners for entrepreneurs. This stint was successful, which then led to more dinners, and eventually inquiries about whether or not the trio had a brick and mortar. They didn’t, at the time. But early this year the three chefs started making some changes. Hidden along Katipunan exit stands the commissaryslash-restaurant Hapag where the three co-owners’ distinct yet complementary cooking styles and ideas come together in an eight-course tasting menu, which includes dishes like banana heart granola (slow-cooked banana heart with whipped cream and pinipig and raisin granola), and oyster bonete (bonete buns stuffed with fresh oysters and adobo aioli).

Each course is a collaborative effort, sometimes refined by friendly cooking competitions among the kitchen staff.

“We also have this thing called project dishes, where each member of the

team presents a dish. We all taste it and then critique it. The whole team then has a chance to show their creativity.

From there, ang dami na naming nasasama sa menu,” adds Dolatre.

Navoa, a graduate of The KDU University College Kuala Lumpur who spent years working in restaurants in Malaysia, is especially partial to plantbased, herb-heavy food, thus the edible pots of plants at Hapag. “I believe one day magiging king ng food industry is vegetables because they’re very sustainable.” Villarica, whose specialty is Indian cuisine and who has opened restaurants with Minor Food Group in Singapore, is considered by both his co-owners as possessing the best understanding of flavor.

The chicken inasal sticks to the basics.

“There are cases in cooking when you have to respect the tradition talaga talaga,,”says Navoa.

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40 This is best exemplified by what’s arguably the restaurant’s best dish: litson binagoongan, a slab of slow-cooked pork belly resting on spoonfuls of coconut bagoong sauce and served with pickled mango and eggplant, and some garlic multigrain rice.

In a way, this dish is classic, old-fashioned Filipino (many of the courses are inspired by what Villarica’s mom and lola would cook at home)—there’s meat and vegetables and rice, a staple combination you see in households and now in private dining restaurants, carefully

SPOTLIGHT plated in observance of both aesthetic and practicality.

This is what young Filipino chefs are cooking now. It’s an answer to the question “what is Filipino food?” that’s neither conclusive nor entirely original, but an approach marked by respect for Filipino cuisine as well as an understanding of the cuisine’s malleability, its “impurity.”

As Fernandez offer clarity: “The process of borrowing went on in innumerable Philippine households through many years. It was a conscious and yet

unconscious cultural reaction, in that borrowers knew that they were cooking foreign dishes while making necessary adaptations, but were not aware that they were transforming the dish and making it their own.” The process of indigenization was in large part the reason why we have the food that we have now—why, in the first place, young chefs like Dolatre, Navoa, and Villarica have traditional food like karekare and bistek Tagalog to elevate.

And by elevating tradition, the chefs of Hapag, among a few others, rather than presenting new answers are working with existing ones while making necessary adaptations. Is this the step that comes after indigenization?

Are we entering a new era of Filipino dining?

Hapag 201 Katipunan Ave., Quezon City 0947-5601853 Instagram.com/hapag.mnl

The sauce on the litson binagoongan is exceptional—dark and rich but not overpowering, the flavor of coconut milk lending just the right amount of sweetness, the bagoong giving off a kind of fishiness that’s not easy to hate.

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Helping out others should be on everyone’s to-do list page 42

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SENT IN-KIND Have a little extra to give? Send a donation to these organizations.

TEXT ZOFIYA ACOSTA ART ZAILA MAE

When people talk about donating money to charities, they run the risk of sounding smarmy or smug.

Pointing out how spiritually fulfilling giving back is sounds a lot like an admission that you’re using someone else’s misfortune for your own personal growth.

Let’s not forget that philanthropy itself rests on systemic inequality, that it's able to exist exactly because there’s an unfair gap between you and the people in

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need, one that puts you in a position of privilege.

“Nearly every time someone feels better by doing good, on the other side of the world (or street), someone else is further locked into a system that will not allow the true flourishing of his or her nature or the opportunity to live a joyful and fulfilled life,” Peter Buffet wrote in the op-ed “The Charitable-Industrial Complex” for The New York Times.

Of course, that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t offer help. It’s more that it’s time for us to rethink what we mean when we say “giving back.” We need to acknowledge our privilege when giving, and consider the act of charity a moral obligation, not a feel-good action to do once in a blue moon.

To help you do that, here’s a list of organizations that you can send relief aid to regularly.

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FOOD AND BEVERAGE Better World Tondo Brgy. 101, Radial Rd. 10, Tondo, Manila Facebook.com/groups/432457364062466/ Run by Rise Against Hunger Philippines and the San Miguel Foundation, Better World Tondo is Tondo’s first food bank, a place that stores and delivers food for those struggling with hunger. Aside from being a food bank, it also serves as a community and learning center.

Childhope Philippines 1210 Peñafrancia St., Brgy. 827, Paco, Manila Facebook.com/ChildhopeAsiaPhilippines 8563-2242 or 0917-005303 Childhope Philippines is a not-for-profit NGO that deals with the needs of at-risk street children, either by reuniting them with their families or helping them look for more stable environments. They accept food donations as well as other items (like school supplies) that could help children.

