Filipino culinary talent really was made for the world stage.
Named the “Most Loved Restaurant in Kensington” at the third annual Time Out Love London Awards held last November 2016, Romulo Café has successfully raised the international standard of Filipino cooking. Luckily, for Filipinos based in the Philippines, Romulo Café’s heirloom recipes can also be theirs to taste and love as the restaurant has Manila branches for them to visit.
Learn more about the dining destination that’s home to old-fashioned but refined Filipino comfort food, and lets you discover the charm of the islands through the best of Mom’s cooking.
By KRISTEL DACUMOS-LAGORZA
Rich in heritage and history, Romulo Café was lovingly brought to life through the wistful hands of its matriarch, Virginia Llamas Romulo, the wife of the late general Carlos P. Romulo. For those who have forgotten recent history, Gen. Romulo was a distinguished diplomat who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs for 17 years, the Philippines’ Ambassador to the US for 10, and was also the first Asian to serve as president of the United Nations Assembly.
While the general sparked hunger for change in the Filipino, it was his better half Virginia who filled the bellies of the hungry lot. With her discerning palate and keen memory for delicious bites, Virginia collected, protected and refined the family’s heirloom recipes, bringing forth memorable dishes.
While the elegant interiors in black and white paisley prints and one-of-a-kind fixtures can lure passersby into this sophisticated gastronomic abode (thanks to interior designer Ivy Almario), it is Romulo Café’s kitchen and the magic that brews within it that have customers comfortably pinned to their seats.
Headlining the renowned Romulo menu is Toto Greg’s Kare-Kare. The peanut sauce, made from scratch right in the Romulo kitchen, retains the natural nuttiness and creamy texture of the traditional dish. (This writer is not a fan of those restaurants that use peanut butter or instant mixes — Que horror! — instead of real nuts in Kare-Kare.) And with the perfectly stewed beef chunks and ox tail, the dish is not too rich that it overwhelms the palate.
Abiding by the Pinoy culinary philosophy of “counterpoint” (pairing dishes based on sweet-salty-sour combinations), this Kare-Kare fares perfectly well with another Pinoy favorite — the delicious cholesterol-laden temptation, Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan. Crispy, crunchy and interlaced with a salty goodness of bagoong, it’s a dish that’s meant to be incredibly bad (health wise that is!) but it’s simply just too good to pass up. When it comes to eating the Crispy Pata — or any Pinoy dish for that matter, forget about counting calories. Sometimes, when it comes to Pinoy cuisine, it is better to just enjoy the dish than study it.
Filipino cuisine, as foreigners and travelers have come to know, is jam-packed with bold flavors. But before people can come to realize the brilliance of Filipino cuisine, they have to get over the fact that sometimes, great flavors come in not so visually appetizing presentations. (Cue in mental images of dinuguan, bopis, mechado and other delicious dishes found at your local carinderia.)
Romulo Café takes all of this to mind, giving each dish an extra touch of love by presenting our food in a simple yet refined manner. Indeed, the restaurant elevates and brings Pinoy cuisine into a more appetizing light.
One such execution is the Flying Tilapia. The filleted tilapia is deep fried whole, and as it cooks, the fillets curl to crispy flaky perfection. This dish is typically Asian but adopted as uniquely Filipino. The tilapia is accompanied by a flavorful trio of sauces (Oh how Filipinos love their condiments!): chili garlic, honey-bagoong, and soy vinegar. Paired with the Ginataang Sigarillas with Tinapa and Lola Virginia’s Chicken Relleno, you couldn’t ask for a heartier lunch. And like in any other dining table in the world, the meal does not end unless it is capped off with a well-deserved dessert.
In this case, and on this table, it is the Suman sa Latik, a traditional rice dessert drenched in a sweet coconut milk reduction. To help refresh your palate between bites, the delightful bubbly concoction, Cool as Cucumber, does incredibly well to cleanse your taste buds, readying them for another mouthful of love.
The aforementioned are but some of the dishes that have caught this writer’s eye. There are definitely more scrumptious morsels to be found on the menu, and each one is sure to stay true to our Pinoy palate.
While the chic interiors of Romulo Café has everyone seeing black and white, its dishes, on the other, are anything but. The shades of flavors paint a colorful explosion of what Pinoy cuisine truly is — an exciting and hearty plate of sumptuous pairings made more special because of a mother’s loving touch.
The original article containing this excerpt was first published in PeopleAsia’s April – May 2013 issue. Romulo Café is located in 148 Jupiter St. corner Comet St., Makati City, and 32 Scout Tuazon St. corner Scout Lazcano St., Quezon City.
(Boneless crispy pata binagoongan)
(Ginataang sigarilyas with tinapa)
(Lola Virginia’s chicken relleno)
(Lola Virginia’s chicken relleno)
