BEGIN!
MANILA, OCTOBER 8, 2011
(STAR) By Büm D. Tenorio Jr. - Many
people remember great memories when they see or smell something familiar. For
others, however, their gustatory membrane helps them recollect beautiful
experiences. Food, indeed, has its own way of reconnecting people with their
beautiful memories.
Of late, I have been dreaming of alluring Madrid. Blame it on a tapas
festival called Flavors of Spain, a celebration of Spanish food and gastronomy
in the Philippines that depicts a way of life in Spain and its people.
I dare say that the history, culture and religion of Spain are evident on the
plate. It is true, to some extent, that what we eat says something about who we
are. But in no country is it more pronounced than Spain. Ingredients, cooking
methods and many entrees are traceable to the country's beguiling past. And
Spain's most famous food chorizo, cocido, gazpacho, bacalao, paella and its
smorgasbord of tapas selection are steeped in history as they are not without
the Moorish influences, Jewish flair or creations courtesy of Catholicism.
At an intimate press do last week, J Gamboa, owner and executive chef of the
famous Circulo restaurant on Pasay Road in Makati City, set the mood by making
us start our tapas dinner with "65° Egg" with Jamon Iberico, olive oil, Pedro
Ximenez vinegar, piment d 'espellete, croutons and smoked maldon salt. Before we
scooped a bite into our mouth, J was quick in garnishing first our delightful
dish with grated truffles. There was silence in the room when we had our first
dish. We took the cue to compare our gustatory notes when Alfredo Roca, managing
director of Fuego Hotels Properties, began to break the silence and went
non-stop about praising the food.
Fuego Hotels is one of the sponsors of this year's Flavors of Spain together
with the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain and the Spanish Institute for
Foreign Trade (ICEX). This is the ninth year the gastronomy event, which runs
the whole month of October, is being held in the country.
Circulo is one of the six top restaurants that participate in Flavors of
Spain. Other restaurants that present their individual Spanish tapas menu are
Tapella by Gaudi in Greenbelt 5; Gaudi in Serendra; Terry's Selection in Pasong
Tamo, The Podium and La Fayette Square in Salcedo Village; Barcino Wine Resto
Bar in Greenbelt 2, Greenbelt 5, The Fort, Julia Vargas in Ortigas and Power
Plant Mall in Rockwell; and Chef Marco at Purple Feet, which is inside the Wine
Depot branch in Reposo, Makati.
We were only on our first tapas plate at Circulo tapas are Spanish appetizers
that are presented in small servings and eaten before a meal or instead of a
meal and already I was imagining my past visits to Spain.
The last bite I took of Jamon Iberico reminded me of the many a tapas bar my
good friend and Allure creative director Luis Espiritu and I visited in Madrid a
few years ago. There we found out that nights in Madrid didn't end until
mid-morning the following day. In many bars and pubs, the last orders of tapas
and beer and wine could be had way past 4 in the morning. Yet in other tapas
bars, the happenings were just ripening at that time before everything quieted
down at 10 a.m.
Just when I was happily ruminating on the past, J served the yummy mejillones
(steamed black Chilean mussels) with Rioja Blanco and the pricey saffron. The
sweet tang of the sea was still traceable in the dish. The soft meat of the
mussel tickled the palate.
J's mejillones brought me a million times to my sweet, sweet sojourn to the
Galician region of Spain where I went to harvest yummy cockles in the waters of
Cambados.
And when J served the polpo (baby octopus) simmered in olive oil and paprika,
I couldn't help but be transported to the tapas bar beside the St. James
Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela where I shared a plateful of polpo and a
pitcher of sangria with an obrero and a pelegrino.
The US pork rib paella that J served elicited applause from the group. Mikel
Arriet Arruiz, acting GM of Club Punta Fuego, even closed his eyes as he savored
the goodness of the dish. Jingjing Romero, president and GM of Stratos public
relations firm, couldn't contain her favorable appreciation of the pork rib
paella that, with shrill thrill and utmost reverence for the dish, she scraped
the bottom of the paellera to mine for the prized tutong. How everybody envied
her on the table. Soon they followed suit.
For a sweet ending, the Circulo executive chef served cherry chocolate
soufflé. I wanted to crucify J for that wonderful sensation the dessert created
in my palate. (I was an epic failure in my attempt to pass on the dessert.)
Beneath the soufflé was a treasure of cherries. I never knew cherries are
sweeter when they are hot. Simply divine!
The month-long Flavors of Spain is a gastronomic excursion. Let the tapas
festival begin!
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