Gabriela 35 Sct. Delgado, Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City Facebook.com/gabriela.alliance 8371-2302 A well-known coalition of women’s rights organizations, Gabriela also rallies up support for survivors of natural disasters. They accept food donations such as rice, eggs, dried fish, noodles, coffee, sugar, and drinking water as well as hygienic items such as toothbrushes and sanitary products.

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CLOTHES Wear Forward Pioneer St. cor. EDSA, Mandaluyong Facebook.com/WearForward 0943-2076389 Wear Forward is a social enterprise that promotes circular fashion and aims to create a community of collaborative consumption. They accept old clothes as well as textile waste that they then recycle or upcycle into new pieces. The refashioned items are then either sold, rented out, or donated to partner organizations.

Caritas Manila Harrison Plaza, A. Mabini St. cor.

M. Adriatico St., Malate, Manila Facebook.com/SegundaMana 0929-8343857 Caritas Manila is a Catholic churchbased non-profit that provides aid to the vulnerable. Its Segunda Mana program is set up to collect clothing donations (as well as other items you don’t need) that’ll be distributed to the sectors that need it most. Making the donating process easier, they also offer to pick up items from your doorstep.

I Support the Girls Instagram.com/isupportthegirlsmnl Istg.mnl@gmail.com What’s one donation item that’s needed by over half the population but is often forgotten? Bras. I Support the Girls is an international organization which answers that problem by donating bras, as well as menstrual products, to women and girls in need, with donation drop-offs taking place regularly around the metro.

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MISCELLANEOUS Remote Area Medical Philippines Instagram.com/remoteareamedicalph 0915-1737193 Remote Area Medical Philippines is a nonprofit that visits far-flung and remote areas in the country, typically the most neglected of medical aid, and provides them with free healthcare. They accept donations of medicine and medical equipment. (If you’re a medical practitioner, you can also donate your time and service!)

Cribs Foundation Inc. C. Lawis Ext., Antipolo, Rizal Facebook.com/CRIBSFoundationInc 280-6696 or 0917-5112742 Cribs is a shelter for neglected or abandoned babies and girls who’ve survived sexual abuse.

A wish list of items you can donate are on its website, but some of the things you can donate are cribs for the infants, shoes, and art supplies (the organization provides the girls with art therapy sessions).

Citizens’ Disaster Response Center Foundation Inc. 72-A Times St. West Triangle Homes, Quezon City Facebook.com/CDRC1984 8929-9820

Pawssion Project Instagram.com/pawssionproject 0977-8210271

Focused on disaster management, Citizen’s Disaster Response Center is a 35-year-old non-profit organization that, aside from responding to disaster situations, helps prepare vulnerable communities for any potential ones. It accepts all kinds of relief goods that might benefit survivors of natural disasters, including things like medicine, mats, and blankets.

Charity doesn’t only mean helping other human beings. Pawssion Project is a dog shelter in Bulacan that takes in and rehabilitates strays. They accept the following donations for the furry animals: dog food, bowls, collars and leashes, dog beds, pens, medicated soap, vitamins and immune boosters, doxycycline (antibiotics), combinex (wound spray), rice, meat, and veggies.

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WHEREABOUTS

LAST CALL

Check out these gallery shows in your neighborhood

Yes, but Bigger Dec. 4 to Jan. 4, 2020, Tue-Sat, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Isabel Santos | West Gallery 48 West Ave., Quezon City Isabel Santos, an artist who utilizes mixed media and pop culture references in her art, will be mounting a solo exhibit at the West Gallery to cap off the year. “Yes, but Bigger” will be featuring some of her newer works that speak to her creative sensibilities and experimental style.

8=9 Dec. 7 to Jan. 11, 2020, Tue-Sat, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Artinformal 277 Connecticut St., Greenhills East, Mandaluyong Curated by Jose Tence Ruiz, Artinformal’s latest exhibit features works by artists such as visceral artist Doktor Karayom, postmodern artist Jan Balquin, illustrator and cartoonist DengCoy Miel, and more.

Curatorial Development Workshop Exhibitions Dec. 7 to Mar. 7, 2020, Tue-Sat, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Anton Del Castillo | Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center Roxas Ave., University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City Centered around the concept of “space,” the culmination for the 2018 Curatorial Development Workshop features exhibits on astrology, local design practices, and questions on colonial institutions.

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PHOTOS SAMPAGUITA PROJECTS, WEST GALLERY, ARTINFORMAL, JORGE B. VARGAS MUSEUM AND FILIPINIANA RESEARCH CENTER

Death Death Nov. 30 to Dec. 21, Tue-Sat, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Marcius Noceda | Sampaguita Projects 13 Manager St. GSIS Village, Brgy. Sangandaan, Project 8, Quezon City Marcius Noceda, a San Francisco-based artist and printmaker, will be mounting an exhibit that explores real and fictionalized narratives on death through meditative strokes and symbolic imagery.

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